We got a variety of responses ranging from difficulty getting organized and pulling yourself away from Facebook or Pinterest to problems related to putting the results on paper and getting the research findings published.

To help our patrons to address some of these problems we put together a virtual exhibit Tips for Effective and Efficient Library Research. The exhibit features current e-books and print books from the UC Libraries’ collections related to various aspects of library research projects, from finding and evaluating sources to presenting your research results and getting them published. It also includes resources on successful management of your research projects.

While the books on finding sources are targeted primarily to undergraduates, books in other categories might be useful to broader audiences, including graduate and doctoral students and faculty.

We hope to expand this exhibit in the future by adding more online resources in a variety of formats. Please help us by using the Comments link to to share tutotials, books, and websites that helped you to improve your research skills. Let us know what libraries can do to help you to find, evaluate, and use information more effectively.

In October 2012 Ohio became the 19^th state to issue an Information Literacy Awareness Proclamation, a document that recognizes that “the ability to find, analyze and understand information on various formats is an essential skill to finding employment and successful careers in all sectors” and “seeks to reminds all citizens about the role of all libraries and librarians … in teaching information literacy.”

At the University of Cincinnati information literacy has long been recognized as a fundamental component of the four Baccalaureate Competencies (critical thinking, effective communication, knowledge integration, and social responsibility). Many courses include discussions, activities, and assignments aimed at developing the students’ ability to determine the nature of required information, to access it effectively and efficiently, to evaluate it critically, and to incorporate it into one’s knowledge system.

In our earlier post this month we invited faculty and students to comment on what the Libraries are doing to help with developing these crucial skills and what else we can do. Here are a couple of responses:

Many of my students are unaware of the need to use academic sources in their research — or they are intimidated by the sheer size of our library database. Through face-to-face seminars with Langsam’s knowledgeable staff, students feel more confident and can make more confident research claims. (Susan Meier, Writing & Rhetoric Instructor)

I’m a graduate teaching assistant in my fourth year of instruction here at UC. One of the biggest surprises I remember encountering my first year of teaching was realizing that the amount of time my first-year students spend online did not necessarily correlate to Google-results savvy. I soon came to realize that the “digital native” is a myth—or, even if it isn’t, that the digital native’s domain of intuitive knowledge does not necessarily extend to critical evaluations of online search results and potential sources.

I expected them to be unfamiliar with the library database, but it was a real shock to realize that their evaluative skills for navigating the non-proprietary Web would need coaching. I also quickly realized that teaching first-year students how to “read” Google results (and the webpages to which they link) is crucial for their success. Whether we like it or not, Google is usually the first place our students turn when faced with a class assignment, and therefore will play an important role in their future college research.

The librarians at Langsam have played a crucial role in developing my students’ understanding of online resource evaluation—and, through osmosis, also informing mine!  Particularly, they have contributed to my students’ success by encouraging students to find the kinds of sources that make sense for their particular assignment (whether on the wider web, or within the library’s own holdings), use advanced search tools, and helping students to understand authority and credibility in both scholarly and non-scholarly contexts. (Christina LaVecchia, Department of English and Comparative Literature)

Here are some resources and services the Libraries provide to help students  improve their research skills and understanding of sources of information:

• Library instruction: faculty and TAs are encouraged to contact their subject librarians to schedule an instruction session.
• Reference assistance and consultations: faculty and students can contact their subject librarian or ask a reference question at a library service desk, by phone, email, chat or text.  Reference assistance options.
• Our online tutorials and campus guides point you to resources and provide needed information anytime.
• Our Teaching Information Literacy Skills guide for faculty seeks to assist faculty with integration of information literacy skills by providing sample learning outcomes, suggestions for assignments and activities, links to relevant tutorials, etc.

Please let us know what else we can do by commenting on this post.

What did you do in Langsam Library Today?…#infolit

October is Information Literacy Awareness Month. Comment to this post to share with us what did in the library today. Did you use another of our 10 libraries? If so, which one?

On October 1, 2009, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation establishing October as National Information Literacy Awareness Month. Information literacy, or the ability to find, evaluate, and use information effectively, is key in preparing students for being actively involved in a democratic society and seeking highly skilled jobs. Information literacy skills lay a solid foundation for lifelong learning.

Governors in ten states have issued Information Literacy Awareness Proclamations. Ohio is among the states working on the proclamation drafts to submit.

The University of Cincinnati Libraries are celebrating Information Literacy Awareness Month by highlighting resources and services that help students to acquire and develop research and critical thinking skills and become lifelong learners.

Librarians invite faculty and students to comment on what the Libraries are doing to help with developing these crucial skills and what else we can do. You can do so through social media, comment boxes in libraries, or by contacting librarians.

“In addition to the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, it is equally important that our students are given the tools required to take advantage of the information available to them. The ability to seek, find, and decipher information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether financial, medical, educational, or technical.” See the complete text of the proclamation.

The University of Cincinnati recognizes information literacy as “an essential skill that supports each of the baccalaureate competencies and must permeate every component of the General Education Core.”

If you are a faculty member and you are thinking of incorporating information literacy learning outcomes and activities into your courses, please visit the UCL Information Literacy page.

If you are a student and would like to brush up on your information literacy skills, please take a look at How Do I…,  library tutorials available in text or video formats.