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Information Services Earlham Libraries and the Curriculum Most people think of libraries as places to study and as repositories of books, periodicals and other containers of information (such as sound recordings, maps, microforms and CD-ROMs). At Earlham, both Lilly and Wildman libraries also perform vital roles in the College's academic program, providing every student with the intellectual capacities and academic skills to access and use information resources as an independent learner. The library's bibliographic instruction contributes to the College's goal as a liberal arts college that seeks to be a learning community. The library program's goal is to graduate students, who, along with their other qualities as liberally educated people, are capable of accessing and using information resources to inform and support their activities as citizens trying to make a difference in society. The library program is fully integrated into the curriculum and is designed specifically to assist students in doing assignments that are part of their regular courses. The library staff carries out the program using classroom instruction (frequently done in the library), print and online guides, and small group and one-on-one assistance. The program is grounded in a close working relationship between librarians and classroom faculty. While faculty assign individual research projects (sometimes created jointly with librarians), librarians, by working with classroom faculty, are well-informed about course content and faculty expectations. Based on this knowledge as well as their expertise in information resources, librarians provide course integrated instruction focused on students' needs in a specific course. Courses throughout the General Education Program provide students with an introduction to and use of the literatures of the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and their interdisciplinary intersections. Building on these general education experiences, students receive instruction in the use of specialized resources in the courses of their major. Because attention is given to resources that are most appropriate to students' immediate needs, instructional content varies from course to course. Students develop sophisticated skills and expectations for accessing and using a variety of information resources through a variety of course assignments. The program includes instruction in the use of a variety of traditional print reference sources; electronic resources including fulltext journals, books, reference sources and indexes; and Web resources. The program also focuses on search strategies, i.e., orderly processes that maximize retrieval, minimize the time needed and help students develop and define the scope of the topic they are researching. Finally, attention is given to evaluating resources, especially the electronic resources that do not have the attributes of print sources commonly used to assess quality. |
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Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond,
Indiana 47374-4095 |