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Course Integrated Library Instruction
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Course Integrated Library Instruction
by Joan Ormondroyd
After years of concentrating on graduate programs and research projects,
colleges and universities across the country are beginning to respond to
public concerns about the quality of undergraduate education by reinstating
foreign language requirements and core programs in the liberal arts (see
issues of the CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION and FOREIGN LANGUAGE
ANNALS).
It is not surprising that librarians are also becoming more concerned
with the quality and depth of the instructional programs they are offering
students. Traditional programs have included workbooks and credit courses
(most often general in scope and not subject related) or course-related,
single-session lectures where the content of the library session is related
to the subject matter of the course, but where there is generally no further
contact with the course until the next semester when the same 50-minute
session is presented once more. We are now beginning to see a trend, if
not away from these forms of bibliographic instruction, then at least in
a direction complementary to them. More and more librarians are finding
ways to integrate library instruction into existing courses in a manner
that makes library resources and the methodology for finding them an essential
and basic component of the course.
As early as 1979 Guskin, Stoffle, and Boise (1979) were advocating a
larger teaching role for librarians and suggesting that the direction bibliographic
instruction would take into the 1980s would be toward the integration of
library instruction into the academic curriculum. In 1983, Constance Mellon
wrote that such total integration was indeed desirable, but would be difficult
to achieve since, "faculty do not view librarianship as an intellectual
discipline equivalent to their own. [They] feel that the existing course-related
library instruction is sufficient to meet student needs" (Mellon, 1983).
INTEGRATED INSTRUCTION
I would like to suggest that the work done by bibliographic instruction
librarians over the past 15 years has changed, at least to some extent,
the negative image of librarians held by some faculty, and has paved the
way for the kind of integrated instruction that is occurring in some academic
institutions today. In addition, the advent of database searching, CD ROM
players, and online catalogs has caused faculty to turn to librarians for
help in greater numbers than ever before. As a result of these factors
(and perhaps others as well), faculty are beginning to recognize the expertise
of reference librarians and to acknowledge the desirability of working
with them as equals. For an instructional program to be truly integrated,
such recognition and acknowledgement are essential; we know from long experience
that, unless the instructor of a given course cooperates fully with the
librarian, any instruction on library use given in that course remains
peripheral to it.
Course-integrated library instruction requires that the librarian and
the instructor work together closely in planning research assignments and
in introducing students to the library. It requires that the research expertise
of the librarian be recognized as an important component in completing
course assignments. It also requires that the librarian thoroughly understand
the goals of the course and that he/she have a basic knowledge of the subject
matter. The librarian and the instructor become working partners in preparing
the assignment and in working it through with the students. It may also
require that the librarian be involved in the evaluation and grading of
the papers for the course.
STEPS TO TAKE
Course-integrated instruction generally grows out of course-related
instruction and develops in those classes where an ongoing relationship
has already been established. When the librarian feels comfortable with
a course and its instructor, but also feels frustration about the lack
of follow-through and depth in the library component of the course, it
is his/her responsibility to promote the enhancements that integration
can provide. Librarians must not be shy about inviting instructors to talk
about these enhancements and the value they can have for the course.
Thought must be given to the kinds of assignments that will be appropriate
for the class being taught, but which will also bring students into the
library and cause them to use the library's resources in their discipline.
Critical, annotated bibliographies are probably the most popular choice,
but instructors may be reluctant to follow through with the term paper
that should be the outgrowth of such an assignment. Depending on the subject
matter of the course, other in-depth assignments might take the form of
biographical studies, scientific research, or a comparison or analysis
of sources. These assignments might ultimately result in an oral presentation
in class or a written essay on a final exam.
Whatever the assignment, its goal should be to introduce students to
a wide span of library resources and to make them comfortable in using
these sources.
It is easier to evaluate an integrated library program than most other
types of library instruction programs since one of the aspects of such
a program is the librarian's involvement in the assignment and the grading
of that assignment. Faculty are also more willing to participate in the
evaluation of the program when they know that the librarian has as much
of a stake in the class as they do.
ADVANTAGES
Because it is more intense than course-related instruction and involves
the student in library research at a much deeper level, course-integrated
library instruction allows for a more cognitive approach to research methodology.
David Kohl and Lizabeth Wilson, in a study conducted at the University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, found that students whose introduction to
the libraries was through such an approach did a "statistically significant
better job of accessing and using library resources" (Kohl & Wilson,
1986). They also suggest that the more traditional forms of course-related
instruction (which they refer to as "the one size fits all" program) pay
inadequate attention to the differences in discipline organization and
rely too heavily on a basic research strategy that fails to change from
one course to the next. By changing that approach and relating the research
needs of the class with the way library materials in that discipline are
structured, coursework in those classes with which they worked actually
improved.
