Delivered at FACiLiTATE 2nd Problem-Based Learning Summer School, June 23–27th, 2008, Dublin, Ireland. 2008-06-23.

1. Resources for PBL
The library:
An essential partner
Lorna Dodd
Liaison Librarian
University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4,
Ireland
Lorna.dodd@ucd.ie

2. Today could be the first step
towards…
…a special
relationship

3. Ask yourself…
• What is your problem or trigger?
• Which resources do you expect students to
use?
• Where will the students work in groups outside
of the tutorial?
• Have you created partnerships with other
stakeholders in order to ensure sustainability?

4. Think about…
• How many
students are
in the class?

5. Think about…
Whether…
• The library provides
access to relevant
resources?
• The library is
equipped for PBL?
• The librarians know
anything about PBL?
• The library aware of
the PBL programme?

6. Bare in mind…
• In PBL students work very differently than
when they are preparing for an assignment
• The librarians needs to understand what is
expected of the students in order to support
their needs
• The library needs to be equipped for PBL

7. Talk to the library about…
• The number of relevant books the library holds
• Access to relevant electronic resources
• Access to computer facilities
• Access to group study spaces

8. Important things to consider…
• Are you using a reading list for each problem?
• Do you expect students to find information
from places other than their reading list?
• Do students understand how to use library
resources properly?
• Do students search for all their information on
Google?

9. Ask your librarian about…
• Equipping students with information literacy skills
so they can…
 Convert their learning issues into search strategies
 Use the correct resource to find information
 Search for information effectively and efficiently
 Determine the most appropriate information for
their need
 Evaluate the relevance and reliability of information
 Use the information appropriately

10. Involve your librarian in…
• Staff and tutor training and development
• Curriculum planning and development
• Problem writing
• The tutoring process
• Student assessment
• Evaluation of the PBL module
 Create a sustainable programme by developing a
mutually beneficial partnership with a key
institutional stakeholder

11. Remember the key resources…
• Information resources
• Computer resources
• Group study facilities
• Time

12. And most importantly….
Your Librarian!!

13. Today could be the first step
towards…
…the start of a
beautiful friendship