INLS 490-121: Collaborative Writing Exercise/Instruction

From Pomerantz

Jump to: navigation, search

← Return to Collaborative Writing Exercise

Contents

Today: brick-and-mortar instruction services

As libraries move towards the 2.0 ideal, instruction becomes increasingly complicated. In academic libraries, instruction currently consists of a group of students coming into a library computer lab and a librarian teaching them about some aspect of the library. At the UNC-CH Undergraduate Library, these sessions are led by degreed librarians and MSLS students. Instruction sessions are interactive experiences where students ask questions and librarians provide one-on-one assistance. The students appreciate the face-to-face interactions with the librarians, as it demystifies the librarians as well as the library. They also value the in-class time when they are shown how to easily do research for their quick turn-around assignments.

Tomorrow: changing libraries, changing instruction services

Now imagine a University with no brick-and-mortar library. Imagine this University has a book store, plenty of study space in a Student Union, and a library website. This University has librarians who work behind the scenes providing access to many online library services. Perhaps these librarians even do research consultations for students and faculty.

How would these librarians provide instruction to students and faculty about conducting library research?

Moving into the classroom

Maybe librarians would still be able to provide in-class instruction, both inside the classroom and within the class's virtual space.

In-class

Librarians could visit classes and bring the library to the students. They may demonstrate how to use the library website to access the many thousands of journals and e-books to find the information they need for their research.

Online

Librarians could be invaluable on class websites by providing links to resources and reference guides, and by answering students' questions on discussion boards and in chatrooms.

Virtual tutorials

Another possibility for 2.0 library instruction for a completely digital University library would be online tutorials. Traditionally, these have taken the form of step-by-step guides, which show how to use various library services and features. Two examples from the UNC-CH library are the Library Tutorials and How Do I...? guides. The Library Tutorials provide in-depth information about many topics, including library research, citing information, evaluating sources, and information ethics. They even have tutorials for how to conduct research in specific subjects like Math and Physics. The How Do I...? guides are more geared towards answering common questions about using the library, such as "How do I find books?" or "How do I use library resources from off campus?"

Video tutorials

A more 2.0 approach to digital library instruction would be something a little more fun and a lot less reading-intensive: flash video tutorials. The Instruction Department at UNC-CH launched a new initiative for their online tutorials within the last year: Show Me tutorials. These short demonstrative videos were created using Adobe Captivate, a video screen capture program. Instead of reading about these tutorials' methods, take a look for yourself! At the top of the tutorials are links to the HTML versions. As you can see, the Show Me tutorials give you the same information in a more appealing way.

Other examples of this can be seen in Wake Forest University's ToolKit. Library users can access a variety of short tutorials that demystify many library services. NCSU is also working on several of these video tutorials; the list can be found here. Another useful program for these tutorials is Camtasia.

Potential benefits of asynchronous instruction services

Timeliness is the primary advantage to providing online tutorials. Users are able to access them at any time they want, and as many times as they want.

Online tutorials can also reduce redundancy in librarians' work by answering commonly-asked questions. While tutorials - much like FAQs - never quite answer the entire question, they are exceedingly valuable when it comes to answering or explaining types of questions and problems that come up over and over again.

Potential problems with asynchronous instruction services

Lack of "place"

Students could have a wealth of tutorials and how-tos at their fingertips, yet still not have a place they could drop in unannounced for research help. The students could feel so far removed from these remote librarians and the completely digital library that they may not even seek the help they need.

The invisible librarian

If a user is left with questions, they have to approach an invisible librarian, most often using online chat reference. There are usually limited hours for the chat reference service, so if the user viewed the tutorial at 2am and has questions, they may have to wait until business hours for help. Additionally, asking a librarian for help can be intimidating for a library user who has never interacted with a librarian before, especially if they believe in the stereotypical librarian. However, there is appeal to chatting online with a librarian: anonymity. The user may feel their question is stupid, but they don't have to worry about the librarian knowing who asked that stupid question!

Personal tools