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Library Instruction Plan

The library is an important part of the TMCC Community. The library provides high-quality academic research resources to students and faculty. This Instruction Plan is intended to give librarians guidance in strengthening our library instruction program and in building our students information literacy skills.

Goals of the Instruction Program

  • To prepare students for life in an information-based society, and give them the tools to effectively evaluate and use information;
  • To assist students in learning and applying critical thinking skills in school and in life;
  • To educate TMCC faculty about the range of materials and services the library can provide to help enhance teaching and learning at the college.

Purpose of the Library Instruction Plan

The purpose of the Plan is to guide librarians in improving library instruction, specifically through the following:

  • Provide guidance to librarians as we improve our understanding of information literacy and how to make information literacy a more central part of our instruction program;
  • Set priorities for the program;
  • Provide a list of resources for the support and development of librarians as teachers.

Modes of Instruction

  • Formal instruction in a classroom. Librarians work with a class in person in the Library Classroom or in the room where the class regularly meets. Instruction sessions are crafted to meet the goals of the instructor and are tied to specific learning out comes.
  • Informal instruction. This refers to reference assistance to individual students or small groups. This may take place at a service desk, in the public areas of the library, or in a group study room. An additional option is a research consultation appointment one-on-one with a librarian.
  • Online instruction. The library is committed to working with students and faculty in various online delivery modes, including through web conferencing system. Other options include video tutorials on the use of library resources and Research Guides created by librarians.

Instruction Guidelines

  • Instruction should be guided by best practices in teaching, encouraging active learning and critical thinking.
  • If the instruction is linked to a class assignment or project, the goal should be the preparation of the students to complete the assignment or project.

Instruction Facilities

TMCC Students in Library

  • Library instruction primarily takes place in the Library Classroom, LIB 210.
  • If need be (or if desired by the instructor) librarians can visit classrooms and provide instruction using the teacher’s computer station.
  • Online instruction can be provided, and this will become more common in the future.

Future Service to Explore

  • Increase library instruction penetration across the curriculum, beyond English, education and psychology. Business, political science, and history/humanities would be ideal areas to collaborate.
  • Creation of brief, online tutorials covering research skills both general and class-specific.
  • Production of recorded library instruction sessions.
  • Increased instruction in online environments. Online instruction is a significant portion of TMCC classes, and the library needs to embrace it.
  • OER materials – work with faculty to locate appropriate OER materials for classes and link to them. Also, archive any OER materials created by TMCC faculty.

Library Instruction Teaching, Practice and Assessment Resources

  • Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries (ACRL) – Suggestions for writing library instruction programs.
  • Librarian Leading the Machine: a Reassessment of Library Instruction Methods – examines whether online library instruction in an otherwise face-to-face class is effective in helping students achieve desired learning outcomes. Included are sample student learning outcomes.
  • Being Like Both: Library Instruction Methods that Outshine the One-Shot – suggests strategies to improve library instruction.

Library Instruction Assessment Resources

  • Evolution of a Culture of Assessment: Developing a Mixed-Methods Approach for Evaluating Library Instruction – discusses formative assessment as opposed to summative assessment and has several useful appendices of assessment tools.