Developing Library Instruction Classes into a Monthly Habit

Abstract

This presentation describes how an academic health sciences librarian developed library instruction classes into a monthly habit for the faculty, students and staff. Setting/Participants/Resources: The University of Illinois at Chicago, Library of the Health Sciences – Rockford Brief Description: Library instruction is one of the most important services provided by librarians. Traditional hands-on sessions in a computer laboratory is still an effective and common method of teaching. Training sessions on a different online database were offered on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The objective was to instill a habit for learning to the library users by offering classes on the same day every month. A schedule of classes was developed and implemented. The sessions were advertised by displaying flyers and distributing emails throughout the month highlighting the database-of-the-month. Results/Outcome: Offering library instruction classes on a regularly scheduled day each month provided the opportunity to develop a habit of coming into the library to learn a new database every month. Evaluation Method: Attendance was tabulated to determine the success of the sessions.