What is Library Instruction?
Library instruction, also known as information
literacy or Bibliographic Instruction (BI) is an important part of the library's mission.
Developing the skills needed to locate, evaluate and
effectively incorporate new information is a life-long challenge
and an important part of the education experience. Library
Instruction works well when presented in conjunction with a
specific assignment so that the librarian can focus the
instruction on particular sources, abstracts, indexes,
electronic resources, and other types of informational materials
that are used in the research and writing process. Library
instruction is offered as part of the RHC100 Reinhardt College
Orientation and in many other courses. The library
will offer courses to help refine your research skills or
introduce a new resource. Feel free to ask us to organize a
session for you, your class or friends.
Why is Library Instruction
Important?
Did
You Know?
The
amount of information produced in the world increases by 30%
every year.
(Source:
http://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/)
Information explosion
is a term that describes the rapidly increasing amount of
published information and the effects of this abundance of data.
For instance, according to Technorati, the number of blogs
doubles about every 6 months with a total of 35.3 million blogs
as of April 2006. As the amount of available data grows, the
problem of managing the information becomes more difficult,
which can lead to information overload or
information fatigue. Fortunately, techniques to gather
knowledge from an overabundance of electronic information (e.g.,
data fusion may help in data mining) have existed
since the 1970s. (The beginning of true indexing and abstracting
of information by librarians/information specialists.)
Source: from the infamous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_explosion To the rescue, In
come your Reinhardt College librarians…"Anyone
who doesn't view a librarian as a potent force doesn't
understand the job. Ideas are more powerful than bombs.
Information is the way to take over the world. The role of a
librarian is to make sense of the world of information. If
that's not a qualification for superhero-dom, what is?"
Deborah
Jacobs, Seattle City Public Librarian upon the retirement of
Nancy Pearl. The Seattle Times Thursday, July 10, 2003
What might a
Bibliographic Instruction look like?
BIs
last about 40 to 50 minutes and typically include a PowerPoint
and/or live/hands on demonstration. Time is allotted afterwards
for some practice work and some one-on-one instruction.
Some segments may be:
-
Basic Library Information.
-
Navigating the Library Homepage.
-
Finding Books and Articles.
-
Printing, Remote Access.
-
Organizing Your Research.
-
Choosing a Topic.
-
Mapping Concepts.
-
Making the Plan
- More Advanced Searching of Databases.
- Articles, etc., usually
specific to a particular assignment.
- Boolean
searching and beyond.
- best tools to use for the particular topic at hand,
etc.
- Evaluating Information.
- General Criteria.
- Scholarly or Popular.
- Primary or Secondary.
- the Web vs. peer reviewed sources.
- Using
Information Ethically.
- Plagiarism.
- Citations.
- Copyright.
How do I schedule an Information Literacy Class?
Reference Phone: 770-720-5586 E-mail:
library@reinhardt.edu
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