Library Instruction

Explore, Search, Discover: Library Orientation for New Students

30, 50, or 75 minutes

This workshop introduces students to the library’s spaces, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan services. Incoming students are introduced to librarians who can help them track down what they need. Often this session incorporates a library scavenger hunt which can be completed remotely on Canvas, or be part of a hand-ons introduction.

Learning Outcomes:

• Make effective use of library services and resources including finding items and seeking research support from librarians

Navigating Authority: Making Sense of your Sources

30, 50, or 75 minutes

This workshop equips students with the skills to identify and differentiate scholarly articles, books, websites, newspaper, and AI generated content appropriate for college level research. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating source authority, empowering students to make informed decisions about credibility and reliability in their academic work.

Learning Outcomes:

• Explain the peer review process and how it helps us evaluate information
• Critically evaluate sources using the appropriate measure of authority for a given information need
• Give a basic explanation of how AI tools generate information and how they can be responsibly used in research

Research Ready: Bootcamp for Scholarly Research

50 or 75 minutes

Designed for students across the disciplines, this bootcamp provides a foundation in library research, scholarly sources, and effective search strategies. Students leave with an overview of using and evaluating evidence-based research. This workshop can be tailored to focus on discipline specific resources relevant to course work.

Learning Outcomes:

• Match information needs to appropriate search tools and build search strategies
• Deal with complex research by breaking complex questions into simple ones, limiting the scope of investigations
• Give credit to the original ideas of others through proper attribution and citation

Citations, footnotes, & bibliographies, oh my!

30 minute short lesson

Students are often intimidated by formatting in-text citations, footnotes, and annotated bibliographies. This quick workshop covers the fundamentals that students often lack, such as identifying the parts of a citation, and the bigger picture of why we have citation rules. Basic lessons on citation rules for one citation style (MLA, Chicago, or APA) and annotated bibliographies can also be included.   

Learning Outcomes:

• Give credit to the original ideas of others through proper attribution and citation
• Explain the concept of scholarly conversation and why it is important for academic research

How to Lie With Graphs 

50 or 75 minutes 

This workshop introduces students to subjective aspects of the visual representation of information by experimenting with basic data visualization in Google sheets. Through trial and error we will explore best practices for visual design,  and see how design choices can unintentionally warp the results we want to convey.

Learning Outcomes :

• Differentiate between types of data (quantitative, qualitative) and interrogate subjective decisions underlying data creation and analysis 
• Critically evaluate sources using the appropriate measure of authority for a given information need 

Digital Privacy 101

50 or 75 minutes  

This workshop introduces students to the concept of personal data and digital privacy as a human right. In our hyperconnected digital world, we often give up private information without being aware of it. This workshop explores what data our phones and computers collect about us, and empower students to make informed decisions about the products and services they engage with online. 

Learning Outcomes: 

• Understand the basic economics of information, that information has both monetary and personal value

Citation Management: Introduction to Zotero

30 to 50 minutes

This hands-on workshop introduces Zotero, a free tool that helps collect, organize, and cite research sources. Students learn how to save a variety of sources directly from their browser, organize references into folders, and generate accurate in-text citations and bibliographies. No prior experience is needed, but it is recommended that participants install and work from their own laptop.

Learning Outcomes:

• Manage searching processes and results effectively
• Synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources
• Develop skills in skimming/lateral reading/non linear reading techniques when evaluating articles

Synthesizing Sources for a Literature Review

50- 75 Minutes

This workshop introduces the concept of an academic literature review and focuses on the difference between synthesis and summary of sources. Students are introduced to the research synthesis matrix as a tool for organizing research and facilitating synthesis of sources. 

Learning Outcomes: 

• Synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources
• Develop skills in skimming/lateral reading/non linear reading techniques when evaluating articles
• Manage searching processes and results effectively

AI Tools for Research 

50- 75 minutes

This library workshop helps students develop research skills, discover academic resources, and learn strategies for finding reliable information using AI Tools. Participants explore  AI tools in databases and techniques to support research projects. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Explanation of how AI tools generate information and how they can be ethically used
• Design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results 

TidyData

50 minutes 

Students learn the basics of TidyData by exploring how rows, columns, and observations work together to organize data. Students practice identifying common data problems and cleaning a dataset by fixing issues such as inconsistent entries, missing values, duplicate records, and messy data frames.

Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate a basic competency in data management

Finding Data Through Literature 

50-75 minutes

Students practice searching for data sets that suit their research topic in related studies and literature. Non-linear reading techniques and which sections of an academic article tend to contain information on the underlying dataset and methodology are discussed. Students gain an introduction to the concepts of reproducibility and replicability, and how making (well documented) research data accessible to others furthers open science principles. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Trace information and claims to the source through citations/lateral reading
• Understand the foundations of data and its purpose in research 

Entering the Scholarly Conversation

50+ Minutes 

Designed for students beginning work on a senior thesis, this workshop asks students to think more deeply about what it means to participate in a scholarly conversation, including seeking accuracy and reliability, respecting intellectual property, and interrogating the limits of peer-review. Practical skills in advanced search techniques & tools and in search result evaluation and management will also be covered. 

Learning outcomes:

• Acknowledge they are developing their own authoritative voices and recognize the responsibilities this entails
• Synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources and assess for gaps and weaknesses
• Develop skills in skimming/lateral reading/non linear reading techniques when evaluating articles

Intro to APIs 

50-75 minutes 

Students are introduced to the concept of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and how they can assist users with extracting data from complex databases. We will cover basic protocols for making API calls, types of APIs, and example data structures to expect in their outputs (JSON, HTML). The workshop is taught in Python- some prior coding experience is ideal but not required. 

Learning Outcomes: 

• Identify the ways that Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) mediate the underlying information 
• Recognize issues of access or lack of access to information sources