Library Instruction

• Find your librarian to find your librarian and request an instruction session.
• Most librarians need between one to two weeks advanced notice to prepare for an instruction session.
• Provide the librarian with the assignment and/or syllabus so the librarian may create appropriate learning outcomes for the session.
• Your librarian will also want to speak with you about the session to be sure the instruction session outcomes are appropriate.
• Most librarians require that you are present for the instruction session. Please make arrangements with your librarian if this is not possible.

• Your class session will take place in one of our classrooms in the Lower Level of Pius Library – LL6 or LL7; or in the classroom where your class regularly meets.
• Students will need their SLU IDs and passwords to sign in to the library computers.
• Librarians will attempt to incorporate active learning activities into each session depending on the learning outcomes of the session.
• You and your students should expect to be actively engaged in the session.

• Have students watch these tutorials during class or assign points to incentivize their viewing. They will learn about how to use the library catalog as well as SLUth, which will allow them to understand how these two tools can assist their research.
•  Research Guides are web pages created for specific subjects, courses, or assignments. You can work with a librarian to create a customized guide for your course, or direct your students to an existing guide. A popular option is to embed the link into BlackBoard and syllabi.
• Your students can schedule 1:1 personalized research consultations with a librarian in their subject area. Librarians can assist with a variety of needs including, but not limited to, topic development, finding information, and using information ethically.
• The Special Collections Department within the University Libraries integrates medieval manuscripts and rare printed books into class assignments or courses, allowing students learn through direct experience the historical contexts in which information, ideas, and literature were created, read, preserved, disseminated, and transmitted through time. For more information about incorporating Special Collections into your course or to schedule an instruction session, please see their website:

Pius Librarians can help your students:

• Match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools in order to conduct efficient and effective searches
• Use research tools to evaluate the credibility of sources in order to ensure quality resources are used in research activities
• Manage complex research by asking the right questions in order to think and present ideas critically
• Recognize that scholarly conversations take place in various venues in order to responsibly participate in the conversations

• Library classrooms are for library instruction sessions only and cannot be reserved for regular semester-long courses.
• Librarians reserve the right to change, cancel, or refuse instruction sessions.
• The University Libraries have an ongoing relationship with the 1818 Advanced College Credit Program, and will accommodate these high schools as we see fit. High schools not associated with this program cannot be accommodated.
• The School of Education has on going relationships with the Jennings School District, the Grand Center Arts Academy and City Garden Montessori, and the Library will accommodate these schools as we see fit. Other schools will not be accommodated.