The Importance of Library Instruction

Nowadays with new technology being debuted every few months and more and more educational instruction taking advantage of these technological advances it is critical that university and college libraries and librarians take an active role in the instruction of these materials and tools. The use of online databases and journals is becoming the norm but instruction on how to effectively use these tools is not. Freshman undergraduates who enter unversities and colleges should be properly instructed on how to effectively use library tools and materials within their first semester. Without such instruction they may find themselves unable to properly navigate through the seemingly endless supply of both analog and digital content and materials. Instruction on how to form effective queries and proper use of tools such as "Advanced Search" can help students to cut down on the time it takes to locate needed information. Furthermore, without proper instruction it is difficult to even gage a "good" journal article from a "bad" journal article. In addition, it is critical that students are taught "library language" and how to properly deconstruct and understand bibliographic citations and abstracts. I know that when I entered USC as an undergraduate I felt overwhelmed by the library and the online databases. I receieved a little library instruction through my University 101 class but I do not feel that it was in depth enough. It took a lot of trial by error and help from the librarians for me to begin to fully understand how to effectively use the online datatbases.

Librarians need to approach their instution's faulty and begin a dialog so that they may begin to understand the content of the course and the instructors needs. The librarians need to know exactly what the instructor is going to be teaching, the goals of the course, and most importantly how the course is structured. Only then can the librarian and faulty member begin to compose a library instruction plan. By understanding the course and course content, goals, and assignments the librarians can begin to form lists of materials related to the course and assignments and other tools that may be helpful to the students. Librarians furthermore need to come into the classes and introduce themselves to the new students and inform the students of the tools and materials located in the library or libraries. Simply by introducing themselves to the students the students may feel more at ease in entering the library and asking a librarian for help.

Learning and instruction are the main goals of any university or college and will be found in every course but what is clear is that it must also be found in the library. Without proper instruction on the effective use of library tools and materials students may find it more difficult to locate needed information or may be frustrated at their search results. Library instruction can ease frustations and help guide students through the seemingly endless supply of content and materials. Librarians, however, cannot just sit around and wait for students to approach them wtih questions or frustrations. It is clear that librarians need to take an active rather than a passive role in library instruction and turn these students into advanced searchers.