Library Instruction

Subject librarians are available for every discipline at WashU and can work with:

• Faculty to integrate research skills and information literacy concepts into their courses.
• Students (both undergraduate and graduate) are to assist with developing research and information literacy skills during their academic careers.

Contact the Subject Librarian who aligns with your subject area directly to schedule a class session, one-on-one research consultations, or other questions related to instruction.

Data Services Staff can assist students, faculty, and staff with research data management, data curation, data literacy, data wrangling, data visualization, and geographic information systems.

Data Services offers one-on-one consultations, research guides, and workshops. Contact Data Services directly for assistance with data.

In-person instruction is traditionally how students are introduced to the Libraries. An in-person session can occur in one of the three instruction classrooms in Olin Library, one of the spaces in the departmental libraries, the special collections classroom, or the faculty member’s classroom.

If you would like your students to come to one of the libraries for an in-person session, please contact the librarian you are working with to schedule a space.

During an in-person session, the librarian can (but is not limited to):

• Demonstrate the use of online resources
• Discuss source evaluation
• Have students complete in-class active learning activities
• Provide homework for students to complete
• Utilize technology (examples: Poll Everywhere, Kahoot) to increase student learning

Instructional Spaces Within WashU Libraries

The Libraries offer several instructional spaces. If you have questions about these spaces or which might be best for in-person instruction for your class, please work with your librarian.

Olin Library Instructional Space

• Instruction Room 1 | Capacity: 16, furniture: movable – individual desks & chairs; equipment: 2 large monitors, laptop, sound system.
• Instruction Room 2 | Capacity: 26; the room can be divided into 2 (capacity side 1: 14, capacity side 2: 12); furniture: stadium seating – not movable; equipment: 2 overhead projectors, laptop, sound system, 26 desktop computers.
• Instruction Room 3 | Capacity: 38; furniture: movable – tables, chairs, individual workstations; equipment: 1 large monitor, laptop, sound system.
• Special Collections Classroom | Instructors must work with one of the special collections curators to utilize this classroom. Please see the Special Collections Instruction & Class Visits section for details on scheduling time in the special collections classroom.

Usage Policies for Olin Library Instruction Rooms 1, 2, and 3

• Instruction Rooms are reserved only by library staff for library programmatic and sponsored activities and are kept locked at all times.
• Instruction rooms are not intended to accommodate university faculty, staff, or student use without course-related or programmatic involvement by librarians or staff.
• Instruction Room 2 is accessible only to Libraries staff.
• Instruction Rooms 1 and 3 are accessible to anyone with a valid WashU ID. As study spaces, Instruction Rooms 1 and 3 are conducive to group study and can also be used by individuals.
• When not reserved by the Libraries, Instruction Rooms 1 and 3 are available on a first-come, first-served basis for studying during all library open hours. The WashU Libraries reserve the right to ask others to leave when the rooms are scheduled/reserved.

Departmental Libraries Instructional Space

Please contact the librarian you are working with at the departmental library to discuss the space(s) available for instruction.

The Danforth Campus departmental library locations include the East Asian Library, Kopolow Business Library, and the Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library. See the Study Rooms page to learn more about the departmental libraries’ study spaces.

Asynchronous instruction can take many forms, including but not limited to creating an asynchronous instruction module, embedding a librarian into a Canvas course, having the librarian create a video, or having the librarian create a Course Guide.

Asynchronous Instruction Module

• Faculty can work with librarians to create an asynchronous module to embed into Canvas courses. The module could introduce the Libraries and their services, or a lesson on a single concept (for example, evaluating sources).
• The best way to use an asynchronous module is as a flipped classroom – where students complete the module before class and then come to class prepared to discuss it.

Embedded Librarian

Faculty can embed a librarian into their Canvas course. To incorporate a librarian into a Canvas course, please contact the School Registrar and tell them to add the librarian(s) with the role “support, no grade book.”

After being added to a Canvas course, the librarian could:

Video Tutorials

• Faculty can work with librarians to utilize videos for asynchronous instruction.
• Videos are a great way to show how to do a particular task.
• Working with a librarian, faculty can determine if a new video should be produced or if a preexisting video will provide the needed instruction.

Course Research Guide

• A course research guide can be developed as another form of asynchronous instruction.
• The course research guide can cover academic content areas, practical topics such as citing sources, and information specific to the course.

Synchronous instruction is similar to an in-person session because it is live, but it usually takes place via Zoom. Those who teach library instruction are available to schedule synchronous sessions.

Just like during an in-person session, in a synchronous session, the librarian can (but is not limited to):

• Demonstrate the use of online resources
• Discuss source evaluation
• Have students complete in-class active learning activities
• Provide homework for students to complete
• Utilize technology (examples: Poll Everywhere, Kahoot) to increase student learning

Formal library instruction occurs in a classroom or online (synchronously/asynchronously). However, library instruction can happen during a one-on-one session with a librarian. Individual instruction can be arranged by:

• Scheduling individual or small group research in-person or Zoom appointments with one of the subject librarians.
  • Most librarians have a research appointment scheduling link; if the librarian you are looking for does not have one, check their research guide profile for contact information.
• Scheduling an individual session with the Data Services staff by completing the Appointment Form or through Zoom with the Data Services staff during Help Desk hours.

Beyond formal library instruction and setting up individual sessions with a librarian, the Libraries hosts many Research and Technology Workshops each semester.

Past sessions, descriptions, and recordings are on the Research & Technology Workshops Research Guide.

The Events Calendar will also list the workshops and other educational programs, such as faculty book talks and special collections curator talks.

• A class session with an introduction or orientation to conducting research with archival and special collections material led by a curator or in collaboration with faculty.
• A class session on primary source literacy working with Special Collections materials led by a curator or in collaboration with faculty. Curators can guide students through the process of examining and interpreting archival materials.
• A curriculum developed in collaboration with faculty, which could span multiple class sessions to allow students to engage more with our unique primary source material from Special Collections.

If faculty are interested in digitization options for a class, please add a note when completing the Special Collections Instruction Request Form. A curator will contact you to discuss options. Please note that these requests are contingent on staff resources and time.

• Cyborgs in History: From Cybernetics to Artificial Intelligence (Collection areas: Manuscripts, Dowd Illustration Research Archive, Local History)
• College Writing I: Writing Identity (Collection areas: Rare Books, Manuscripts, Dowd Illustration Research Archive)
• Typographic Design (Collection areas: Rare Books, Dowd Illustration Research Archive)
• Artists in the Archive (Collection areas: Rare Books, University Archives)
• Children’s Picture Books: Culture and Content (Collection area: Rare Books)
• Campus Novels and Dark Academia: Stories of College Life (Collection area: University Archives)
• Media Archives: Political and Technological Interventions (Collection area: Film & Media Archive)

Our main space is the Mendle Classroom, adjacent to the Special Collections reading room in the John M. Olin Library. It can accommodate seminars, lecture-style presentations, or small groups at multiple study stations. The classroom capacity is 25 students; if your class size is larger, multiple sessions are available.

The Mendle Classroom has the following technology and equipment available for class use:

• Windows PC Computer
• Digital projector
• HDMI and USB ports and cords to connect a laptop

Additional meeting spaces in Olin Library are sometimes used at the discretion of Special Collections staff.

Located in the West Campus Building, the Dowd Illustration Research Archive (DIRA) room can accommodate 15 students to view materials in multiple stations or for a more extensive seminar. If your class size is larger, contact us for options. Classes working with collections from the DIRA will be held at West Campus unless otherwise arranged.