An assignment can be a formal research paper or project, reserve reading requirement or listening assignment. It can also be informal, such as instructions to a student to look for an image in a book or to check the definition of a word in a dictionary. Assignments work best if they are required as part of a course with a grade or some form of merit attached. Suggesting to students to come to the library to use library materials is less likely to result in a concrete use of library resources. Unless faculty have specific requirements to use library resources, students are more likely to Google information than to make use of library resources.
That said, we also know that some students are curious, and look for information not necessarily attached to an assignment. We are committed to building the collections to support student needs at many levels.
We can help you design research assignments that work better to achieve the learning outcomes you desire. One strategy that is effective is to break a research assignment into manageable chunks for students, e.g. have them hand in and be graded on bibliographies and first drafts of research papers several weeks before the final assignment is due. This enables them to make better use of Interlibrary Loan and College Libraries Research Consultation Services. Faculty can also work with librarians to design better research assignments. Visit our guide on Designing Library Research Assignments. Contact Jessica Ramey (rameyjm@potsdam.edu) if you would like to collaborate on library assignments.
