Chemistry Librarians as Teachers

Summary

While librarians have always done information instruction, the increasingly electronic environment offers new opportunities and compelling arguments to work with faculty in teaching information searching knowledge and skills to students. This article reviews reasons why chemical information instruction is important to students and faculty, offers suggestions for developing partnerships with faculty and computing staff, and provides tips for overcoming barriers to teaching effectively. Specific information knowledge and skills needed by chemistry students are outlined and ways to teach are reviewed. Tips on designing class sessions are provided, along with a selected list of general and chemistry teaching resources.