Connections and the Library: a Guide for Faculty
- Library
- LibGuides
- Connections and the Library: a Guide for Faculty
- First-Year Students and The Library
Why do we need to introduce students to the library?
Many first-year students have little to no experience with academic libraries (or any library at all!), as evidenced by questions asked by multiple first-year students:
“How do I rent books from the library?” | "What is a reference librarian?" | “How is the library organized and how can I find a certain book by myself?”
“Are we on our own for research or does the library aid us in some way?” | “Is there a directory to go to where you can search books written on a certain subject?”
How librarians partner with Connections faculty
Every Connections course is partnered with a librarian who collaborates with the professor to create library experiences tailored to the needs of the class.
Please visit this page (then scroll down a bit) to see examples of LibGuides created specifically for Connections 1 courses.
Librarians are available to:
- Consult on how best to incorporate library experiences into a course.
- Create library and scholarly communication content tailored to the needs of a course.
- Lead library workshops actively engaging students in discovering, accessing, evaluating, and citing sources.
Introducing first-year students to the library and scholarly communication
Recommended content for customized library workshops:
- Introduction to the F&M Library:
- ​Collections: nature of, physical arrangement, and methods of discovery and access
- Services: Circulation, Research Assistance, EZ Borrow, Interlibrary Loan, Reserves
- Librarians: the role of academic librarians, who they are, how to contact
- ​Collections: nature of, physical arrangement, and methods of discovery and access
- Introduction to scholarly communication/scholarly sources:
- Scholarly communication: from peer review to publication
- Variety of formats: journals, monographs, edited collections, &c.
- Effective searching in catalogs and specialized indexes/databases
- Interpreting bibliographic data and citations
- ​Determining methods of access to desired sources
- Evaluating sources: for quality and relevance to the research need
- Citing sources: how to cite and why citing sources is important
- Scholarly communication: from peer review to publication
Librarian contact
717-358-3844
lisa.stillwell@fandm.edu