8 Tips for Success: Building Relationships with SRSU Librarians
adapted from Joe Hardenbrook (2020), Carroll University
Share your assignments with us
- By sharing your assignments, we can be prepared for incoming questions and be on the lookout for students who may be struggling
- Email relevant assignments to srsulibrary@sulross.edu for us to keep on file
Know our current staffing and teaching limits
- Librarians help with research assistance, including brainstorming keywords, using databases effectively, accessing sources, and understanding information literacy principles
- Currently, two librarians and one archivist are on staff to assist with relevant information literacy education, including in the planning and execution of relevant assignments
Before you send students to meet a librarian...
- Please check with us before requiring students to make a research appointment as part of an assignment. We love meeting with students but can be blindsided by many visits at once without communication from faculty.
Know the limits of streaming content and eBooks
- Check for access/availability when assigning content in your courses - or ask us to check for you! Some content, even if in the catalog, is restricted by publishers and can lead to frustration for all parties (e.g., eBooks that allow only one user at a time)
- With time to plan ahead, librarians can assist in tracking down titles or provide recommendations for content
Understand databases and eResource availability
- Do understand that libraries and institutions have different content available to them. The content available at your previous institution may differ from what is available at SRSU Library. Librarians are very amenable to collection requests and recommendations where budgets and staffing allow.
Be consistent when you talk about sources
- Please be clear and consistent about the types (and formats) of sources you want your students to use in your assignments. See if your Department can come to a consensus on language. Terminology differs across subject areas, and students are not always aware of this as they enter higher education.
- Know that the quality of a source is not necessarily dependent on its format (e.g., books versus eBooks, various types of internet sources)
Focus on the ethical use of information
- Our focus on the importance of citations lies in ensuring students understand the reason WHY they should cite sources over HOW they cite those sources in their specific field
Differentiate between Information Literacy and Technical Literacy
- Know that students often overestimate their information literacy skills and that technical literacy does not correlate to information literacy/evaluative skills.