Faculty Research Support

  • St. Olaf Libraries
  • Research Support
  • For Faculty

Research & Instruction Librarians use a literacies framework to teach skills and habits of mind that build the concepts students need to be savvy users and producers of information and lifelong learners.

Every academic department has a dedicated Research and Instruction librarian liaison for faculty (see below). Liaisons consult with faculty on projects involving research and help to train students in related areas. 

Due to high demand and limited staff, we encourage you to contact your librarian as early as possible to to arrange for class instruction in order to ensure their availability, and a minimum of two weeks prior to your desired instruction date. If your librarian is at capacity during your class time they will share some online resources to support your course.

Student Consultations

R&I Librarians often consult with students one-on-one or in small groups for specific research support. If you’d like to require students to meet with a Research & Instruction librarian for your course, we ask that you please request this of your liaison librarian in advance to make sure of their availability.

Research & Instruction Librarians can collaborate with you to:

  • Create a research instruction plan for your courses; topics include
  • Mind-mapping (aka, concept-mapping)
  • Building effective search strings
  • Evaluating online resources
  • Design research assignments
  • Suggest research materials to support your teaching and your department’s curriculum
  • Use Zotero to organize and cite resources
  • Navigate basic questions about copyright, fair use, and Creative Commons licenses
  • Explore open access and alternative forms of scholarly publishing
  • Develop ideas for digital scholarship projects
  • Think of effective ways to integrate technology into your research, teaching, and assignments

Who are your research librarians?