Useful Resources for Training and Student Inductions.

International Students

Study Uk – British Council resource 

Complete Guide for International Students on Going to University in the Uk
Covers the application process, course choice, and moving to the Uk in the time of Covid. Consider how covid 19 has effected young people by exploring the links on this page.

 Recommended Information/ literacy skills tutorials

University of Newcastle, Australia
The InfoSkills information literacy and academic integrity tutorial has 5 modules.

1      Planning for research (List strategies for getting started )

2      Finding Information (Use Library catalogues to find resources, select Library databases to find journal articles, Identify effective search techniques, describe the characteristics of Internet search engines)

3      Evaluating Information

4      Writing and Plagiarism (Identify strategies for good academic practice in writing, e.g. note taking, acknowledging sources, techniques for managing and compiling reference lists and bibliographies.)

5      Using information ethically (Use information appropriately without breaching copyright, censorship and freedom of speech issues, use of inclusive language).

University of Leeds, United Kingdom
The general skills section has some useful links relating to academic reading and note taking skills. http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills-readingThere is also a maths section The researchers section  has sections on planning your research, finding and managing information, publication and impact.

The Final Chapter: the undergraduate research project guide  is designed to help with final-year research projects. Topics covered include “planning and preparing your project”, “doing a literature review” and “critical thinking and evaluation”. The resource contains videos of Leeds staff and students talking about final-year projects, including their top tips for success.

Open University
The Open University Information Literacy Unit has developed a mass of excellent materials  Being Digital  has a self assessment checklist

They also produce the Information Skills for Researchers To support OU postgraduate students. Includes sections with advice on literature searching, writing and referencing.

Writing Resources.
 A series of resources from the Royal Literary fund. They include Essay Writing: a Guide for Undergraduates a comprehensive guide to essay writing, written for students by Dr David Kennedy. Topics covered include understanding the question, literature searching and drafting essays.Mission Possible: the Study Skills Pack is a range of study skills materials developed for students, tutors and teachers by Mario Petrucci. Includes basic study skills techniques, presentation skills, writing skills. Writing Dissertations: a Guide for Graduates gives support and guidance on the process of writing a dissertation or thesis. It was developed by Andrew Ward and Peter Wood. Covers literature reviews, revising editing. Also section  for students where English is a second Language.

Information Literacy Resources

Use these to keep up to date with what other librarians are doing!

Information Literacy Website
Maintained by information professionals from key UK organisations including CILIP and SCONUL. Aims to support practitioners by offering free access to news, book reviews and case studies of best practice. They include lists of resources. 

Journal of Information Literacy
Open access scholarly journal covering the philosophy, technology and practice of information literacy. Excellent starting point for locating up to date materials.

 Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching
Excellent free resource developed by group of subject librarians at Cardiff University to support their colleagues in Information Services as they developed their information literacy teaching. Chapters include planning lessons, developing teaching aids, evaluating and improving teacher skills. Of great value for those developing their own courses.

Information Literacy resource bank
Originally developed for staff at the University of Cardiff it includes some interesting examples of ‘bite sized’ tutorials on research, internet searching skills. There are also examples of flowcharts and online quizzes.

LOEX: Clearing House for Library Instruction
International membership organisation which supports training and information literacy in libraries. Website has an excellent archive of conference papers, plus a free directory of links to online tutorials, case studies, and other recommended teaching and learning materials for library staff.

LIS-Info-Literacy. Excellent JISC email discussion list useful for keeping up to date with the latest events, research and publications in the field. You can view recent postings and archived messages from the website or sign up to join.