University of Arizona Libraries' Instruction Program

The University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) apply a programmatic approach to our instruction by using shared learning goals, scaffolding in our instructional design, and curriculum maps for planning and assessment. With limited resources to serve an expanding campus, moving away from one-shot instruction and focusing our efforts on collaboration with faculty and staff will allow us to be the most effective in our instructional work. Our library now follows a liaison model, and so we are revising and adapting our program to fit our re-organization.

We have determined that the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education is appropriate for our use and have adapted it to meet our local campus needs. Its use will vary by discipline and program, but it will serve as a starting point for plotting out our Foundational Experiences program efforts and designing appropriate scaffolding in the disciplines.

Through greater oversight of the curriculum and by looking at the bigger picture, we can avoid having students face repeated exposure of the same material. Our programmatic approach will be targeted and scaffolded to speak to students at the level appropriate for their movement through the university. Librarians are still experts in information literacy, and as educators we are implementing instruction through a different method that will continue our collaborative relationships with faculty as we design, assess, and improve our instruction program. On that note, content in this guide may change as we continue to assess and improve.

Full list of UAL liaison librarians

• Information literacy, multi- and cross-disciplinary, is critical to student success and lifelong learning
• Teaching the research process is complex and involves collaboration with instructors or other campus partners through sustained, integrated, and programmatic approaches 
• We will provide learning opportunities at the most effective points in a student’s educational career, where our librarians’ time and expertise can have the greatest impact  
• We strive to provide opportunities for students to engage in transfer of learning through our collaboration with campus partners 
• Because knowledge is contextual and socially constructed, impacting the idea of neutrality that libraries are associated with, we encourage deeper examination of the research process and asking difficult questions 
• We strive to be inclusive in our instruction, taking into account differences of all types and also being aware of intersectional diversity 
• Students have the right to transparency in their learning, and librarians will use their expertise to teach as guides rather than gatekeepers 
• Teaching within the affective domain (emotions, values, and attitudes) has importance alongside skills, knowledge, and abilities within information literacy 
• Because technology can erase as well as create barriers, we will be informed and selective about what technology we use and will avoid an “educational technology as solutionism” mindset 
• We teach what we value, not only value what we teach, and are focused on the greatest benefit to students and campus through information literacy