Creating Effective Library Assignments 

Library research assignments can offer an effective, hands-on method to introduce and develop students' information literacy skills and, in upper-level courses, familiarize students with the special resources and research tools in a field of study.

Blazing a trail

In the growing jungle of ever-proliferating databases, Web search tools, and competing sources of information, students need guidance. Learning to apply basic search strategies, and evaluative criteria, and developing a knowledge of discipline-specific sources can provide a clear and relatively stable conceptual path through the information foraging process that can serve a lifetime of productive learning. An effective library assignment can offer such guidance. However, library assignments can also do more harm than good, and instead of providing a clear path, produce a vicious cycle of anxiety and confusion.

What kinds of assignments produce this undesirable result? There are a great number of academic library Web sites that offer checklists for designing good library assignments. Many sites also point out notable "red flags," which most academic librarians agree are counterproductive and discourage student learning.

Library assignment red flags

1. The assignment assumes that all students are information literate and have had previous experience doing library research.
2. The assignment takes the form of a scavenger hunt, focusing on finding facts and arcane lists of information, not on judging the quality of the source or comprehending the process involved in finding the information.
3. The assignment requires all students to use the same source or a small number of sources, which often quickly disappear or become damaged.
4. The assignment incorporates sources that the library does not own, or depends on policies and procedures the library cannot support. Sometimes, these are library exercises that are misadapted from a course textbook, and may need only to be better developed to suit the students' local information environment.

Effective library assignment Web sites

The following links lead to a number of checklists for designing quality academic library assignments. All of them advise instructors to involve a librarian as part of the planning process for a new library assignment, or at the very least, to ask a librarian to review the assignment.

For more information, contact your liaison librarian to take advantage of this instructional service at Helmke Library.

Designing an Assignment (University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries)

Offers guidelines for planning assignments,choosing topics, and logistics.

Effective Assignments Using Library and Internet Resources (University of California Berkley Library)

Includes example objectives, alternative designs for assignments, and a note on acceptable use of the Internet.

Designing Effective Library Assignments (University of Washington University Libraries)

A brief summary of do's and don'ts.

Designing Effective Library Assignments (University of Evansville Libraries)

How can assignments include information literacy skills?

Guide to Creating Effective Library Assignments (South Dakota State University Library)

Offers statements on the purpose, implementation, and role of librarians in designing assignments.