Designing Effective Library Assignments

An effective library assignment has a specific, understood purpose. It relates to some aspect of the course subject matter or learning objectives, and it should lead to increased understanding of the subject and/or the process of locating information. An assignment which meets these criteria is an excellent teaching tool and helps foster life-long research and information literacy skills.

With effective assignments, students can: (a) enhance critical thinking skills, (b) learn and use the research process, (c) become knowledgeable about resources in general or specific subject areas, and (d) have a successful experience in the library. Feel free to use these suggestions for designing great library assignments.

The Assignment

  1. Keep the assignment simple; write out the assignment in order to reduce confusion, and be sure students understand all the steps outlined.
  2. Clearly state the objectives of the assignment.
  3. Design assignments that incorporate critical thinking skills and teach or enhance good research methods.
  4. Use specific terminology to aid the students’ understanding of the assignment. Differentiate between an online database, a catalog, a professional web site, or an e-journal.
  5. Suggest resources based on accurate, up-to-date information. Regularly check assignments so outdated or withdrawn sources are not included. You may want to try out the assignment first. (Or email it to a librarian and ask for feed-back to see if the assignment is “doable”.)
  6. Occasionally assign individual or small group projects on a variety of topics so that students do not compete for the same materials, or place on reserve resources needed by an entire class. Otherwise, 30 students may be looking for one or two books. Resources may be vandalized or disappear altogether when an entire class needs the same book or journal article.
  7. Give students enough time to successfully complete the assignment. Remind them that even under the best circumstances, research takes time.
  8. Give students an opportunity to think about the topics before coming for library instruction. Ask them to write out a thesis, then note several synonyms or alternate search terms/strategies in case the first search yields few or zero results.

Involve the Library

  1. Schedule library instruction sessions close to the time students begin their research, and have a specific assignment when your classes come to the library.
  2. Assume that new students may not be savvy about an academic library. Library of Congress (LC) classification may also be new to many students, especially international students.
  3. Provide a copy of the assignment and suggest several demonstration topics to the librarian assigned to lead your instruction session.
  4. Urge students to go to the Reference Desk; call (803) 641–3589, 3282, or 3261, or email Ask a Librarian at http://library.usca.edu/index.php/Forms/AskALibrarian for assistance. Help them understand that there are no stupid questions in the library!

Encourage Academic Honesty

  1. Discuss plagiarism, ethical use of information, and intellectual property rights with students. Remind them that cutting and pasting information from the WWW without proper citation is also considered plagiarism!!
  2. Let students know that proper style format is always required, and discuss the citation style appropriate for your classes.

Cautiously Include the World Wide Web

  1. Tell students to critically evaluate information retrieved from web sites, and help them understand the differences between an online subscription database and a personal or professional web site. Go to http://library.usca.edu/index.php/Instruction/EvaluatingWebSites for more information.
  2. Think about limiting the number of web resources students may use in their research.

Final Tips

  1. Chat in advance with a librarian about scavenger or treasure hunts to ensure students can complete the project in our library and that the project is designed to yield the desired learning outcome.
  2. Talk to librarians about alternative library research assignments. Consult the library’s file of Sample Assignments for ideas.

Last modified on: March 08, 2006, at 05:28 AM