Intro to Library Research (09-130) not offered Fall 2009

Introduction to Library Research (09-130) will not be offered Fall 2009 or Spring 2010. Instead, librarians will be developing learning modules with an assessment piece which may be adopted by faculty for use in their upper and lower level courses.

Faculty who are interested in using and/or developing information literacy learning modules for their courses are encouraged to contact one of the librarians who will be working on this project for more information:

Linda Neyer, Health Sciences/Science Librarian, x4801, lneyer@bloomu.edu
Michael Coffta, Business Librarian, x4124, mcoffta@bloomu.edu
Darla Bressler, Education Librarian, x4656, dbressle@bloomu.edu
David Magolis, Social Sciences Librarian, x4921, dmagolis@bloomu.edu
Katie Yelinek, Gov’t Documents, x4228, kyelinek@bloomu.edu

Following is a list of topics that have been taught in the 1-credit “Intro to Library Research” in the past:

1. Library Research and Academic Integrity
   Introduction – Value of library research
   Academic Integrity - Bloomsburg University's Academic Integrity Policy
2. Introduction to media and formats (including print and electronic)
   Periodicals (scholarly, popular, trade, newspapers, other)
   Primary vs. secondary sources
   Evaluating sources
3. Topic Formation
   Selecting a topic
   Narrowing a topic
   Writing a thesis statement
4. Search Strategies
   Controlled vocabulary vs. natural language
   Using natural language
   Using Boolean operators
   Truncation and wildcards
5. Online Catalog Searching
   Library Collections
   Using the Andruss Library catalog
   Finding Course Reserve materials
   Setting search limits
   Printing, saving, and emailing search results
   Other catalogs
6. Database Searching
   What is a database?
   Searching the ‘Periodical Title List’
   Research databases (interdisciplinary vs. discipline-specific)
   Discipline-specific modules (identifying and using essential databases, print sources, and Web sites)
7. Citation Guides
   Citing sources - general information
   Reading a citation
   APA Style
   MLA Style
   Using bibliographic management software, e.g., RefWorks
8. Evaluating Internet Sites
   Criteria for evaluating Web sites
   Conspicuous bias
   Authoritative collections of Web sites
   Using site maps and other navigation tools
9. Assessment:
   Quizzes for each learning unit
   15-item annotated bibliography researching a pre-approved topic