Wednesday, September 11, 2013

@ your library




Students making use of the library.

      The semester is now off and rolling! We have been very busy in the library assisting students and helping them locate pertinent information for your assignments and projects. Even before the semester started we were active participants in all of the preparation activity. There was a librarian present at each of the orientations including Tiger Bridge, New Student, Dual Enrollment, Adjunct Faculty, Nursing, and VTEC. 


Lauren McAdams speaking at the Nursing Orientation.
        

      Many of you have made library assignments that have had your students tour the library, use the databases, learn about e-books, reference books, and reserve items. All of these things are great ways to increase information literacy and get your students to apply what you have been presenting in the classroom. But, did you know that there are more options available to you?

      A recent article by Hubbard and Lotts looked at information literacy and how libraries can help with the discovery and significance of primary vs. secondary sources.  The authors had students from a college success course break up into five groups. Each group was given a unique item from the library special collections. Instructions were provided, and then the students were invited to personally examine the object their group had been given. After an appropriate amount of time, each group had to present their object to the rest of the class. Each time this lesson was presented, the cultural significance of each of the objects was not readily apparent to the participants. As a result, more instruction was required of the librarians. The authors stated that with this additional instruction, the provided context of the objects took on more meaning and gave the students an experience to see history come alive.  With particular emphasis on primary sources, Hubbard and Lotts wrote that the active learning that resulted from these lessons gave students the unique opportunity to express thoughts and gain an understanding of the variety of information sources available to them.

      Librarians bring unique experiences and open new avenues to the learning in your classrooms.  Here at BRCC, Magnolia Library can assist you with this. Why not take this opportunity to meet with your subject liaison  to brainstorm and discuss possible lesson plans?  Did you know we feature an archive and three special collections (The Louisiana Collection, the Earle Collection, and the MCRC Collection)? An exercise similar to the one described here could be custom created for you and your class.



Peter Klubek at the Port Allen site.
     

      Work is progressing on the development of library services at each of the former CATC campuses. A librarian will be present at each location at least one day a week. For a complete schedule of hours of operation click here. Please note that at our Mid City campus, hours on Monday and Tuesday have been extended to 9:00 PM.


Peter Klubek addressing nursing students at Westside
    

      Students have met this new service with enthusiasm, and are looking forward to working with the librarians. Durring the introductions students asked a variety of questions, and instructors at these sites were encourged by our visits. Plans are already underway for the librarian at Jackson to visit the class for a bibliographic instruction session that will demonstrate some of the services the library offers.