About our instruction program

The Miami University Libraries Instruction Program aims to cultivate students’ curiosity and critical thinking to contribute to their success as student scholars and as lifelong learners. Miami University librarians provide in-class instruction, workshops and individual consultations in information literacy and research skills and in the use of library resources.

Our goal is to partner with faculty to help students improve their research skills. We’ll work with you to teach them about the research process, how to be critical users of information and how to participate in scholarship as both consumers and creators of knowledge.

Librarians can also:

  • assist with planning more effective research assignments
  • prepare library resources and information literacy content for Canvas
  • create online Course Guides
  • serve as research liaisons for the students in a course throughout the semester

In person library sessions can be held in library instruction space or in your classroom.

We require at least two weeks lead time on requests for a course or other group instruction session. This is in order to identify the best available librarian for the session, to identify an available instruction space if not the regular classroom, and for the librarian to best prepare for the class.

To schedule a session with a librarian, fill out the Library Instruction Request Form.

Or if you prefer, please contact the Subject Specialist Librarian in your area of study.


Information Literacy

The Miami Libraries Instruction Program is based on The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy.

The Framework provides the following definition of information literacy:

“Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.”

The Libraries uses the Framework as a pedagogical foundation to collaborate with academic departments and other campus units in the teaching of information literacy research skills.The following six frames serve as the foundation for the University Libraries information literacy program, they are in alphabetical order and do not suggest a linear progression.


Subject and Course Guides

Online research guides, created in collaboration between faculty members and librarians, collect a variety of subject or assignment-specific resources in one place.

Guides may be customized to include how to use the library to conduct research, as well as links to discipline-specific databases and websites, multimedia tutorials, citation help, and other support tools. Please contact a Subject Expert if you’d like a research or course guide created for your course.