Workshops & Curriculum Support

Librarians provide customized instructional support for the complex digital and information literacy practices required to find, evaluate, analyze, and integrate sources appropriately and ethically within a variety of contexts. Embedding research opportunities into curriculum can help familiarize students with academic resources and other high-quality industry sources, develop critical thinking skills, promote academic rigor, improve skills necessary for navigating research tools and consuming information efficiently, and stimulate curiosity and life-long learning habits.

Librarian Instructional Program

Librarians offer instructional support for a variety of digital and information literacy topics, including (but not limited to):

  • Introductory: Library orientation, topic selection and refinement, brainstorming keywords, essential search strategies, types of information sources, finding background information, citing sources (e.g., APA, MLA, etc.), and ethical use of artificial intelligence.
  • Intermediate: Introduction to databases, Google Scholar searching, scholarly publishing and peer-review process, finding statistics and data, finding authentic images and videos, and creating and evaluating artificial intelligence prompts.
  • Advanced: Advanced database searching (i.e., subject searching, controlled vocabularies), grey literature searching (i.e., government reports), scholarly communication, copyright/Intellectual property, visual discernment and criticality, strategies for locating full-text articles, and use of artificial intelligence for research synthesis.

Librarians refer to the conceptual understandings, knowledge practices, and dispositions outlined in the Framework for Information Literacy for all instructional support activities.

Workshops led by librarians are generally 30-90 minutes in length and may be offered online or in-class. Workshops typically include a lecture as well as a hands-on activity. It's recommended that students have access to a laptop or mobile device for hands-on practice during research sessions.

We ask that instructors request a workshop and complete the following at least one week before the workshop:

  • Identify a specific assignment that the workshop supports.
  • Ensure students are introduced to the assignment before the workshop takes place.
  • Provide clear content expectations to the librarian.
  • Inform the librarian of any technical or accessibility considerations in your classroom.

Your librarian can help design and align a variety of learning objects to information literacy standards:

Ask your Librarian about adding ready-made content to your SLATE course!

Personalized consultations and drop-in office hours provide targeted support for individual and group assignments. Sessions are generally 15-30 minutes in length. Consultations are best suited for:

  • Upper-level undergraduate students
  • Capstone projects
  • Post-graduate certificate research

Due to time constraints, consultations and office hours for specific courses are provided at the librarian's discretion. Ask your librarian if your course assignment qualifies.

Scaffolding Research Skills

We know that digital and information literacy practices are best developed through repeated exposure to increasingly complex research activities. Ensure that you provide meaningful opportunities for students to grow and develop in this core area with embedded instructional supports throughout the program. Contact your Faculty Librarian to develop a scaffold plan that's aligned with your curriculum.

An introduction from librarians to library resources, citation, and academic integrity can be helpful at this stage. Ready-made resources for SLATE include:

An introduction to different types of sources (e.g., popular versus scholarly) and searching with keywords are common topics librarians discuss with first year students. Ready-made resources for SLATE include:

An opportunity to use more complex search strategies, specialized databases, and sophisticated criteria to evaluate sources are topics often integrated into research-focused courses. Ready-made resources for SLATE include:

Librarians commonly offer support for capstone and thesis courses where synthesizing and creating new knowledge using specialized research tools is required in assignments. Our expertise in research ethics, intellectual property, copyright, reference management, and advanced database searching can help learners develop critical knowledge and understanding of these often challenging concepts. Ready-made resources for SLATE include:

An orientation to library research resources, citation refresher, and advanced search techniques using discipline-specific databases are common research topics in post-graduate programs. Ready-made resources for SLATE include:

Contact Us

Request a Workshop

For assistance with locating resources for your course(s) or embedding research skills instruction within the curriculum, please contact a Faculty Librarian.

Related Guides

A diagram with elements of the research process including find, evaluate, analyze, and integrate.

Librarians refer to the Framework for Information Literacy for all instructional support activities.

Subjects: Library Services

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