The campus Library & Information Literacy Instruction Program collaborates with faculty, instructional staff, and campus administrators to pursue its primary mission: To make information literacy integral to the SJSU experience through curriculum-focused instruction, provision of instructional materials, and faculty-librarian cooperation. We work with you to ensure that students in on-campus, hybrid and distance courses and programs develop the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that they need in order to become efficient, effective users and producers of information. This essential set of abilities will not only give students some of the critical tools necessary for success in their academic careers at the university, but also help them prepare for a lifetime of learning.

What We Do

Library instruction at SJSU Library consists of an integrated program of:

• Subject Guides (LibGuides) for SJSU Departments and courses
• short screencast tutorials for on-demand learning of search and retrieval procedures, critical thinking, plagiarism and problem-solving
• longer tutorials on basic library use and plagiarism, often assigned for credit
• instructional sessions associated with specific course objectives in the Library’s teaching labs, embedded in campus learning management systems, or through platforms such as Elluminate
• drop-in database workshops throughout the academic year
• student learning assessment and reporting
• individual instructional consultations

How We Can Work With You

Information literacy instruction is most effective when it is fully integrated into the goals of your class.

• We can help you design an effective research assignment that introduces your students to the most useful, logistically feasible resources. See also our Assignment Calculator.
• We can help you determine the most appropriate type of library instruction from our array of approaches and based on your students’ needs.
• You can schedule library instruction to coincide with the time when students are working on their research assignments and are most motivated to learn.
• We usually provide instruction in our library teaching labs, but we can and will come to your classroom.
• We know the information resources, but you know your students. We need your presence and involvement in the planning and teaching of a library session to ensure that your students will be actively engaged.
• With your help, we can stay in touch with your students to provide follow-up assistance after the library session through e-mail and individual consultations.

How We Do It

The following goals guide the design of all instruction developed for our program:

• Produce SJSU graduates who possess the information literacy and lifelong learning skills necessary to career success and democratic citizenship.
• Accommodate the different learning and teaching styles inherent in an academic setting.
• Provide sequential learning experiences that accommodate traditional, non-traditional and transfer students.
• Establish information literacy as a curricular priority on campus and within academic departments.

How to Get Started

Effective library instruction takes time to prepare and is in demand. To ensure that your students will get the instruction they need when they need it, please contact us as far in advance as possible.

• Schedule a Library & Information Literacy Instruction Session
• Schedule Library Tour

For more information about the campus Library & Information Literacy Instruction Program or the instruction program in individual campus libraries, please contact the program