Student Use of Library Research Guides Following Library Instruction

• Main Author: Mardi Mahaffy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Communications in Information Literacy 2013-01-01
• Series: Communications in Information Literacy
• Online Access: http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/22436

Librarians often provide students who attend one-shot library instruction sessions with research guides they can refer to once class is over. These guides, whether in paper or electronic form, serve to remind the students of key points and resources addressed during the session. It is unclear, though, if and how students refer to these guides once leaving the classroom. This article reports on the results of two focus groups made up of students who attended a basic library instruction session as part of a survey art course. The students shared how they used a paper and electronic research guide, delivered via LibGuides, and what they would like research guides to contain. The article also suggests directions for further research on the topic.