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Our Instruction Philosophy

Teaching learners to think critically.

The Claremont Colleges Library demonstrates its commitment to empowering confident, critical, and creative information users and producers through the promotion of information literacy – the ability to locate, evaluate, use, and produce information effectively by working in partnership with teaching faculty, departments, and programs in all seven Claremont Colleges.

Our teaching librarians are committed to helping students develop critical research Habits of Mind by being learner-centered and incorporating a variety of pedagogical approaches including guidelines for primary source literacy and various active-learning techniques.

Well-timed library instruction integrated into the curriculum provides learners the opportunity to use information skills in relevant and impactful ways. We strive to provide learning opportunities at the most effective points in a student’s educational career, where our librarians’ expertise can have the greatest impact on student success.

Guidelines for Productive Collaborations

As educational partners, teaching librarians customize each instruction session to the specific needs and culture of your class and students.

Librarians, just like faculty, need time to plan and prepare their lessons. The most impactful lessons are those that are based around an upcoming assignment or cumulative project which will mean that collaboration and communication with the requesting faculty member is crucial.

Please submit your instruction request no later than 2 weeks before the date you’d like the session to occur. Please note that requests after the two-week mark will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Impactful information literacy learning is often difficult to achieve in under 30 minutes, so we ask that you allow for 75 minutes for in-person and synchronous online sessions.

We invite faculty to welcome or introduce the librarian and make general announcements before the session begins and to participate and partner with the librarian throughout. Teaching librarians set aside 60 minutes for instruction and add an additional 15 minutes to allow enough time for students to ask questions throughout or at the end of the session.

Since our instruction is tailored to each individual course and assignment, we will need information about your class to help us determine the best instruction approach.

We ask that you inform us of the primary learning outcomes you wish your students to achieve and to share your syllabus and/or primary assignment (even if they are not finalized). This will allow the instruction librarian to prepare a meaningful session that will assist your students in successfully fulfilling the components of their assignment or learning objectives.

We want to know what works best for your learners! We may ask you about the culture of your classroom, such as do you often have group activities? Discussions? Opportunities for individual or written reflection? Do any students in your class have any needs that require accommodation?

All of these insights help us to effectively prepare active learning activities to facilitate understanding.

The library requests that faculty attend any requested instruction session along with their students. Students who have their instructor present are more engaged and have a more meaningful time in a library session.

Being present will give you the opportunity to answer questions that may come up about assignments, learning objectives, or deadlines and help troubleshoot any needs such as pivoting to going hybrid or online. You may also benefit from learning about information literacy alongside your students and may gain knowledge about the library!

Whether you choose online or in-person instruction, help the librarian connect with your students throughout the semester! You can do this by adding the librarian to your Sakai/Canvas course using the librarian role. This allows your teaching librarian to introduce themselves in a discussion forum, answer questions, upload useful materials, link to library resources and more!

To do this, send an email to your Campus IT and cc your teaching librarian. In the email, include your class prefix and name, then ask to have your teaching librarian added using the librarian role. Your IT representative will use the librarian’s email to add them to the classroom.

Do you just want your students to know more about how to use the library? Share the New to Using the Library page with them in your online classroom at the start of the semester.

Modes of Instruction Available

In-Person, Online & Hybrid

Librarians are available to provide in-person instruction and may work with a variety of active-learning approaches. Choosing an in-person library session means that your class will either come to the library or the librarian may come to your classroom.

We encourage faculty to bring their students to the Library as we have specialized classrooms that help to facilitate an engaging and successful learning experience. It also allows you and your students to experience being in and using the Library spaces. Because we need to reserve teaching spaces, it is important that you submit your instruction request no later than 2 weeks ahead of time so that they may secure a space.

Teaching librarians may utilize a variety of approaches, such as paper worksheets, interactive Google forms/documents, whiteboarding, polls, collaborative group work, think+pair+share, discussion, examination of primary materials, interactive tutorials, video tutorials, and more.

Librarians are available to provide synchronous online instruction and may work with a variety of active-learning approaches. Choosing a synchronous online library session means that the librarian will either visit your Zoom classroom, or students will come to the librarian’s Zoom classroom.

Teaching librarians may utilize PDF handouts, Miro maps, padlet, polls, collaborative group work, think+pair+share, discussion, examination of primary materials through online exhibits, examination of scholarly materials using hypothesis, padlet, interactive tutorials, video tutorials, and more.

Librarians are available to provide asynchronous online instruction and may work with a variety of active-learning approaches. Choosing an asynchronous online library session means that the librarian may collaborate with you directly with you and/or your students through your online classroom, via Slack, email, or research appointments.

