The mission of the Library Instruction Program is to promote Information Literacy by teaching students to use Library resources and services effectively.

Overall Goals:

• Help users develop the critical thinking skills necessary to retrieve and evaluate information resources.
• Help users utilize various resources of information and identify when and how to ask for assistance.
• Complement other classroom learning and enable students to identify information resources pertinent to their course work and research.
• Teach concepts and processes of information retrieval.
• Prepare users for effective life-long use of library and information resources.

Levels of instruction consist of library tours, basic library skills instruction, course-integrated instruction, and special topics workshops.

We like to regard library instruction as an opportunity for collaboration between the librarian and the classroom instructor, and the more we work together the more beneficial it will be for the students.

The Library has developed the following guidelines for faculty requesting a library session:

1.         Please contact Carmen Martinez, Library Reference & Instruction Office (361-593-2780), to schedule a library instruction session.  Alternatively you may complete an online Library Instruction Request Form.  Under SERVICES on Jernigan Library’s Main Page click on “Library Instruction Request.”

2.         Instruction should be requested at least 7 days in advance.  This will enable the librarian to plan the session better so students can benefit from it.  Some accommodations will be made in exceptional cases.  We request an alternative date/time in case the course instructor’s first preference is unavailable.  The librarian who is assigned to handle the class presentation will issue a confirmation.  Please do not announce a library instruction session or put it on your syllabus until you have received a confirmation from the librarian.

3.         Library instruction sessions are held in the electronic classroom of Jernigan Library in room 123.

4.         The course instructor is required to accompany undergraduate students when they come in for library instruction.  This is to ensure that the librarian discusses all the resources the instructor feels the students need to know to do their assignments.  We also find students more motivated and engaged if the course instructor participates.

5.         The librarian will not act as substitute teacher if personal or professional business makes it impossible for a course instructor to teach a particular class.  Please speak to your Department/Program chair to make arrangements to find a substitute instructor.  Please make sure the substitute instructor is aware of the assignment and library instruction session, and have him/her contact the librarian if time permits.

6.         Please pick up copies of handouts distributed at the library instruction session for students who were unable to attend and convey the contents of the session to them.

7.         We request course instructors to provide us with the syllabus and course outline.  This will help us understand the course material so we can plan a focused and meaningful presentation.

8.         Please provide us with a copy of the assignment beforehand to enable the librarian to prepare a focused, informative, and interesting presentation so students can benefit from the session.  We find students more focused and serious if library instruction sessions are geared towards specific topics, term paper, assignments, projects, etc.

9.         Please confer with the librarian who is scheduled to provide instruction and discuss your assignment, potential topics, and library resources.

10.       We are interested in becoming active partners in integrating information resources directly into classroom and individual learning by involvement with classroom faculty at the initial stages of planning for library instruction.  Librarians are available to consult on assignment design and implementation to assure that the objectives of any library assignment are realistic and appropriate, given available source materials and other library resources.

11.       Timing is very important when scheduling a library instruction session.  Bringing students in very early or very late in the semester is least beneficial to the learning process.  We do not recommend library instruction on the first day of class or a week before classes end.  Students benefit most when library instruction is scheduled in conjunction with an assignment.

Unscheduled Library Instruction by Teaching Faculty

It is our firm policy that a library tour and/or instruction in the use of library resources must be scheduled sufficiently ahead of time, conducted by a librarian, and the teaching faculty member accompanies his or her class.  If we allowed faculty members to bring their classes unannounced at any time on the spur of the moment, that would be quite disruptive to students who come to the library for a quiet place to study and to work on their research projects.  Please do schedule library visits of your classes ahead of time.  We will be happy to conduct a tour of the library and/or instruction tailored to specific needs in the use of library resources.

Granting Extra Credit for Students’ Attendance at Special Workshops 

We very much appreciate the continuous support and encouragement of the teaching faculty to attend Jernigan Library’s special topics workshops offered every semester.  If students are inattentive or behave in an unruly manner, we reserve the right to deny signature on extra credit slips, and we will ask disruptive or uncooperative students to leave.