The library’s instruction program supports the university mission to “...prepare students for thoughtful and informed living…” As instruction librarians, we work with faculty to provide targeted library and information literacy instruction to support the research students are doing in their coursework. We prepare students to be lifelong learners and information literate citizens who know how to find, evaluate, and use information ethically.
Read more about our philosophy below or use this form to request library instruction.
Information literacy refers to the ability to find, evaluate, and use information in ethical ways in order to participate in the production of new scholarly and professional information. Instruction Librarians are guided by the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy, which includes the following concepts:
Our goal is to teach students to find and use the most relevant and reliable information for their current need, while teaching them lifelong critical thinking skills. Students will become critical consumers and producers of information both at Concordia and in the world around them. These skills will contribute to their future careers as they learn skills that will benefit their employers.
Concordia University Librarians provide course-integrated library instruction to all levels of students. We teach universal research skills and information literacy concepts within the context of specific course assignments and outcomes. Each library instruction session is tailored to both the assignment and to where students are in the research process at the time. Ideally, library instruction takes place during students’ time of need: after they have been introduced to an assignment and have thought about topics.
What is covered in a library instruction session is determined by the assignment, your goals, and the librarians’ perspective on information literacy. We can cover any aspect of information literacy: finding, evaluating, and using information, search strategies, topic generation and narrowing, the information cycle, citations, etc.
In addition to working with a class on one assignment, we can work with you to visit a class multiple times and scaffold the library instruction over several sessions and assignments.
For all instruction (online or in-person), please contact us at least a week in advance of when you would like us to speak with your class or create online, asynchronous content.
Please use this form to schedule library instruction.
Questions? Email library@csp.edu.
Orientations occur in many CSP programs and include a basic introduction to the library’s services and/or space.
This type of library instruction generally occurs in undergraduate, general education courses and focuses on basic information literacy skills of finding and evaluating information. It can also take place in upper-level or graduate courses, as needed, in order to refresh returning students on information literacy principles.
Library instruction for graduate or upper level students in their majors and focuses on more complex areas of research: discipline-specific resources, complex search strategies, citation managers, etc.
Librarians can work with you to embed library instruction into your asynchronous classes. We would be happy to talk with you about the options available: class-specific research guides, videos, online modules, etc.
