Library instruction: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:06, 5 April 2025

Revision as of 16:50, 10 May 2025

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==History==

Library instruction began in the nineteenth century in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|chapter= Information Literacy Instruction |page=2429 |last=Grassian |first=Esther S. |last2= Kaplowitz | first2= Joan R. | title = Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition |doi= 10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043277 |publisher= Taylor & Francis | ___location= Boca Raton, Florida| volume = 3| editor= Marcia J. Bates| year=2010 | isbn= 978-0-8493-9712-7}}</ref> In 1880, Justin Winsor, president of the [[American Library Association]] (ALA), redefined the role of the librarian as also a teacher.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000962181|title=College libraries as aids to instruction|last=Robinson|first=Otis H.|last2=Winsor|first2=Justin|publisher=Govt. Print. Off.|year=1880|quote=The librarian becomes a teacher (...) to make the library the grand rendezvous of the college for teacher and pupil alike.}}</ref> In a 1912 ALA survey, 57% of respondents offered required or elective library instruction courses.<ref>{{cite journal| title=User education in academic libraries: A century in retrospect| last=Tucker |first=John Mark |journal= Library Trends |year=1980 |volume=28 |pages=9–27 | url= http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/7115/librarytrendsv29i1c_opt.pdf?sequence=1}}</ref> There was little academic interest in the subject until the 1960s and early 1970s, when interest blossomed.<ref name=":0" /> During this time, library instruction had solidified into a system where librarians would teach their patrons not only how to locate information in a physical library, but how to interact with the material, how to learn it, and how to apply those skills to their everyday lives. <ref>{{cite book|chapter= Information Literacy Instruction |pages=2429–2430 |last=Grassian |first=Esther S. |last2= Kaplowitz | first2= Joan R. | title = Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition |doi= 10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043277 |publisher= Taylor & Francis | ___location= Boca Raton, Florida| volume = 3| editor= Marcia J. Bates| year=2010 | isbn= 978-0-8493-9712-7}}</ref> The newfound rise in the popularity of library sciences precipitated the creation of the Library Orientation Exchange (LOEX), "a non-profit, self-supporting educational clearinghouse". With its collection of print and digital materials, the organization had over 650 members in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in 1999.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | last=Lorenzen |first= Michael |year= 2001 |title= A Brief History of Library Instruction in the United States of America| journal= Illinois Libraries |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=8–18 |url=http://www.libraryinstruction.com/lihistory.html}}</ref>

In research libraries, the bibliographic instruction started to be a mainstream and standard library service.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=ChadÏey|first=Otis|last2=Gavryck|first2=JacqueÏyn|date=1989|title=Bibliographic Instruction Trends in Research Libraries|journal=Research Strategies|volume=7|issue=3|pages=106–113|quote=Bibliographic instruction in research libraries has moved status as a flush-time luxury to that of a mainstream library service (...) BI has moved to center stage as standard service.}}</ref> Library instruction pioneer Miriam Sue Dudley's library instruction materials, originally produced in 1970 for a [[Chicano]] student group at [[UCLA]], are an example of such materials now available online.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/dudleylibraryworkbooks|title=Miriam Sue Dudley's Library Workbooks|accessdate=11 December 2012}}</ref>

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==Formats==

Library instruction sessions can be held in person, through pre-recorded or written materials, or live over the internet.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last=Salony |first=Mary F |date=July 1995 |title=The history of bibliographic instruction: Changing trends from books to the electronic world |url=http://libsnap.dom.edu/Reserves/Removed%20Reserves/LIS764Cason/LIS764Cason_History.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=The Reference Librarian |volume=24 |issue=51/52 |pages=31–51 |doi=10.1300/J120v24n51_06 |issn=1541-1117 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719184050/http://libsnap.dom.edu/Reserves/Removed%20Reserves/LIS764Cason/LIS764Cason_History.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Martinolli |first=Pascal |date=2021-05-20 |title=Library Instruction in Pandemic Times: Early Morning Webinars |url=https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/6392 |journal=Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.21083/partnership.v16i1.6392 |issn=1911-9593 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |accessdate=2021-05-21 |hdl=1866/24056}}</ref> In-person sessions can, as part of a formal formal class, in small groups, or one-on-one.<ref name=":1" /> After 2015, webinars began to be part of the library instruction programs. During the [[2020 COVID-19 pandemic]], this form of teaching became the norm for university libraries around the world.<ref name=":2" />

One-on-one sessions held by universities are sometimes referred to as a "term paper clinic" or a "research consultation."{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} Universities may also incorporate library instruction sessions as part of regular coursework, for example, as a ''one-shot'' class meeting held just before a term paper is assigned. The goal of the librarian is to orient the class to the best library sources for use in a term paper.<ref>{{cite book| chapter=one-shot | page=499 | title=Dictionary for Library and Information Science |last=Reitz |first= Joan M. |publisher= Libraries Unlimited | ___location= Westport, Connecticut | year= 2004| isbn=1-59158-075-7 }}</ref> Course-related instruction, while perceived as effective, is a staff-intensive process lead by professors and not librarians.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Teifel |first=Virginia M |date=Fall 1995 |title= Library user education: Examining its past, projecting its future |journal= Library Trends |volume= 44 |issue=2 |pages= 318–338 |url=http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8026/librarytrendsv44i2h_opt.pdf?sequence=1 }}</ref>

Library instruction can also benefit from the utilization of video games and gaming designed for information literacy. When incorporating design principles from gaming into information literacy instruction, instructional librarians can teach students how to succeed through long, complex, and difficult tasks<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Gamification of Library Instruction|last = Becker|first = Bernd|date = 2013|journal = Behavioral & Social Science Librarian|doi = 10.1080/01639269.2013.821372|publisher = Taylor & Francis Group|volume = 32|issue = 3|page = 199|issn = 1544-4546}}</ref> while still keeping the learning experience engaging. Library instruction and active learning information literacy workshops can also be facilitated by theater techniques,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Furay|first=Julia|date=2014-06-03|title=Stages of instruction: theatre, pedagogy and information literacy|journal=Reference Services Review|language=en|volume=42|issue=2|pages=209–228|doi=10.1108/RSR-09-2013-0047|issn=0090-7324}}</ref> by the rules of hospitality<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Martinolli|first=Pascal|date=2019-10-28|title=De maître-élèves à hôte-invités : revisiter le cadre relationnel des formations en bibliothèque|url=https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/handle/1866/22410|journal=Colloque des Bibliothèques d'Enseignement Supérieur (BES)|language=fr}}</ref> or by humor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Walker|first=Billie E.|date=2006|title=Using humor in library instruction|journal=Reference Services Review|language=en|volume=34|issue=1|pages=117–128|doi=10.1108/00907320610648806|issn=0090-7324}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Humor and information literacy : practical techniques for library instruction|last=Vossler, Joshua J.|date=2011|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|others=Sheidlower, Scott.|isbn=978-1-59884-533-4|___location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|oclc=751235479}}</ref>

=== Critical library instruction ===