Library faculty are available to do workshops or class presentations on how to use resources required or recommended for a course (PubMed, UpToDate, Cochrane Collection, Exam Master) as well as medical informatics and evidence-based medicine.
If you want to learn the details of using any of our resources, or even the Microsoft Office suite, let us know, and if others are interested we can do a workshop, otherwise we’ll work with you individually.
You can see the recorded versions of Library Workshops for Faculty
Interactive library sessions offer guidance and hands-on experience to students as they move through the various stages of their research.
Library instruction can take a variety of forms, depending on a class's learning needs.
- Short class session:
Sometimes students benefit from a brief explanation of a concept or task (e.g., plagiarism, citation, using interlibrary loan). In such cases a librarian can offer a short presentation or discussion on the given topic (10+ minutes).
- Regular class sessions:
Usually range from 50-75 minutes and focus on a specific task or topic.
- Research Guide Development:
Guides can be created for a particular course, discipline, or topic.
- Embedded librarian instruction:
An embedded librarian works with a class throughout the semester and during various stages of the research process. This is an effective way to take research to the next level, as students focus in more depth on the complexities of research.
The librarian’s specific role and activities are determined by both the professor and the librarian. Possible forms of librarian involvement include:
- Collaborative assignment design (with the instructor)
- A librarian online presence through Canvas
- Multiple instruction sessions (each which builds on earlier classes; instruction can range from 10 minutes to the entire class time)
- Class visits/"check-ins"
- Research Assignment Development:
Designing research assignments that at once provide students with clear guidelines and challenge them to apply critical thinking is not a simple task. The Librarians can discuss your research assignments with you and explore how the assignment design can foster optimal learning.
Common general topics include:
- General search strategies
- Database and catalog searching
- Internet searching and online resources
- Stages of the research process (e.g., narrowing a topic, integrating sources into a paper)
- Source evaluation (including but not limited to websites)
More specific topics include:
- Selecting and narrowing a topic
- Locating and evaluating sources in terms of relevance and credibility
- Understanding controlled vocabulary vs. natural language
- Finding materials outside Touro University Library
