Guidelines for Assignment-Based Classes

The reference faculty of Hofstra University Library offer customized library classes to help prepare students for specific research assignments. These classes may be requested by any Hofstra faculty member. The library faculty member will develop a library class, in collaboration with the classroom faculty member, that addresses the specific skills and resources the students will need to complete their assignment.

The assignment-based instruction program is informed by the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm). In addition, our goals for each assignment-based class (ABC) include:

• To teach principles of topic selection and forming a thesis statement or research question;
• To make students aware of where to locate information in their subject area;
• To teach basic searching techniques for both the library catalog and the research databases;
• To teach the criteria for evaluating information sources for appropriateness and reliability
• To help students understand the principles and rationale behind the academic practice of documenting sources.

A Hofstra faculty member may use any of the following methods to request an ABC:

• Electronic submission of the Library Instruction Request Form
• Contact Library Assistant Diane McPartland at 463-5966
• Contact the Reference Desk at 463-5962

The library faculty member who will teach the class will contact you, using your preferred contact method, to discuss goals and plans for the session. In order to ensure an effective session, please observe the following procedures:

• Requests for library instruction should be made at least 14 days in advance, in order to allow the library faculty member sufficient time to prepare the class.
• Please provide the library faculty member the assignment around which the library class is to be structured as soon as possible.
• Please attend the library class, both to encourage student attentiveness and to be aware of the material covered.

Non-scheduling questions?

Contact:

Professor Deborah Dolan
Assistant Dean and Chair for Reference Services & Collection Development
Hofstra University Library
(516) 463-4910