Instructional librarian Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe has been researching what misconceptions about information literacy students carry with them to college, and investigating what types of pedagogical responses best correct these. In a recent webinar she discussed the challenges of teaching information literacy to first year students, and shared her initial findings. Download the full recording here, and view her presentation slides here.  

The third installment of our Credo in Action webinar series featured two Fresno State librarians, Ray Pun and Vang Vang, discussing new and innovative ways to engage students through gamification, visual literacy, and more. With clear and practical examples, they walked us through how they’ve implemented these various strategies to expand their instruction and outreach services. Here are a few of the highlights; access the full recording and slides to see all 10!

Niketha McKenzie was tasked with creating an instructional platform to ensure Howard University’s incoming freshmen were aware of the library’s resources and services. She and her colleagues Adia Coleman and Kimberly Prosper reached out to faculty and students to assess the main obstacles first year students faced when conducting research, and where faculty wanted to improvement. As part of our Credo In Action webinar series, these librarians agreed to share what they learned, what they’ve created to address these needs, and how students and faculty have responded. Access the full webinar recording here!

The second installment of our Credo In Action webinar series featured librarians Darcy Gervasio and Emily Carlin of SUNY Purchase College discussing how they combat fake news. Watch the webinar recording here, and view the slides here.

When Howard University decided it was time to streamline their First Year Experience program and create an FYE librarian, they tasked Niketha McKenzie with creating an instructional platform to ensure incoming students were aware of the library’s resources and services. Professors asked her to use her one-shots to introduce students to the library’s databases, but McKenzie noticed a fundamental gap in students’ readiness to conduct that level of scholarly research.

Brian Coutts and Rosemary Meszaros of Western Kentucky University recently joined us to explore the role of the librarian as scholar. Brian is this year's winner of the Reference and User Services Association's (RUSA) Isador Mudge Award. View the recording here (plus slides). 

First year success librarians Raymond Pun and Kate Angell recently spoke about innovative ways they’ve found to engage first year students in their respective libraries. To be clear, in Beyond Information Literacy: 10 Ways to Engage with Your First Year Students, they aren’t talking about bypassing information literacy. In fact, many of these programs and ideas work in tandem with ongoing IL initiatives. Here’s a quick sample of some of their tips, or you can watch the full webinar recording.

Librarians Ray Pun and Meggan Houlihan recently presented on best practices and new directions academic libraries can explore when providing orientation and instruction to first year students.

Harvard librarian Cheryl LaGuardia recently stopped by to drop some knowledge on the evolving nature of librarianship in the 21st century. No slides, no frills, just two amazing librarians talking about the nature of change, competition from the resources that deliver easy (if not always reliable) information, and what librarians should be doing to stay relevant in the 21st century. Rosemary Meszaros of Western Kentucky University moderates, adding some of her own pithy observations along the way. Some of their discussion touches on:

It's no secret that retention is one of the driving factors when it comes to success in higher ed today. We know that retention is tied in with how well students perform, and that accurate assessment is instrumental in identifying gaps and cultivating student skills. Next month Credo will host librarians from Mount Saint Mary College as they provide the real world examples and outcomes of how they were able to harness some of the most innovative technology to boost learning outcomes and retention.