The Library’s serves to enhance student success by supporting the teaching and learning efforts of our faculty colleagues.
At Saint Paul College, librarians are faculty members who take a course-integrated approach to teaching information literacy. Whether it’s face-to-face, synchronous Zoom sessions, or asynchronous D2L lessons, we tailor our instruction to match specific course assignments and the students’ research progress. Our librarians collaborate with instructors to design lessons aligned with the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. We cover various aspects of information literacy, from research strategies to understanding the broader information landscape.
Instruction can include:
Instruction can take any number of different shapes depending on need and interest, and it can be as extensive or selective as you’d like—we can work with your curriculum and available time. That can mean coming to one class period to cover topic selection for a particular assignment, coming to back-to-back classes to help students one-on-one, creating content modules for your asynchronous courses, or almost anything else you have in mind.
To request library instruction in one of your courses, contact Instructional Librarian Hannah Kauffmann. Earlier in the semester is better in terms of planning, but we can make almost anything work with at least one week of lead time.
Librarians offer individual research instruction to students for real-time research tasks outside of class. Students can seek guidance without an appointment in person at the Reference Desk, through online chat or email, or over the phone.
Students have the option to schedule appointments with librarians in person or via Zoom, which is particularly useful for complex research projects or ongoing collaboration with a specific librarian. Generally, students find it more comfortable to visit the Reference Desk after receiving instruction in class, allowing for a seamless transition from classroom learning to personalized assistance.
Any time you're using work created by others, it's good practice to consider copyright and fair use. You may find these guidelines my Minnesota State helpful:
If you have questions about using articles, images, or video in class, a librarian can help! Email us: librarians@saintpaul.edu.
Librarians are able to create class- or assignment-specific Research Guides that put recommended databases and approved resources all in one place. Research Guides are easy to link in D2L and provide students a "home base" for assignment and course research.
Check out some examples here:
There are several ways to integrate our physical collections into your courses: instructors can have students search for books related to their topics, organize assignments around print journals or magazines, or borrow items for class presentations. Librarians can also create course-specific book lists or carts to support assignments. These carts can be brought to your classes for librarian-led workshops or left behind the service desk for easy student access.
Placing items on reserve ensures that essential and recommended course materials are accessible to all students. These reserve items can take various formats, such as books, DVDs, or models. Reserves are extremely popular among students, especially at the start of the term when textbooks might not be available yet. When selecting a textbook, ask your representative for a copy for library reserve — this is a common request that many publishers honor.
Material in the Reserves collection is located behind the Library circulation desk and access is provided to students with a Saint Paul College ID. The collection comprises items provided or selected by faculty.
Faculty can add material to the Reserve collection at any time by emailing Library Technician Henry Shockley.
Open Educational Resources (OER) refer to teaching, learning, and research materials that are intentionally created and licensed to be free for users. These resources can include lectures, assignments, quizzes, textbooks, and more. You have the flexibility to revise, edit, and adopt them either in their entirety or partially. OER is an excellent way to reduce material costs for students.
Please see our OER for Faculty Research Guide for more information on integrating these resources into your curriculum.