A study at Cornell had similar findings. In one of the courses with
which the Undergraduate Library is currently involved in an "integrated"
way, the instructor has established that the "average grade for papers
was up 1.75 points from previous semesters. There were almost no complaints
about grading--something that has been an issue in the past. There were
no cases of plagiarism" (Ormondroyd & Parrot, 1988).
In addition to its cognitive advantages, course-integrated instruction
mandates that there will always be a library research assignment as part
of the course curriculum. Currie, Goettler, & McCaskill have demonstrated
that the use of a "compulsory library assignment was vital to maximizing
absorption and retention of basic library knowledge" (1982). Yet many instruction
librarians have had the experience of having to argue with faculty who
assume that general introduction to "how the library works" is going to
stick with the unmotivated undergraduate. Once an instructor has been won
over to integrating the library instruction into the course, the assignment
becomes a given rather than an issue to argue over.
Finally, the librarian who is an integral part of a given course is
viewed as a colleague by the instructor of that course and gains stature
in the eyes of the students as well.
DISADVANTAGES
As with all programs there are some drawbacks to course- related library
instruction. It is, first of all, very time and energy consuming. Any librarian
involved in such a course must plan on meeting with the instructor a number
of times. He or she will undoubtedly make several appearances before the
class during the course of the semester. If the subject area is a fairly
new one for the librarian, he/she may find it necessary to sit in on a
number of the lectures and to do at least some of the reading for the course.
Colleagues at the reference desk may become resentful when the students
in the course ask specifically for the librarian associated with that course.
Although this happens in course-related instruction as well, the problem
is exacerbated when the librarian-instructor is not only the one who has
worked closely with the instructor, but has also created the assignments
and is doing the grading. In such a case it may not be appropriate for
other librarians to answer students' procedural questions (e.g., when the
paper is due, may I have an extension, how long should the annotations
be). However, students who actually have subject related questions and
could be helped by any of the reference librarians will still ask for the
librarian who is named in their syllabus. You may be pulled out of your
office time and time again, only to find that what the student needed was
to be taught how to use the SOCIAL SCIENCE CITATION INDEX and assumed that
only you could teach him.
And finally, the assignment, which is generally seen as an advantage
in this form of instructional program, also has the disadvantage of having
to be graded by someone. In many cases the instructor is happy to let the
librarian do that grading. In very large classes the instructor can sometimes
be persuaded to let the librarian teach the teaching assistants how to
grade the assignments. In either case, there is a time commitment of some
proportion and anyone undertaking an integrated library program must be
prepared to make it.
CONCLUSION
The leaders of the bibliographic instruction movement have long advocated
the integration of library instruction into academic courses and many consider
it the ideal form of library instruction. Librarians benefit from it in
heightened prestige and improved relations with faculty, to say nothing
of the value of working with students who understand the research process.
Students benefit from the assignments and follow-through connected with
such instruction. Although there are drawbacks in the amount of time and
energy demanded by such a program, any library that can possibly afford
to should develop course-integrated programs. As libraries continue to
grow and become more complex, the demands for such instruction will increase
and we must be prepared to meet them.
REFERENCES
Currie, Margaret, Goettler, Elaine, & McCaskill, Sandra. (1982,
February). Evaluating the relationship between library skills and library
instruction. CANADIAN LIBRARY JOURNAL 39(1): 35-37.
Guskin, Alan E., Stoffle, Carla, & Boisse, James. (1979, Fall).
The academic library as a teaching library: A role for the 1980s. LIBRARY
TRENDS 28: 281-296.
Kohl, David F. & Wilson, Lizabeth A. (1986, Winter). Effectiveness
of course-integrated bibliographic instruction in improving coursework.
RQ 26(2): 206-211.
Mellon, Constance A. (1983, Winter). Instruction librarian as change
agent. RESEARCH STRATEGIES 1(1): 4-13.
Ormondroyd, Joan & Parrot, Andrea. (1988, Fall). Making real changes:
A president's initiative grant at work. CUE (Cornell Undergraduate Education)
2(4): 3-4.
Copyright Note
This webpage is a copy of the ERIC Digest, Course Integrated
Library Instruction published by the US Federal
government. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely
reproduced and disseminated. The text from that digest on this page
is in the public domain. All other information on this page (including
the arrangment of the subject matter) is copyright (c) 2003 Michael Lorenzen.
Library Reference Search
This site is (c) 2002-2004 Michael Lorenzen. All rights reserved.
Permission is given to link to this site.
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