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You Visit Tour. Perry Library June 1 2017. Photo David B. Hollingsworth

University LibrariesInstructional Support

Library Instruction

Does your class include a research assignment or other library-related learning goal? You can have a librarian visit your class to provide face-to-face, online synchronous, or asynchronous library instruction session during your regular class time. Your librarian will work with you to customize the session to meet your goals. Our classes can take place in our Perry Library classroom, in your classroom, or online.

We also support classes with:

  • Online support and self-directed learning opportunities
  • Assistance with assignment development or mapping assignments to our support materials
  • Ready-assignments that you can adapt to meet the needs of your class
  • Brief class visits (15-30 minutes) to teach "how to's" such as setting up an EndNote account or using Monarch OneSearch

In addition to course-based support, we also:

  • Offer workshops on teaching information literacy and research skills
  • Help to identify resources to integrate into your curriculum
  • Assist you with copyright questions
  • Create course-specific online guides, videos, and tutorials

For our General Eduation Information Literacy program we provide:

  • The Information Literacy Tutorials
  • Assistance with assignment development and mapping assignments to the tutorials and other library resources
  • A "train the trainer" workshop in which we can train your GTAs and faculty in showing their classes how to use library-specific resources to support assignments.
  • An online space for faculty to share assignments and teaching ideas

For more information or to inquire about assistance with your course please contact Lucinda Wittkower at lrush@odu.edu.

Our Policies:

  • Instruction requests should be made at least 2-weeks prior to the requested date
  • Professors should plan to attend and participate in the session.
  • Timing of instruction should be when students are beginning to work on the assignment, or at the ideal time to reach them at the point of need

What to Expect:

  • The librarian assigned to the course will contact you in a timely manner to ask for assignment details and communicate about plans for the session
  • We will follow-up with you after the session with any student assessments and to find out how it can be improved in the future

Online Tutorials

Library Tutorial for New ODU Students

This interactive tutorial, created using Articulate Rise, is designed to introduce new students to the resources and services provided by the ODU Libraries. The tutorial is available via a Canvas Organization titled ODU Libraries' Tutorials for New ODU Students. Please visit our Library Tutorials for New ODU Students page for more information. This tutorial is designed for use by courses that instruct first year students, such as Living Learning and Impact Communities, University Enhancement Courses, and Residence Halls in need of educational activities, and student organizations.

Information Literacy Tutorials

We support the general education information literacy courses by providing online tutorials that map directly to the student learning outcomes for information literacy at ODU. Our Information Literacy Tutorials are created using Articulate Storyline and hosted in a self-enroll Canvas Organization called ODU Libraries Information Literacy Tutorials. Students may enter the space using a Midas ID/password. The tutorials are interactive, with built-in quiz questions. Students will see their results at the end of each tutorial. They will be given a chance to print their quiz results, or save as a screenshot to submit for a grade, if so desired.

Please visit our Information Literacy and Research Tutorials page for more detailed information.

English Composition Tutorials

We support English Composition courses by providing online tutorials that align with course assignments. Our new Argumentative Essay Tutorial is hosted in a self-enrolled Canvas Organization called ODU Libraries Tutorials for English Composition. The tutorial is interactive with built-in quiz questions. Students are given the opportunity to print or save their results to submit to an instructor, if so desired. Please visit our Argumentative Essay Tutorial page for more information.

Research Fundamentals

The Research Fundamentals tutorial and quiz is designed to serve as a refresher or basic introduction to getting started with research. After navigating through the tutorial, students will complete a quiz. After passing the quiz, students can select their professor's name and the professor will receive an email with the student's name in the subject line indicating that they completed the activity. If you would like to add your name to the quiz please email lrush@odu.edu.

Brief Instructional Videos

Visit our YouTube Channel for our One Minute Tips video series and other instructional videos.

Library Instruction Program Objectives

By the end of their first year at ODU, the goals of the Library Instruction Program are for students to recognize that:

  • The Libraries provide several services to support them in their academic endeavors
  • The Libraries provide high-quality information resources to support their course work and research

By the time they graduate, ODU students should be able to:

  • Articulate and contextualize an information need
  • Search strategically in a variety of systems appropriate to the research topic
  • Identify markers of authority recognized by disciplines, professions, and other communities of knowledge and practice
  • Evaluate information in a variety of formats to determine its validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, relevancy, and bias
  • Synthesize information with existing understanding in order to enhance knowledge or to create new works and knowledge
  • Use information legally, ethically, and in a socially responsible way when synthesizing, sharing, and creating information
  • We strive to meet these student learning outcomes in collaboration with our campus partners.


Request Library Instruction Workshop Calendar Course Guides
Students working at library workshop

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