LILAC 2014 Teachmeet Abstract

1. Referencing: finding the missing piece
Sarah Kevill, University of Stirling, s.j.kevill@stir.ac.uk
The ability to accurately cite a range of different types of information and construct bibliographies is recognised
as an important facet of an information literate individual. But as librarians, how do we engage our students in this
process and make it an active, rather than passive learning experience?
This paper will report on an initiative at the University of Stirling which is transforming how the teaching of citing
references and constructing a bibliography is delivered; from a how to do, to a why we do approach involving
interactivity, group work and discussion. A referencing game has been devised in which students are required to
construct accurate references for four different types of literature. The benefits of the new approach are twofold:
for the students the new learning style encourages discussion, peer learning and collaboration. Secondly, as
librarians we are developing a greater awareness of the challenges which students can face when constructing a
bibliography and can target support appropriately.
Delivered as part of the Information Literacy on a Shoestring stream, this approach requires only the most basic
of equipment which will be available in every library. The technique has been used in a Higher Education setting
but could easily be adapted and delivered in Further Education, Health or School Libraries.
References
SCONUL Working Group on Information Literacy (2011) SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy Core
Model for Higher Education. Available at: http://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremodel.pdf
(Accessed 15th November 2013)