Policy for Requesting:

Library Information Literacy Instruction

Librarians are experts in teaching information literacy competencies. We partner with disciplinary faculty and instructors to support student learning, building their critical thinking to become information literate. Library information literacy instruction sessions teach classes to locate, evaluate, use, and create information ethically and effectively.

You can expect us to collaborate with you to choose the best timing and content for sessions in order to meet information literacy and course learning outcomes. We will also incorporate active learning and student learning assessment whenever possible. Because Information literacy competencies are developed throughout a student's career at IU Indianapolis, and one visit to the library is not enough, we encourage faculty to integrate research skills throughout the semester and to encourage their students to take advantage of our services. We can work with faculty outside of the instruction session to devise further support.

Guidelines have been developed to provide students with the most effective learning experience. We ask that faculty and instructors do the following:

  • Request in-person or synchronous library instruction sessions at least two weeks in advance. These are not generic presentations or demonstrations; we design interactive sessions that emphasize student learning, and we therefore need sufficient time to prepare. Give as much lead time as possible for hybrid sessions, asynchronous recordings, and learning objects as they often require more time to prepare.
  • Library instruction sessions timed to coincide with an upcoming assignment when at all possible. Students are more likely to be attentive and retain information when they understand how the information relates to a graded assignment.
  • Course assignment connects to, or contains, information literacy learning outcomes.
  • Send the assignment (or details of the assignment) to the faculty librarian at least one week in advance.
  • Make sure to introduce your students to their research assignment prior to the library instruction session. This will ensure your students have the chance to ask you questions. This will also ensure that the library instruction time can be effectively used by the faculty librarian teaching this session.
  • Plan to attend the session. Students are more engaged when the instructor participates in the session.
  • Negotiate additional collaborations beyond instruction (e.g., assignment design, grading assignments) with us.

Limitations

Faculty librarians may decline to teach sessions if necessary. Reasons we may decline include:

  • Instruction requests without sufficient notice.
  • Lack of information literacy learning outcomes for the assignment and/or course.
  • Assignment information not sent in a timely manner.
  • No appropriate timing of the session can be negotiated.
  • The faculty member or instructor cannot attend the session.

Faculty Requesting Librarian Support on their Research, Literature Reviews, and Evidence Syntheses

Librarians have expertise in searching to find relevant literature. We regularly partner with disciplinary faculty and students to instruct them in where and how to search for information on their topic or research question. Sometimes, more intensive collaboration is requested of librarians.

This policy outlines the levels of collaboration librarians may provide to faculty.

Librarians can provide three levels to support faculty with their research, literature reviews and evidence syntheses: (1) basic research consultation service; (2) librarian as facilitator; and (3) librarian as review team member.

(1) Basic Research Consultation Service:

All subject liaison librarians provide Level 1.

Librarians can work with students, faculty, staff, and other researchers on a usually one-time consultation basis to:

  • Help define the research question and advise on the most appropriate type of review for it.
  • Recommend appropriate literature databases for the research topic.
  • Provide guidance on constructing a search strategy for the topic.
  • Provide guidance on using a citation management tool (Zotero, EndNote), and/or using Covidence (varies by librarian) for screening and data extraction.

Consultations with librarians can be scheduled by contacting the subject liaison librarian at https://iu.libguides.com/librarians or scheduling directly via https://iu.libcal.com/appointments/iuindy.

Librarians can also provide instruction for students, staff, and faculty on literature or systematic reviews. This can be for a class, lab, grant, or research group. For more information, see the Policy for Requesting Library Information Literacy Instruction.

(2) Librarians as Facilitator:

Level 2 is provided at the discretion of the subject liaison librarian depending on their availability. This is a researcher-driven level of support, the researchers does the work with librarian support. Faculty are expected to have done some pre-work before reaching out to the librarian (e.g., developing research question, scope of the issue) 

  • Run a preliminary search to find relevant or pre-existing reviews on the research topic. Sometimes this requires the librarian to read the literature to determine relevance.
  • Peer review of a literature review, search strategy, and/or protocol (or revisions to existing searches).
  • Multiple consultations or in-depth email responses.
  • Preliminary guidance on the development of the grant and/or review protocol.

*NOTE: What distinguishes Level 2 from Level 3 is the kind of work. At Level 2, the researcher is doing the search and the work, at Level 3, the librarian is doing the search. More than 2 hours of effort supporting research at level 2 typically results in an acknowledgement in the manuscript and/or grant.

(3) Librarians as Grant/Review Team Member:

Level 3 is provided at the discretion of the subject liaison librarian. Please check with your subject librarian to see if this is a service they provide. 

Librarians can collaborate with researchers as part of the research/review team to provide further support. This level of service qualifies the librarian for co-authorship on the manuscript (in keeping with ICMJE's definition of the role of authors ) or being listed as personnel on a grant (in keeping with NIH guidance on key personnel, other significant contributors (OSC), or consultants ), Librarian services at this level include any combination of the following:

  • Provide guidance on developing and registering a review protocol in PROSPERO or other protocol registries.
  • Collaborate with researchers to determine relevant literature databases and grey literature sources to be used, along with appropriate search parameters.
  • Construct a comprehensive literature search strategy and translate it across multiple literature databases and gray literature sources, as appropriate.
  • Document and report on the literature search methodology in accordance with PRISMA-S Reporting Guidelines .
  • Manage, export, and deliver search results for screening by the review team via Covidence or other determined screening or citation management tool.
  • Save, update, edit, and re-run searches, as appropriate.
  • Identifies another librarian or information specialist to peer-review the primary search strategy according to the PRESS 2015 Guidelines.
  • Provide guidance on reporting the methods in accordance with appropriate reporting guidelines (for example, PRISMA 2020 Guidelines).
  • Writing the methods section of the research article, grant, or other product.
  • Consulting on review methodology as part of the research/grant team, and responding to relevant comments by peer/grant reviewers.

Researcher Expectations:

  • Researchers will contact the librarian as soon as they are aware collaboration with librarians may be needed. Requests close to deadlines (depending on the level of collaboration requested) may not be able to be accommodated.
  • Researchers will discuss with the librarian the level of assistance, applicable deadlines, and other information and keep the librarian updated on the status of the project.
  • Researchers will negotiate with the librarian regarding the inclusion of either an official acknowledgement (Level Two) or co-authorship/grant personnel status (Level Three) on any published works or presentations originating from the review.

This policy was compiled from: Rachel Hinrichs (mailto:rhinrich@iu.edu), Indiana University Indianapolis, University Library, “Systematic Reviews Service Tiers for Public Health & Health Sciences”; Brown University Library, “Health Sciences Literature Reviews,” https://libguides.brown.edu/Reviews; and Indiana University Ruth Lilly Medical Library, “Systematic Reviews and other Evidence Syntheses,” https://iu.libguides.com/EvidenceSynthesis.