Some examples of asynchronous instruction includes, collaborating with you in identifying and selecting reading assignments, posting video tutorials or interactive tutorials during specific modules/weeks to your online classroom, facilitate search assignments with discussion, or the creation of an online exhibit or assignment.

Choosing a hybrid library session means that the class may meet both online and in-person, synchronously. Using this mode of instruction can be complex, so teaching librarians may need extra planning time to adapt their lessons to incorporate active-learning that may translate across in-person and online students.

As the library classrooms have specialized video and audio equipment, we recommend that any hybrid session requested be held at the library.

Teaching librarians may utilize PDF handouts, Miro maps, padlet, polls, collaborative group work, think+pair+share, discussion, examination of primary materials through online exhibits, examination of scholarly materials using hypothesis, padlet, interactive tutorials, video tutorials, and more.

Information Literacy Topics

Librarians are available to partner with faculty and staff to facilitate information literacy learning.

Our teaching librarians are learner-centered, incorporating a variety of pedagogical approaches and techniques which are built around The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) information literacy framework. Information Literacy is defined by the ACRL as,

“…the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.”

This framework functions as an interconnected collection of core information literacy concepts that are geared toward higher education learners. Use the information below to explore these core concepts and potential learning outcomes.

Authority of information depends on where a source comes from, information need, and how the information will be used. It is both constructed and contextual. Authority should be viewed with an attitude of informed skepticism and an openness to new perspectives, additional voices, and changes in schools of thought.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Identify markers of authority recognized by disciplines, professions, and other communities of knowledge and practice
  • Debate the ways privilege influences perception of authority
  • Acknowledge that they themselves may be seen as an authority in particular contexts
  • Identify authoritative information sources based on information need

Information can be encountered in different formats, which has an impact on how it is used and shared. It refers to looking to the underlying processes of creation and the final product to critically evaluate the usefulness of the information.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Distinguish between format and method of access, understanding that these are separate entities
  • Articulate the capabilities and constraints of various processes of information creation
  • Recognize that similar content may be presented in different formats, which may affect interpretation of the content
  • Select a source that best meets an information need based on the audience, context, and purpose of various formats

Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. The flow of information through systems of production and dissemination is affected by legal, sociopolitical, and economic interests.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Identify publication practices and their related implications for how information is accessed and valued
  • Recognize that intellectual property is a legal concept that is socially constructed according to different professions or other communities
  • Give credit to the original ideas of others through attribution and/or formal conventions
  • Manage personal and academic information online with an understanding of the commodification of that information

Research as inquiry refers to an understanding that research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers prompt additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Formulate questions for research of an appropriate scope, based on information gaps or by reexamining existing information
  • Select research methodology(ies) based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry
  • Evaluate information from a variety of perspectives in order to shape their own knowledge base
  • Demonstrate persistence, adaptability, and reflection as components of inquiry
  • Organize information systematically in order to reflect on inquiry

Scholarship as conversation refers to the idea of sustained discourses within communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals, with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of competing perspectives and interpretations.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Contribute to the scholarly conversation by becoming a creator or critic
  • Identify the contribution that particular information sources make within an ongoing conversation
  • Describe the way that systems privilege some perspectives and present barriers to others

Encompassing inquiry, discovery, and flexibility, searching identifies both possible relevant sources and how to access those sources. Searching is a contextualized, complex experience that affects, and is affected by, the cognitive, affective, and social dimensions of the searcher.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Design searches strategically, considering and selecting systems to search and evaluate search results
  • Identify how information systems are organized in order to access relevant information
  • Reflect on the search process in order to refine searches and persist in the face of challenges
Directions to the Library Classrooms

Before arriving, please review the Library’s Building & Safety Protocols.

The Library has two entrances:

  • The South Entrance is located at the corner of N Dartmouth Ave and N College Way, and leads into the first floor of the Honnold side of the building. This is the entrance that leads to the Main Services Desk, Connection, and the Huntley Bookstore.
  • The North Entrance is located at the corner of N Dartmouth Ave and E 10th Street, and leads into the 2nd floor of the Honnold side of the building.

Classrooms are located on floors 2 and floors 3 in both the Honnold and Mudd sides of the building.

Request Instruction

Librarians are available to each sessions for First Year courses and subject specific courses on information literacy, scholarly communication, primary source literacy, Special Collections, GIS, and Digital Scholarship topics.

To learn more about these instruction offerings and to get started, visit Request Instruction.

Need more help? Contact us with your questions.