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(This is the full-text of the article which appeared in LOEX News in the Spring of 2003.)

Late in 2002, I launched a new web site named LibraryInstruction.Com (http://www.libraryinstruction.com).  It is my hope that this site will become a useful resource to librarians and K-12 teachers who are looking for library instruction and information literacy resources.  The site is composed of three main sections: lesson plans, articles, and an extensive links page.

I did not create this site to compete with the LOEX Clearinghouse, which does a great job organizing the annual LOEX Conference as well as collecting and distributing print and media library instruction materials.  Instead, I am aiming at giving my colleagues a web site on which to publish their library instruction lesson plans and articles.  To my knowledge, no other web site is doing this.  Many individuals are putting library instruction content on the web pages of the institutions where they work.  However, these pages tend to vanish whenever there is a change in employment.  LibraryInstruction.Com exists to provide a permanent web home for library instruction content.

What is Included

The first major page at LibraryInstruction.Com is library instruction lesson plans.  Several of my own lesson plans (including one on using tattooing for teaching Boolean searching and another on using jigsaw assignments) are here.  I also have posted a submission from an elementary school teacher on how she teaches 4th grade students to use the library.

I envision that librarians and teachers will provide write ups of their library instruction lesson plans and submit them for inclusion here.  Good submissions would include: an overview of the lesson, a description of the target audience, a description of the lesson, problems that have been encountered, and an analysis on how well the lesson works.  As many librarians and teachers give instruction on library use and information seeking, there are a large number of potential lesson plans that could be included on this page.  I am certain that many of the readers of LOEX News could provide good submissions.

The second major page is library instruction articles.   I have placed five of my own articles here that I have retained copyright to including library instruction articles dealing with adult learners, writing centers, and outcome-based education.  These articles previously resided on the web at the Michigan State University Library web site.  However, as I have left MSU for a position at Central Michigan University, I have migrated the pages to LibraryInstruction.Com. 

I am seeking additional articles from others who have written about library instruction issues.  This could include original work. Although publishing a brand new article at LibraryInstruction.Com is not as prestigious as publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, articles published on LibraryInstruction.Com will probably be read by more people than those published in print journals due to the wide reach of the web.   Submissions could also come from previously published articles to which the author retains copyright.  For example, authors publishing in LOEX News and ERIC retain the copyright to their articles, which they would then be able to submit to LibraryInstruction.Com. 

Finally, LibraryInstruction.Com has a large links page.  This is currently the best-developed part of the site with over 75 links. The page is divided into links to general library instruction resources, examples of resources at institutions, information literacy resources, and library tutorials created by different libraries.  Surfers aware of additional quality links are encouraged to bring them to my attention so I can add them to the list. 

Copyright

All authors submitting material to LibraryInstruction.Com will retain copyright to their work.  This means the author is able to have a submission removed at any point.  The author can republish the material in other formats.  The author can use a submission however wanted without seeking permission from me.  Further, others wanting to republish or use the material commercially will need to seek the permission of the author. 

Hopes for the Future

It is my hope that librarians and teachers will find LibraryInstruction.Com useful.  If this happens, I imagine that many people will wish to add their content to LibraryInstruction.Com, so that others can find and make use of the quality work they have created.  As of this writing, most of the content at LibraryInstruction.Com has been written by me.  If no one else submits, I run the danger of LibraryInstruction.Com appearing to be a Michael Lorenzen vanity site.  I hope that this will not happen. 

I see no reason why LibraryInstruction.Com could not grow someday to include hundreds of lessons plans, dozens of articles, and hundreds of links.  Please consider sending a submission.  Also, feel free to send me your comments about the site.  Submissions can be e-mailed to: support@libraryinstruction.com.

 Copyright (c) 2003, Michael Lorenzen.  All rights reserved