Library Policies

Mission Statement for Instructional Program

In line with the Lasallian values of faith, service, and community, Plough Library provides collections, services, and inclusive spaces to encourage learning, teaching, and research for the entire CBU community. 

Plough Library provides library instruction to courses across all departments at Christian Brothers University to ensure the academic excellence of students and to prepare them for their careers and lives dedicated to serving others through Lasallian values. Through instruction grounded in the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and structured through Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the library ensures that all students receive quality learning that is measurable.

Content that Can be Covered during Library Instruction

Plough Library offers various content for library instruction, including but not limited to: 

• Database and library catalog searching (general and subject-specific) 
• Citation creation and citation management
• Plagiarism prevention 
• Evaluation of sources 
• The research process 
• Misinformation/news literacy 
• Ethical use of artificial intelligence/ChatGPT 
• Archives visits 
• Digital humanities

Ideally, library instruction sessions should correspond with a specific assignment given by the course instructor. 

Modes of Instruction

Plough Library offers various modes of instruction, including: 

• In-Person Workshops 

  • Work with a librarian to plan in-person sessions tailored to your courses’ needs. 

• One-on-One Consultations 
  • Students can schedule an appointment to work individually with a librarian for research help. 
• Synchronous Online Workshops 
  • For synchronous online workshops, all students should be logged onto a computer for the synchronous online session. 
• Hybrid Workshops 
  • For hybrid workshops, the librarian will need to interact with students who are online and in-person. The classroom will need to be appropriately set up for a hybrid format to ensure that the librarian can see all students involved, both online and in-person. This is regardless of whether the librarian attends in-person or online. 
• Asynchronous Canvas Modules 
  • A librarian can create library instruction activities and modules for Canvas that are tailored specifically for your course. 
• Asynchronous Videos 
  • A librarian can create videos with library instruction topics tailored specifically for your course. 
• Information Literacy – Core 
  • Instructors can supplement instruction by choosing from a large selection of videos, tutorials, and quizzes ideal for flipping the classroom and addressing gaps in classroom or online teaching. These activities are easy to embed into Canvas courses.

Requesting Library Instruction

Library instruction can be requested either by filling out the Library Instruction Request Form or by contacting the liaison librarian directly. Live (in-person, hybrid, or synchronous online) sessions must be requested at least 72 hours (3 days) in advance. Asynchronous Canvas modules or asynchronous videos must be requested one (1) week in advance. The Information Literacy – Core content is available at any time and can be accessed from the Information Literacy – Core Guide. Library instruction can be requested anytime during the semester. 

The course instructor should send the assignment and course syllabus to the librarian (or upload them with the Library Instruction Request Form) when requesting a library instruction session to allow for a lesson that is better tailored to the courses’ specific needs. 

On the Day of Instruction

The course instructor and students are expected to arrive to the library instruction session on time. Plough Library strongly encourages the instructor to attend the library instruction session to help students better understand how the library instruction topics specifically tie into key concepts in their assignment and the course. 

Plough Library’s InfoLab contains 24 student computers. In-person class sessions that are under 25 students and require use of computers or a library tour should be held in Plough Library’s InfoLab. For courses that require use of computers or a library tour and have 25 or more students, instructors should work with the librarian to reserve another space on campus. Plough Library prefers that library instruction be held in the library regardless of use of computers or a library tour, but we are willing to discuss other options with faculty when computers or a library tour are not required. 

Assessment of Library Instruction

Plough Library uses minute papers as the main method to assess student understanding of library instruction. Through the minute paper, the librarian asks students to reflect on what they learned: 

1. What is one thing you learned today?
2. What is one thing about which you are still unsure?
3. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being least confident), how confident are you now about the lesson topic?

The librarian will use minute paper slips for in-person instruction and will have an online minute paper form for synchronous online instruction. At the current time, asynchronous instruction does not receive the minute paper. The librarian will share the minute paper responses with the course instructor after the library instruction session to allow for transparency and aid in the collaboration between the librarian and course instructor. 

Duncan. February 19, 2024.