This afternoon I observed a library instruction class held by Greg, from the Special Collections and Archives department. This class was very different than the social work class that I observed with Robin, and it was good to see the variety in subject matter and teaching styles.

     Greg was teaching students from a core history class how to locate resources online, how to request materials from other area research centers, and how to find primary sources in digital formats. He, like Robin, did things to engage the students - including asking questions, having students follow along on their computers, and using visual aids.

     In showing students how to find primary sources online, Greg showed them how to sue Google. I think this is important in teaching information literacy. Students today are going to use Google no matter what, so I think librarians should show them how to get the best scholarly results from it for their college assignments.

     In the second part of class, Greg took us up to the archive for a tour and a hands-on activity with some of the archives collections. It was great - now those students are familiar with how to use the archives, so they're more likely to do so. It was fun to see how excited the students were when they got the opportunity to dig in to those collections. I heard one woman say something about this being her dream job - she's probably a good candidate for library school!

    I also worked on my research on library assessment tools. I'm learning that there are a lot of options out there, and that there's no one universally-agreed on assessment method. I'm also familiarizing myself with the background and reasoning behind assessing reference services. jill thought it would be a good idea to present my findings at a staff meeting after my research is complete. This research also dovetails nicely with my Academic Library class, where I've chosen to write my midterm paper on library assessment methods.