Library Instruction -- See Guidelines for Scheduling Library Instruction

One of the major goals of Bluefield College is to produce graduates who are information literate.  The library staff strives to assist you on your pathway to information literacy in order to become a lifelong learner.  A person who is information literate is able to :

• recognize the need for information

• find information efficiently

• evaluate information critically, and

• use information effectively

An  online Information Literacy Tutorial is provided for faculty, staff, and students.  It can be accessed through Blackboard. Every BC student and every faculty member is enrolled in a Blackboard course called Library Instruction. Within that course, you'll find tutorials and research helps as well as any library tests or assignments you might have assigned.

First Year Students
Library instruction is provided for all freshmen and transfer students as part of their Freshmen Seminar course. Students are (1) given a tour of the library to learn the location and function of essential areas of the library,(2) are given hands-on experience in using library facilities and services (including the library home page and online catalog), (3) are asked to complete a “Library Skills Survey” to access their library knowledge.

During second semester of the freshman year (usually used with Eng.1023), students learn how to:

1. Locate and check out library materials.
2. Understand that materials not owned by the library can be obtained from    other sources.
3. Focus and articulate their information need and identify key concepts of their topic.
4. Use key concepts to find resources on a topic by using the online catalog, print and non-print periodical indexes and other resources as needed.
5. Locate and interpret bibliographic citations from the search results and locate the materials cited.
6. Evaluate the information retrieved, discerning the strengths, limitations and usefulness in relation to the topic.
7. Incorporate retrieved information into a research project.

Upper Level Instruction
The Reference/Collection Development Librarian serves as a liaison to the academic departments.  In this role the librarian, in collaboration with faculty members, teaches students how to conduct library research in their majors.  Faculty members are encouraged to contact the liaison to schedule library instruction sessions.

Types of Instruction
Instruction is offered in formal group or class sessions (arranged by the classroom faculty member) and in  individual sessions (scheduled appointment or point-of-use instruction) by the reference librarian on duty.  See Guidelines for Scheduling Library Instruction, above.