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Information Literacy: Information Literacy at Copley Library

The purpose of this guide is to provide information on information literacy programming at Copley Library. For more information, see the instruction page of our website: https://www.sandiego.edu/library/services/library-instruction.php

Library Instruction at Copley Library

Library instruction occurs at all levels and can include a variety of topics depending on the class and assignment. Concepts covered will also depend on the course level. The guidelines below are to provide ideas about how library instructors might approach a class based on level and are not intended to be prescriptive:

Undergraduates

  • First year (including First Year Writing, LLC or TLC classes, and other introductory level courses)

              - topics covered could include topic selection and narrowing, generating keywords, determining resources appropriate for an assignment, 

                distinguishing between scholarly and popular sources, evaluation criteria, and citing sources

  • Introductory Research Methods

              - topics covered could include discipline-specific databases, finding and evaluating data sources, and using specific citation styles

  • Advanced or Capstone courses (upper division level)

              - topics covered could included advanced search techniques, locating primary sources, literature reviews, citation management tools   

                (e.g. EndNote or Zotero), and the scholarly communication process

Again, these guidelines are not absolute. Library instruction or basic library orientation is not currently required for USD undergraduates. Instructors are advised to check with their students about basic library familiarity and ask if they have received library instruction previously. This is good information to pass on to the subject librarian prior to the session.

 

Graduate Students

The needs of graduate students at USD will depend on where they are in their program (first year or further along and whether conducting research for a course or a thesis or dissertation) and whether or not they have been at students at USD before. Research skills and familiarity with library resources can also depend on when the last time a student was in school (i.e. professionals returning to school or new students making a career change vs. students right out of undergraduate programs). Faculty teaching graduate-level courses are advised to contact their subject librarian to talk about strategies for incorporating research instruction into their classes and how to tailor sessions to their students' needs.

 

All instructors can use the following form to request library instruction:

https://sandiego.libwizard.com/f/instruction

 

 

 

What is covered in instruction?

Please talk with your Copley Library subject specialist about tailoring an instruction session to meet the needs of your students! Here is a sample of some of the topics/activities we can cover:

 

  • Library Catalog
  • Circuit and Interlibrary Loan (services to get books and articles)
  • Search strategies
  • Choosing a database
  • Distinguishing between scholarly and popular sources
  • Conducting literature reviews
  • Preventing plagiarism
  • Citation styles - APA, MLA, Chicago, and more

Where...

Library Instruction can be provided in 

  • one of three classrooms at Copley Library * 
  • your classroom

* Please note that there is a laptop cart in the library's first floor classroom that can be used by students. The first floor classroom, CL 121, has the largest capacity at 32, although the two second floor classrooms, CL 211 & 212 (22 and 16 capacity respectively), can be combined to make one large classroom with advance notice.