Your Name and Title:
Sarah Naumann, Reference & Instruction Librarian

Library, School, or Organization Name:
ACRL Instruction Section Management & Leadership Committee

Co-Presenter Name(s):
Melissa Gold, Science Librarian

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Oakland, CA and Millersville, PA, United States

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Title: Analyzing Your Instructional Environment: Working Your Way Through Instructional Programming

Target Audience(s): Academic Librarians with interest/responsibility in instructional planning.

Short Session Description (one line):
Learn how to use ACRL’s Analyzing your Instructional Environment workbook to make your instructional planning and program more relevant, student-focused, and integrated into the curriculum.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
In the current academic climate focused on student learning, information literacy instruction is an increasingly important component of many librarian positions. Yet, understanding the various ways in which a unique institutional environment may impact instruction can be a challenge, particularly for librarians new to their instructional role. Analyzing your Instructional Environment: A Workbook, a publication by the Instruction Section of ACRL, can help with this challenge. For example, librarians can use the workbook to better understand how factors such as institutional strategic planning, curriculum changes, and accreditation reviews can positively impact instructional programs. Though the workbook may be of particular interest to instruction coordinators and department heads in academic libraries, it could also be used as a professional development resource for any librarian with interest or responsibility in instructional planning.

This presentation will introduce the components of the workbook, including guidelines for strategic planning, data sources and suggestions for identifying the characteristics of learners, a framework for critically analyzing current library instruction, as well as tips and an easy to follow template for mapping information literacy across the curriculum. Additionally, examples illustrating the use of the workbook will demonstrate its value and flexibility, so participants will be inspired to implement its strategies at their own institutions.

Sarah Naumann is a Reference Librarian at Mills College where she is responsible for instruction and collection development for her five liaison departments. In addition, she co-teaches a semester-long Library Resources Methods class. Sarah is also a part-time Library Instructor, teaching online at CSU East Bay.

Melissa Gold is the Science Librarian at Millersville University, where she is responsible for the instruction, collection development, and liaising related to the five science departments on campus. In addition to these responsibilities, Melissa has become very involved with further development of the library’s instruction program and the assessment of student learning both for the library and the university as a whole. She is currently the chair of the ACRL Instruction Section's Management & Leadership committee.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: None