1. First Year Students UWG1101 and Ingram Library
INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO LIBRARY RESOURCES THROUGH GOOGLE BOOKS AND SCHOLAR
DIANE FULKERSON
INGRAM LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA
GEORGIA CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION LITERACY
SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

2. What is UWG 1101? Class for all incoming freshman
Taught by faculty and staff across campus
Intended to introduce them to college life
Most students enroll in class
Each instructor includes a library component
Program started three years ago in an effort to improve retention, progression and graduation
Primary goal is to develop self-directed and responsible learners
All incoming freshman enroll in a classroom or mentor based program at orientation—they are required to enroll in one of the two programs
There is a textbook and learning outcomes for the class
This semester they are offering 40 sections of the course
We started offering the Google Book/Scholar class as an alternative from library tours and the dreaded scavenger hunt

3. Ingram Library and UWG1101 Initially not much library involvement
Fall 2008 Google class offered
First library UWG1101 class
Collaborative effort to develop course material
First class taught within two weeks
Some initial problems
Previous involvement limited to tours or a scavenger hunt limited number of the classes participated
Google Book and Scholar class first time library offered a BI session specifically designed for UWG1101
Jean Cook designed the handout for the class and I designed the in-class exercise
Initial problems included the fact not all databases were linked to Google Scholar this took about two weeks to resolve

4. Google Books and Scholar Class
How to navigate library homepage
Set up scholar preferences
Default to UWG Ingram Library
Google Scholar/Books exercise
Search strategies for Google Books and Scholar
Finding full text articles
Books at UWG vs. another library
In the 50 minute session we covered the topics listed here
Exercise designed to help them find articles and books at Ingram Library through Google Scholar and Books
Provided them with opportunity to learn basic search strategies
At the start of each class students appeared skeptical that we were encouraging them to use Google
Provided students with an opportunity to move beyond basic Google search
Introduced students to interlibrary loan and GIL Express or at a library near their home
Effectively using preview option for a book
Books they can download—no longer copyright protected

5. Connecting it to Information Literacy?
Beyond basic Google search screen
Non-librarian search interface
Develop better search strategies
Find scholarly materials
Better search results make better choices
Connects to course objective of identifying and utilizing academic resources
Easier search interface—students understood how and where to enter search terms—terminology they could understand
Allowed us to show them how to find additional keywords or subject terms once they found a database article
Easier search interface led to better search results—students were not frustrated by lack of results
Using Google Books/Scholar allowed them to make better choices for materials because they moved beyond the basic website they normally would select

6. Outcomes Taught 15 classes with help from two colleagues
Feedback from UWG1101 students and instructors
Used something familiar to students
Provided easy access to library materials
Used “one minute” paper for assessment
Building on last year’s results
The feedback from students and faculty was overwhelmingly positive
All the instructors who participated said they learned new search techniques and strategies
Even if students could not remember how to find library homepage, link to databases or the catalog they would remember how to access Google Scholar or books
Handout provided them with an overview of how to search
So far this semester a little over half of the UWG instructors are bringing their class to the library
Many of the instructors who attended last year’s class are bringing their current class to the library

7. Additional Resources
National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition
Google Services at UWG
FYE: Connecting First-Year College Students with the Library
UWG First Year Program

8. Questions and Comments
Final Thoughts
Questions and Comments