"The mission of the Grasselli Library bibliographic instruction program is to equip John Carroll
University students with the bibliographic research skills needed for academic investigation,
personal growth, and lifelong learning. By emphasizing important critical concepts that can be
transferred to new situations, the program teaches students the skills needed to make effective and
efficient use of information in all its forms, both in students' academic careers at John Carroll
University and in all future endeavors."
-- Bibliographic Instruction Task Force Report, rev. February 16, 1996
[ SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION ] [ LIBRARY INSTRUCTION BY APPOINTMENT ] [ LIBRARY ASSIGNMENTS ]
[ ONLINE HELP WITH RESEARCH ] [ 30-MINUTE INFO SESSIONS ] [ SELECTED WEB TUTORIALS ]
Encourage new students to stop by the library to have the barcode on their CarrollCard validated. This is an important first step in becoming a library user. Once this is done, students are free to check out materials, initiate OhioLINK loans, use the databases from off-campus locations, or use the Student Multimedia Center. The library staff is available to meet students during the Library Open Houses and raffle held on the first week of classes. Times of these events are provided in the Fall Orientation packets.
FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH COURSE INSTRUCTION
Formal library instruction begins in a class that is offered through the first-year English composition courses. In this class, the librarian teaches basic skills to beginning students. Among the skills taught are how to use Carrolline, OhioLink, and the EBSCO periodical databases; how to locate the full texts of articles; and how to evaluate research resources for reliability. Librarians can go to the electronic classrooms in the O’Malley Center; or English instructors can request classes in the Library Electronic Classroom, which is equipped with twenty student work stations. We are willing to tailor our classes to meet the needs of your students. If you would like to emphasize a specific topic, such as finding criticism on poems or short stories, just specify that when making your request. For your convenience, a copy of the request form is available online.
Contact Nevin Mayer, Unit Leader for Bibliographic Instruction, at ext. 3055, with questions about First-Year English Course Instruction.
To continue library instruction at various stages in the student’s course of study, all faculty members are encouraged to bring their classes to the library for instruction on materials and databases that are designed for in-depth subject research. Please contact your department’s library liaison to arrange for instruction. To maximize the value of this instruction, it is preferable to use the Library Electronic Classroom in order to be near the traditional printed materials, should they also need to be examined. To avoid scheduling conflicts and to allow sufficient time for class preparation, it is best to request sessions several weeks in advance.
LIBRARY INSTRUCTION BY APPOINTMENT
To make an appointment for one-on-one library instruction, faculty members and graduate students are encouraged to contact the library liaison assigned to their department. Undergraduates who would benefit from one-on-one instruction are encouraged to stop by or to phone the reference desk (ext. 4234) to arrange for an appointment with a librarian.
University staff members are welcome to contact Marcy Milota, Associate Director, for instruction about using the library or any of its resources. Stop by or call ext. 4259.
Here are some guidelines developed by librarians for creating more effective library-related assignments. The information is based on experiences we have had with helping students. We hope you find these guidelines useful.
Find help with research on the library's web site. Tutorials, library guides, and chat reference are among the online services to assist users.
Drop-in workshops are scheduled throughout the entire academic year for in-depth help on finding periodical full-texts, using Google Scholar, and other requested topics. Sessions are 30 minutes long, followed by an opportunity for hands-on work. The workshops are open to the entire University community. Here is the current schedule.
Crash Course on Copyright, University of Texas Evaluating Web Pages, Widener University, Chester, PA Finding Information on the Internet, University of California, Berkeley Internet Tutorials, University of Albany Seven Steps of the Research Process, Cornell University Library Style Sheets for Citing Internet & Electronic Resources: Humanities (MLA & Chicago), Scientific (APA & CBE), and History (Turabian), University of California, Berkeley Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) Web of Science Tutorial, ISI (Institute for Scientific Information)
"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it."
--Samuel Johnson