Library Instruction Services: Instruction Menu

Basic library tours cover spaces and highlight key services and resources. They typically run toward the start of the semester or upon request.

At the beginning of each semester, an instruction librarian can schedule a visit to your classroom to introduce themselves to your students and provide a brief overview of our library services.

Students will receive a comprehensive overview of Reed Library's services and resources, which can include an introduction to the ReedSearch catalog. Scavenger hunts, locating physical books in the stacks, and other active learning activities will be incorporated.

This session will introduce students to AI-powered research tools designed to streamline research processes, including systematic reviews, data visualization, generative summaries, and more.

Hands-on, Show-and-Tell-style active learning session that provides an introduction to archival materials and/or historical and fine books. Can be subject/discipline specific.

This workshop is relevant for students creating any type of public-facing multimodal project. Students will be able to articulate the purpose and function of U.S. copyright, identify the permissions given by various Creative Commons licenses, as well as find and properly attribute openly licensed material appropriate to incorporate into their projects.

This session will help equip your students with the skills to identify and combat disinformation and misinformation, as well as critically analyze online information using the SIFT method. This workshop includes interactive activities to help students evaluate various sources effectively. Ideal for students from various disciplines.

This session focuses on the design principles and techniques for creating effective infographics and poster presentations. Students will learn how to visually communicate information, organize content, and engage their audience through compelling visual design.

This workshop will provide your students with a foundational understanding of Generative AI. This session places a strong emphasis on ethical considerations, including data privacy, academic integrity, limitations, and appropriate usage. We also guide students in crafting effective prompts for generative AI projects. By selecting this session, you empower your students with the knowledge and ethical guidance needed to engage responsibly and effectively with this cutting-edge technology.

Many students often find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of research papers when preparing for their literature reviews. This workshop aims to help students overcome this challenge. Students will gain a better understanding of the purpose of literature reviews and how they function. They'll learn efficient techniques to manage, summarize, and critically assess authors' works, ensuring their own distinct perspective shines through in their literature reviews.

Learn about historical cursive handwriting styles and how to interpret cursive handwriting. Includes practice activity.

This comprehensive workshop covers a range of crucial skills, including general studying tips, effective time management, active learning strategies, reading academic articles, making the most of library resources, and leveraging campus support services. By choosing this session, you're equipping your students with a holistic approach to success in their academic journey.

Enhance your students' research and citation skills with Zotero. This hands-on workshop guides them through this powerful reference management tool, simplifying the process of organizing sources and creating citations.

Customized to your course assignments, our information literacy instruction sessions are designed to empower your students with the essential skills required for effectively navigating library databases, conducting advanced searches, and efficiently locating and evaluating sources. Based on student responses from our instruction exit reflection surveys, many express feeling more confident and comfortable when tackling their research assignments after attending these assignment-specific instruction sessions.

Students will learn the crucial skill of reading scholarly materials, from research journal articles to academic books, setting the stage for academic excellence. Techniques needed to read and comprehend scholarly sources effectively will help ensure students can derive valuable insights from their references to deepen their subject understanding.

Whether you've assigned annotated bibliographies as coursework or want to introduce this vital research and writing skill, our session will guide students in using annotated bibliographies for organization and synthesis. They'll learn to summarize sources effectively and assess their relevance.

Learn how to research with widely accessible digitized primary source materials. Can be subject or discipline/specific.

Learn how to identify and analyze primary sources across disciplines, and distinguish them from secondary sources. You’ll also learn how to properly cite them in your research.

Learn the basics of requesting, handling, utilizing, and citing primary source materials, how to interpret a finding aid, and how research in Special Collections & Archives happens

Research is an iterative process. Students will delve into the fundamentals of the research process, including topic selection, preliminary research, narrowing a topic, developing keywords, basic search strategies, evaluating sources, and synthesis.

Librarians are here to provide expert support in refining research questions, organizing findings, and more for your students' capstone research projects. Additionally, we can allocate time for on-demand librarian research assistance during class time as needed.

Students will gain first-hand experience generating citations in the style of their field. Possible citation styles include APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Students will learn tips and tricks for effectively searching subject-specific library databases with advanced search techniques and filters to find scholarly articles and other academic resources.

Students will be able to interpret and utilize various repertoire lists, such as traditional bibliographies, online repertoire databases, and/or the NYSSMA Manual. Students will also learn how to search the Reed Library catalog (ReedSearch) and retrieve print materials based on a given call number.

Learn to use primary source materials, interpret them using a multisensory approach, and build connections between primary and secondary sources in your research.

Reed Library has a subscription to Credo InfoLit Modules. The InfoLit Modules provide high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials on information literacy and critical thinking skills. They are ideal for supplementing and supporting classroom instruction, online teaching, or student remediation needs.

Modules consist of videos, tutorials, and quizzes and can be integrated into your FREDLearn course, or linked to directly (students are authenticated through the library proxy). Each lesson also includes a list of Student Learning Outcomes. Learn more.

In addition to our library research guides, an instruction librarian can develop custom course guides that dive into specialized topics with curated content and easy access to library resources.

Reed Library, in collaboration with the Office of Online Learning, is in the process of developing a collection of digital badges that students can earn in FREDLearn. Designed to enrich and empower our students, faculty members are welcome to assign these to their students. Those students who have previously earned a badge can easily provide evidence of their achievement.

These self-guided library scavenger hunts encourage your students to familiarize themselves with library spaces, collections, and services.

In addition to our access to the New York Times online, we also provide access to the New York Times inEducation. This resource helps both educators and students make the most of NYTimes.com’s digital 24/7 content. New content and teaching resources are added to this site on a weekly basis by Faculty Contributors from a variety of institutions.

Niche Academy tutorials cover a range of topics including databases, citations, and more! 

Reed Library has many resources and services available to assist students in locating articles, books, and other resources. Librarians can provide guidance and support to help you succeed. You can book a research appointment with a librarian or utilize our 24/7 chat service.