Teaching Library Research Strategies for Credit: Lessons for Librarians from LSP101

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Teaching Library Research Strategies for Credit
Lessons for Librarians from LSP101

• Ida Martinez (im58)
• CUL Professional Development Week 2006

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The Course

• 1-credit
• Graded S/U
• Elective
• Open to any undergraduate
• Offered Spring semester
• Meets once a week (50 minutes) for 14 weeks
• Includes guest lecturers

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Brief History

• LSP Faculty Director, requestors
• Spring 2004 2, then 0
• Spring 2005 9, then 5
• Spring 2006 13, then 22

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Lesson Plans, Goals, Assignments

• Selecting and narrowing a research topic
• Resource discovery
• Citation management
• Proper citation format
• Reactions to reading assignments
• In-class searching assignments
• Annotated bibliography

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Lesson 1Research Strategies are Needed

• What do you feel you gained most from this
  course?
• I can now find information on any subject.
• I can effectively find resources for any paper I
  may have to write.
• Able to find and use more valuable resources
  than I normally do.
• I have a better understanding of how to do
  research for my papers.
• I applied what I learned immediately to my
  research this semester.
• I learned how to actually do research.

Other mentions confidence, self-reliance, more
comfortable using libraries, more comfortable
talking to reference librarians
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Lesson 2Target Freshmen

• Would you recommend this course to a friend?
• Definitely, especially freshmen.
• Yes, I think it should be mandatory for
  first-year students.
• Definitely, we learn tons of information that
  would make academic life easier.
• YES!! In fact, it should be a requirement for
  freshmen.
• Yes, I wish I would have known about it
  earlier.
• Yes! I wish I had taken this course freshman
  year. I would have written MUCH better papers.

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Lesson 3Need for a more general course

• Additional Comments
• Consider adding another course called Research
  Strategies for the Cornell Student. Most
  students wouldnt realize the benefits of this
  course and overlook it if only because it is
  offered through the Latino Studies Program.

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Lesson 3Need for a more general course

• Additional Comments
• This is a really good course and I think it
  should be put out there more.
• I think more students should take this course.
  I have never taken such a useful course.
• Why is this course offered under LSP?

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Lesson 4Need for sustained guidance and practice

• What contributed most to the quality of this
  course?
• The hands on assignments.
• Guidance was useful. Material covered is
  something everyone can use forever.
• The numerous databases that we visited. The
  instructor always made sure we understood the
  task at hand. Very helpful.
• Instructor provided detailed lessons on how to
  do research using library resources helped
  early on in the semester for other courses.

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Lesson 5Students want to be challenged (at a
convenient time)

• What detracted most from this course?
• The 1010am starting time.
• The fact that it was S/U. Too easy to miss
  class to attend to other homework.
• Not enough time.

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Closing Thoughts

• Explore more options for credit courses at the
  undergraduate level
• Outreach to departments is key
• Open Forum PSEC Instruction Committee?
• Assessment of this course. Help needed and
  welcomed.

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Thank you.

• Questions
• Ida Martinez (im58)
• Reference, Instruction Outreach Librarian
• IRIS / CRIO / Olin Uris Libraries