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Library Instruction Options for Fall, 2025 FIGs

UO Librarians partner with FIG Seminar instructors to provide library instruction to students during their first year. Library instruction helps first-year students develop information, data, and digital literacy skills as well as self-efficacy and confidence in their ability to succeed in their research. It offers an opportunity to introduce first-year students to the UO Libraries so that they can take advantage of the resources, spaces, and support services that are available to them. There are two primary ways that your students can engage with the UO Libraries this year: 

In-Person Workshops

We encourage you to make time during your class period for an in-person workshop with a librarian. 

• You can partner with a librarian to develop a custom workshop (or workshops) based on learning outcomes that you develop together.
• You can select from our pre-developed workshops designed for first-year students. Some of the workshops can be customized, and some are ready to go without customization.
• If you are not able to make time for a visit, you can recommend that students attend a workshop on their own time. We will be offering several workshops during the Fall term that students can register to attend.

Welcome to UO Libraries: Video and Discussion

In addition to the library workshop, students in all FIG seminars should have access to a brief (7 minute) video called Welcome to UO Libraries. FIG Assistants will be trained to facilitate a 10-minute discussion surrounding the video, which we hope you will make time for in class. The video and discussion should complement but not replace a workshop with a librarian, and the topics covered in our workshops differ significantly from the content covered in the video. A link to the video is available in the FIG Assistant & FIG Faculty Training and Curriculum Planning Canvas Community Course, and we encourage you to assign it to your students and link to it from your Canvas Course.

Have Questions?

If you have questions about library instruction for FIGs, please contact Chloe Barnett, Undergraduate Engagement and Student Success Librarian.  

How to Get Started

Read the workshop descriptions below. Then, fill out the sign-up form below to select one or two options for your class. We will reach out to you to schedule the workshop and discuss next steps. If you have questions about this process, please feel free to contact Chloe Barnett, Undergraduate Engagement and Student Success Librarian.

Workshop Options

Workshop options are described below. You may select to work with a subject librarian to develop a custom workshop, or you may choose one or two pre-developed workshops for your class.  

Work With Your Subject Librarian to Develop a Custom Workshop: 

In the past, FIG faculty have been paired with the subject librarian for their discipline to design a library workshop for students. This is still an option!  If you would like to work with your subject librarian to design one or more workshops based on learning outcomes that you develop together, you may select this on the sign-up form. This custom workshop option is best suited for courses where students are working on a research assignment, either for the FIG seminar or one of its paired courses. The librarian can work with you to design a session that will help your students be successful on that assignment while incorporating information literacy skills.  

Select One or Two Pre-Developed Workshops: 

You may select one or two pre-developed workshops for your course.  If you select a pre-developed workshop, your subject librarian will be notified and may be present for the session. However, it may not be your subject librarian who is teaching the session. All workshop instructors are librarians with expertise in the topic of the workshop and experience working with first-year students.  

Pre-Developed Workshops that a Librarian Will Work with You to Customize

If you select one of these options we will consult with you about how we might customize the session so that it best aligns with the topic, theme, or discipline of your course. 

Explore Your Library

This is more than just a library tour—it's an immersive, hands-on experience that helps students feel at home in the academic heart of campus. Students will engage with library spaces, resources, and support services in the library building best aligned with the topic or theme of your course: Knight Library, the Price Science Commons, or the Design Library. They will book study rooms, find material on course reserve and in the stacks, get a preview of our research consultation services, and meet key people who can support their success. They will even get a behind-the-scenes look at how a library system operates on a university campus.

Research Race

In this workshop, students will work in small groups to complete a series of purposeful tasks using the library website and databases. The activity is structured like an Amazing Race and, as students complete each "leg," they will learn about constructing searches in library databases, accessing sources, using library spaces, and getting research help.

Pre-Developed Workshops with a Few Customizable Elements

If you select one of these options, we can customize some content for your course, but only if you want us to... we also have a version that is just ready-to-go. Some workshops have more options for customization than others. 

Evaluating Online Information

How do you know if sources you find online are trustworthy and credible? In this workshop, students will focus on evaluating online information including scholarly sources as well as popular sources like social media posts, websites, and online news sources. They will work in groups to practice source evaluation using specific examples, applying the S.I.F.T. method and lateral reading, two techniques used by experts to evaluate online information. 

Becoming a Scholar

Students in this workshop will think about the nature of scholarly activity and their own identities as scholars in the university setting. They will examine how scholars pose questions, construct arguments, and respond to previous positions in a developing exchange we call the “scholarly conversation.” What sorts of procedures do scholars follow and why are they important? How are scholarly publications produced, reviewed, and disseminated within academic communities? What different forms does scholarly inquiry take across the academic divisions of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences? In addition to reflecting on these large questions, students will practice finding and evaluating scholarly sources in an area of interest.

Engaging with Technology Tools

In one or more workshops, students will engage with popular platforms for research and communication of the instructor’s choice: UO Blogs (WordPress) or TimelineJS. They will complete activities designed to teach introductory practices for accessibility, writing for the web, and digital storytelling.

Pre-Developed Workshops that We Cannot Customize

These workshops are fully developed and ready to go!

Understanding Generative AI and Its Impact on Research and Writing

This workshop will help students develop foundational AI literacy skills. We will take a close and critical look at Generative AI - exploring what it is, what it does, and how it really works. Students will practice searching for information by prompting AI tools and will compare their results to information they find through Google or a traditional database search. They will also evaluate AI-generated information, including text and images, and will consider some of the ethical issues surrounding AI use. Finally, we will talk about understanding your instructors' expectations surrounding AI use for your courses. 

Engaging with Primary Sources in Special Collections and University Archives

Interested in getting your students to use original historical materials? This hands-on workshop introduces undergraduate students to primary sources—what they are and how to interpret them effectively. Using materials from the University Archives that tells the true story of a UO student’s 1960s legal fight with national implications, students will engage in an interactive activity that builds critical research skills. The session emphasizes strategies for interrogating unfamiliar sources and provides transferable tools that can be applied to research in any discipline. Whether your students are writing a paper, developing a creative project, or just love investigating an archival riddle, this workshop will help them build confidence in using unique, firsthand evidence.

Use More than Just Your Smartphone! How Computers Work

In this workshop, students will be introduced to how computers store and organize information. They will do activities to explore concepts such as files, folders, and cloud storage, developing systems for storing, backing up, and keeping track of their homework and assignments.