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Faculty Services & Resources

Close cooperation with the teaching faculty is essential to what we in the JSCC Library do. We're here to work with you and your students to support the learning process. Here's some helpful information for you.

Acquisitions
Developing Research Assignments
Ineffective Assignment Strategies
Creative Research Assignments (alternatives to a lengthy paper)
Detecting Plagiarism
Library Instruction
Off-campus Services for Faculty
Professional Reading
Reserves

Acquisitions:

As a member of the JSCC faculty, you're what we in the library call a "Subject Specialist!" We value your suggestions on materials you think we should add to the library's collection. Fill out the Acquisitions/ Materials Recommendation Form, or just call, Gloria Hester at ext. 328.

Developing Research Assignments:

The JSCC Library promotes and encourages assignments that require library research. Through research assignments, instructional faculty have the opportunity to help students grow from being consumers of information to creators of information. This valuable learning process teaches analytical and critical thinking skills that greatly enhance educational development.

The following guidelines will help you create assignments that make the most out of the learning opportunities in research assignments while avoiding ineffective strategies.

Define tasks: Clearly describe all the steps the student should follow to complete the assignment.
Test assignment – Do the research yourself (or ask a librarian to help) to make sure the library has the information and students will be able to complete the assignment without undue difficulty.
Use correct terminology – Use correct terms for library resources to avoid confusion. For example, some students are instructed not to use any sources from the ‘internet’ and then assume that they cannot search electronic databases for journal articles.
Provide guidance in topic choices – Students may choose a topic that is too broad or too narrow, or they look only for sources that validate their initial belief about the topic.
Tell students what kind of resources to use – There are many different kinds of library resources and your course and assignment may necessitate use of particular resources. Students may need to know so they know where to start looking for the information.
Tell students how they should use information – Do you want students to critique the sources, persuade their audience, find obscure information on a subject, report on how their topic relates to the course in general, or simply provide their own analysis of a topic. Many students struggle with what to make of the information they’ve found; they need to know what’s expected of them.
Indicate which style guide to use – The most common citation styles are MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, and CBE.
Discuss plagiarism – Often plagiarism is inadvertent, students need strategies on how to integrate information resources into their assignments using their own words.
Discuss respect for library materials – Unfortunately, theft and vandalism of library materials does happen. Students may not consider that they are depriving their classmates and future students of those materials. Furthermore, as a state-sponsored institution, there are depriving Tennessee taxpayers of their property. Students should come prepared with their student i.d. and money for copies or printing.
Use reserves – If more than one student will need the same books or periodicals, you can put them on reserve. Fill out the Ask a Reference Question form if you would like assistance in selecting materials. We’ll be glad to help.
Schedule instruction – Assume that students don’t know how to find library resources. Even if they have done research for another class, they won’t be familiar with resources on their present topic. We have several different instruction options that will meet your needs and we are glad to accommodate in any way we can. We’ve found that when we provide instruction to a class, students come to the library better prepared, spend their time productively, and they have a more positive experience.
Help manage the assignment – Students may need help coordinating the tasks they will carry out. Checking up on their research, outlining, and drafting will help guide students to successful completion.
Refer students to the librarians – We are here to help them. We are also glad to receive reference question electronically or by phone.
Provide the library with a copy – Sometimes students don’t have the assignment with them when they come to the library. We keep track of assignments at the reference desk, so we know what students need when they are doing research. You can send the assignment to us in print or electronically.

Ineffective Assignment Strategies

Poorly designed assignments can have a negative impact on students’ confidence in using the library in the future and can have a lasting impact on their learning.

Prohibiting students from using any electronic information – More and more information is being converted to electronic formats. Often, the best information we can find on a topic is in electronic form. We have many great print resources, but students also need to learn to navigate through electronic information.
Requiring students to use resources the library doesn’t own – We have information resources on a wide variety of subjects. When students have a difficult time simply accessing resources, it distracts them from gaining skills in evaluating the information and providing their own analysis. Additionally, assignments that require a number of students to use Interlibrary Loan are not recommended.
Assigning the whole class the same topic without putting items on reserve – The library has a finite number of print resources on each subject. The first couple students to visit the library will check out all the available materials and the other students will have a difficult time finding sufficient information on the topic. Fill out the Ask a Reference Question form if you would like assistance in selecting materials. We’ll be glad to help.
Requiring topics that are too broad or too narrow – A topic should be of the appropriate specificity for the length of the assignment and the time given to complete it. Additionally, resources for topics that are too narrowly focused may not be readily available in the Library.
Scavenger hunts - The least effective assignment possible asks students to locate random facts. It doesn’t teach information literacy skills. A library scavenger hunt assignment is like giving students a quiz without having taught them the material. Additionally, it lacks a clear purpose, teaches little, and is very frustrating. Frequently librarians, not students, end up locating the information.

Creative Research Assignments (alternatives to a lengthy paper)

Bibliography - Develop an annotated bibliography
Compare sources - Compare and contrast discussions of the same topic in two different types of sources. For example, a reference book and an article, a book and an article, or a scholarly article and a news article
Identify issues - Identify key issues or scholars in a discipline
Professional organization - Find information on a professional organization related to a career interest. Write about membership requirements, organizational structure, mission, publications, activities, etc
Compare disciplines - Compare the way two different disciplines handle the same topic
Learn about a publication - Analyze a key publication in a discipline. Find out the submission guidelines, and what topics are covered in a recent issue
Glossary - Create a glossary of terms related to a topic that includes search terms and library resources
Professional policy - Create a policy based on an issue in a professional field. Find information that describes a problem in a profession and develop a policy regarding the issue
Viewpoints - Read one or more articles on a topic and write about viewpoints that are not represented
Source types - Find a primary source document and a secondary source document related to the same topic
Research journal - Keep a research log or journal that describes steps taken as well as dead-ends and mistakes. Have students describe the research process orally in class and have the class share research tips

Detecting Plagiarism

Below are some resources that will help you understand, detect and combat the growing problem of plagiarism in research papers.

Library Instruction

The Library has a comprehensive library instruction program. Check out the Library Instruction page for more information.

Off-campus Services for Faculty

The library is committed to meeting the information needs of Faculty that are teaching through distance and distributed learning. Check out the For Off-Campus Faculty page for more information.

Professional Reading

This area is one of the latest additions to the JSCC Library’s collections. It’s located near the Van Veatch room in the Library; there is comfortable seating in the area for those who want to browse the collection at their leisure.

Materials in the Professional Reading collection include books and pamphlets written to train academic personnel in skills useful to their profession. There are also books in the collection which explain and promote various philosophies of education and educating, such as evolving community colleges into learning-centered institutions. Browsers can find much information about topics specifically related to community colleges, including leadership and administrative theories, promotion of new technologies in colleges, methods of teaching, measures of evaluation and effectiveness in the classroom, and career or student counseling.

All Professional Reading books are included in the Library catalog, and listed as being located in Professional Reading.

Reserves

When a faculty member has a personal book, article, or other learning resource that they would like to share with their students, or if several students are researching the same topic and will need to use the same resources, putting the items on reserve is an good option.

Reserve items are shelved behind the circulation desk and are available upon request. The loan period can be either 2 hours, 1 day, 1 week, or 2 weeks. If you have any questions about reserves, please contact Gloria Hester at extention 328

If you would like some assistance in identifying library items to put on reserve or electronic materials to integrate into your online course interface, please submit the Ask a Reference Question form or call extension 313. We would be glad to help.