For the ninth year, the Library Information Services division is partnering with classroom faculty to teach portions of Cornerstone, a class required of all freshman and incoming students. Cornerstone introduces students to critical thinking and college level expectations, including research skills. Each class has a “personal librarian” who works with them during the research assignment as part of the class. Laura Baker (’87), User Experience and Assessment Librarian, observed, “Even though we’ve worked with Cornerstone for a few years, this year is different because of changes in the assignment and because there are so many more class sections. It’s a very intense time in the library.” This fall, librarians taught in all 36 classes and conducted 21 research workshops, in addition to scheduling personal consultations. Research and Instructional Services Librarian Melinda (Stucker ’93) Isbell noted, “It’s work, but it is important work. When we see a student progress from struggling to come up with a topic and writing a research question to finding appropriate research articles to making a great grade on their final assignment, we know they’ve come a long way and that the teaching paid off.”
Librarians that teach portions of Cornerstone are: Melissa Atkinson (’94), Laura Baker (’87), Craig Churchill, Chai Green (’10), Mac Ice, Melinda (Stucker ’93) Isbell, Shan (Pamplin ’86) Martinez, Erica Pye