The University of St. Thomas

Designing Effective Library Assignments

Designing Effective Library Assignments

Table of Contents

Purpose of library assignments


A library assignment that meets these criteria is an excellent teaching tool, enhances the learning experience, and builds literacy and research skills.

  • An effective library assignment has a specific understood purpose.
  • It relates to some aspect of course content or learning objectives.
  • It leads to increased understanding of the subject through the research process.

Begin by providing the library with copy of your assignment, or better yet, talk with a liaison librarian in you subject area before the assignment. S/he can help you design an assignment that will achieve your course objectives. Schedule a library instruction session so all students get the same information. Your liaison librarian will share information about your assignment with other library staff, so they are prepared to help your students.

Promoting information literacy


Can your students identify, access, and evaluate the information they need to complete their papers and projects? Help your students become information literate by observing these suggestions. The libraries at the University of St. Thomas support the Information Literacy Standards published by the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Characteristics of good assignments

  • Offer a variety of topics that use a variety of resources
  • Demonstrate how research is done in the profession
  • Students must analyze information and draw conclusions (this often needs to be spelled out in the assignment)
  • Have a reasonable timeframe
  • Students use broader skills that can be applied to other topics
  •  Are related to learning objectives of the course

Pitfalls to avoid 

  • Assuming most students already know the basics.  Don't assume that your students have had prior experience in using the library, orientation to the library, or that their orientation was relevant to your assignment.  Also, basic introductory skills may be inadequate for an upper-level, subject-based research assignment.
  • Mob scenes (everybody needs the same source.)  Requiring an entire class to use just one book or journal is stressful for people and may shorten the lifespan of the resource. Instead give your students a variety of topics to choose from. If you cannot avoid using only one topic or resource, please put items on reserve. 
  • Scavenger hunts (busywork and minutiae.)  These may be fun, but they often don't teach real life information literacy skills nor do they teach students how to use the library effectively for future research. Avoid questions that ask for obscure facts. Frequently only librarians, not students, can find the information.
  • Requiring sources that are no longer available. Libraries are constantly changing, new resources arrive, and sometime old ones leave (or change their name). If you've used an assignment before, check the required resources before giving it out again. Use CLICnet to find out if St. Thomas has a particular item.

Applications for graduate students

  • Understand that graduate students may have been out of school for some time, and may need to update their basic skill set to include electronic resources. This may include basic vocabulary (free internet sites vs. an online database from a commercial vendor, for example) as well as search strategies and techniques for specific databases.
  • Graduate students are often very pressed for time; therefore, students appreciate assignments that are relevant to their life experience and career goals. Schedule library instruction time so they all receive the same information from you and from the library on expectations, deadlines, resources, etc.
  • Try to complete the assignment from off campus yourself so you uncover potential problems students will encounter when they are working at home late at night in their pajamas.
  • Don't assume they have a high level of library expertise. Some graduate students may have no prior experience using UST libraries. Even if they have had a previous library orientation, they may not have received information that is relevant to your current assignment.

Role of the librarian 


Librarians can:

  • Help you design an assignment.
  • Test the assignment and determine if resources are available.
  • Develop a research strategy for the assignment.
  • Provide course-related instruction on specific resources and research strategies.
  • Provide individual research consultations for your students.
  • Give feedback about pitfalls or problems encountered after the assignment is finished.

For Blackboard users

If you post assignments in Blackboard, consider adding links to:

If you use the Discussion Board feature in Blackboard, consider adding a subject liaison librarian as a guest in your class to help with research questions that may arise.

Plagiarism and citing sources


Any research assignment raises the possibility of students plagiarizing materials they find or failing to cite correctly.  Plan to spend time instructing your students on how to avoid these violations of ethical scholarship.  Librarians are available to collaborate with you to teach your students about plagiarism, and how to avoid it.

Need some fresh ideas for assignments?


Here are a few links to get you started:

For more information on these services, or to schedule an instruction session, contact Reference staff at O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, (651) 962-5001;  Keffer Library, (651) 962-4664; Ireland Library, (651) 962-5453), or your subject liaison librarian.  Or just ask a librarian.