Beyond Google – Library 101 Toolkit

Library Icebreaker

Title	Library Icebreaker
Description	Librarians can flip key using-the-library talking points and engage students in discussion with this icebreaker activity. These questions address some of the top/most-frequently-pondered questions that first year students have about using the library. Questions (can be adapted): What is Google Scholar? What if a book or article I need is not at Duke? Is there an easy way to cite & organize all my sources? Isn’t everything on Google?
Steps	Pass index cards out (1 per row/3 students to a card) Ask students to discuss with their partner/group what they think the answer is to the question. Give them 1-2 minutes. Ask each group to state their question and answer to the class. Librarian can chime in with additional info/answers to the question.
Tags	beyond-google; in-class;
Time	10 minutes (during class)
Attachments	None. Index cards on Lilly podium, in Music Library, Bostock 023, or make your own!

Finding a Book

Title	Finding a Book
Description	In post-session feedback, first-year students frequently express anxiety over how to physically navigate the library to find a book on the shelf. This is a simple, pre-session activity to help students try this out before class, so that they can discuss with their librarian any challenges they faced in attempting to complete the task. With the help of the course instructor, students are asked to find a book on their research topic (or course topic) and bring it to class.
Steps	Ask students to use the library’s website (https://library.duke.edu/) to search for a print/physical book on their research topic or course topic if they don’t have research topics yet. NOTE: Share the worksheet with students, it lists out all these steps. Students should then find the book in the library where it is located, check it out, and bring it to class. Students could write a few sentences about any obstacles they faced, or observations they had about navigating the library, etc.. This will help prime them for a discussion.
Tags	beyond-google; in-class; pre-assignment
Time	20 minutes (before class); 10 minute discussion
Attachments	Finding a Book (worksheet)

Developing an Interdisciplinary Search Strategy

Title	Developing an Interdisciplinary Search Strategy
Description	This is an activity that helps students develop an interdisciplinary search strategy in stages. Students define their topic, brainstorm questions related to their topic area, and connect these questions to the disciplines and experts where they might find more research and information. Students learn how to identify search tools & information sources based on their questions using the library’s website.
Steps	Demonstrate the entire process on the whiteboard (see an example of a Interdisciplinary Strategy below). Choose a topic relevant to the course content and write it in the center of the board Ask students to think about what kinds of questions they would ask about this topic. Then invite them to brainstorm Write the questions down around the central topic in a different color When sufficient questions have been created, show the students how one can link the question to a specific discipline Provide students with a sheet of paper. Invite them to write their topic in the center which will encourage them to think more creatively than to make lists on the page. Tell them to brainstorm question about their topic After 5 minutes, ask students to think about what kinds of experts would do research on the questions they generated Explain how different kinds of disciplinary experts publishing their research in different publications and explain how you can use disciplinary-focused research databases to find sources in those disciplines. Show students how to browse databases by subject and/or format Demonstrate a search
Tags	beyond-google; refining-topic; in-class
Time	20 minutes
Attachments	Interdisciplinary Strategy (Example); Interdisciplinary Strategy (Blank Template)

Identifying Stakeholders: Who Cares?

Title	Identifying Stakeholders: Who Cares?
Description	This is an exercise to get student to think and discuss different kinds of stakeholders surrounding a topic and what genres of sources those stakeholders might publish in (both formal & informal).
Steps	Beforehand, create a stakeholder chart on a topic relevant to the course content (see stakeholders example below) During class, show students an example stakeholder chart. Talk through some of the different types of stakeholders and the sources of information that the stakeholders produce (publications, etc.) Ask students to respond to: what’s listed there, who they might add as a stakeholder?what types of sources they might add? where would they find these sources (web, library)? Transition from the discussion to strategies for finding this wide variety of sources in search engines and library databases Give students a blank version of the stakeholders chart and/or ask them to tag each source that they find with a stakeholder & source type tag
Tags	Evaluating sources; In-class
Time	10 minute discussion; 10-minute reflection on student’s stakeholder / source tags
Attachments	Stakeholders Worksheet; Stakeholders Example

Speed-dating Search Engines

Title	Speed-dating Search Engines
Description	This activity presents students with a variety of different search engines (web and library) on a worksheet and prompts them to do rapid research on a topic in order to compare features and scope of search engines relevant to the course topic.
Steps	Give students a worksheet, on which you direct them to several different databases which you’ve selected. Select relevant databases. Leave room for students’ notes. Explain the worksheet, let students know when the exercise will end. Tell them to start. At the end of the time, discuss results: Invite students to talk about their discoveries As they describe the usefulness (or not) of a database, write criteria on the board If there are any criteria missing, add them to your list and explain them to students.
Tags	In-class
Time	20 minutes
Attachments	Speed-dating Worksheet

Beyond Google: Recommended Activities from Other Sites

Title	Recommended Beyond Google Activities from Other Sites
Database Teach-in (CORA)	This activity is designed to flip traditional database “demos” to have students explore and demonstrate using library databases for their classmates.
Composing Tutorials for Navigating Databases (DWRL)	This activity is designed to have students create their own instructional manual for using assigned databases.