Library instruction: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 23:55, 12 May 2010

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'''''Library instruction''''', includesalso called '''bibliographic [[instruction]] on(BI)''', both'''user education''' and '''library orientation''', consists of "instructional programs designed to teach library users how to evaluatelocate the information resourcesthey need quickly and howeffectively. [It] usually covers the library's system of organizing materials, the structure of the literature of the field, research methodologies appropriate to usethe [[librarydiscipline|academic discipline]], and specific resources suchand asfinding thetools ([[catalogs|library catalog]], orindexes otherand abstracting services, [[bibliographic databasesdatabase]]s, etc.)"<ref>{{cite book| chapter=bibliographic instruction (BI) | page=71 | title=Dictionary for Library and Information Science |last=Reitz |first= Joan | middle=M. |publisher= Libraries Unlimited | ___location= Westport, Connecticut | year= 2004| isbn=1-56308-075-7}}</ref>. It prepares individuals to make immediate and lifelong use of information effectively by teaching the concepts and logic of information access and evaluation, and by fostering information independence and critical thinking.

==History==

A related term, [[information literacy]], "is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques.(University of Idaho)[http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/]."

Library instruction "began in the nineteenth century, with instruction in library use offered by a number of libraries in the United States between 1876 and 1910, and then ramped up in the early twentieth century"<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 a 1912 American Library Association 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 |middle=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>

==Relationship to information literacy==

A related term, [[information literacy]], "is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques.("<ref>{{cite web| title= Information Literacy - Home | publisher= University of Idaho)[ | url=http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/]." |accessdate=May 12, 2010}}</ref>.

Some debate exists within the library community about whether instruction on how to use library systems is necessary, or if efforts are better spent making systems easier to use such that they require no instruction.

==Formats==

Library instruction "occurs in various forms such as formal class settings, small group sessions, one-on-one encounters, written guides and brochures, audiovisual presentations,and computer-assisted instruction (CAI)"<ref>{{cite journal|title = The history of bibliographic instruction: Changing trends from books to the electronic world | last = Salony |first = Mary |middle= F| journal= The Reference Librarian | volume = 24| issue = 51/52| month = July | year = 1995 | pages = 31-51 |doi=10.1300/J120v24n51_06 |url = http://libsnap.dom.edu/Reserves/Removed%20Reserves/LIS764Cason/LIS764Cason_History.pdf | issn= 0276-3877 | issn2=1541-1117}}</ref>.

Some university libraries offer specialized instructional sessions. At these sessions the librarian works one-on-one with a user to assist him or her with specific research goals. These sessions are sometimes referred to as a "term paper clinic" or a "research consultation."

OtherAnother highoption schools,for universities,library andinstruction collegesconsists encourageof their''one-shot'' facultyinstruction memberssessions. to signThis theirslang studentsterm uprefers forto "formal instruction given in a single session, as opposed to instruction extended over two or more sessions"one<ref>{{cite book| chapter=one-shot" library| instructionpage=499 session| duringtitle=Dictionary thefor semesterLibrary and Information Science |last=Reitz |first= Joan | middle=M. |publisher= Libraries Unlimited | ___location= Westport, Connecticut | year= 2004| isbn=1-56308-075-7}}</ref>. These class meetings are often held just before a term paper is assigned, and the goal of the librarian is to orient the class to the best library sources for use in a term paper.

==See also: ==

''For a more general discussion, see* [[Information literacy]]''

==References==

{{reflist}}

* Bishop, W. W. (1912). Training in the use of books. ''Sewanee review'', 20 (July), pp. 265-81.

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* Lorenzen, M. (2001). Brief history of library instruction in the United States. ''Illinois libraries'', 83(2), pp. 8-18.

* Teifel, V. (1995). Library user education: Examining its past, projecting its future. ''Library trends'', (Fall), 318-38.

* Tucker, J. M. (1980). ''Articles on library instruction in colleges and universities, 1876-1932''. ERIC ED 187 330.

* University of Idaho. (2008). Information Literacy. http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy

==External links==