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Campus Trailblazers

Setting the Pace: Krista Bush, Reference Librarian, Marvin K. Peterson Library
Connecting members of the UNH community with the information they seek and equipping them with the skills to become confident researchers gives Krista Bush great satisfaction.

As a reference librarian at the University’s Martin K. Peterson Library, Bush, along with her colleagues, creates detailed subject guides on a variety of topics and develops bibliographic classes and workshops all in the name of supporting academic pursuits.

Recently Bush developed an online library catalog tutorial that details how to use the library’s catalog and offers questions throughout the tutorial that reinforce what is being taught. When offering classes in the Library’s Smart Classroom I, she prepares a PowerPoint presentation that walks students through the specific Library resources that they will learn about that day. Feedback has been positive.

Her goal:
The Library’s mission is to support the academics of the University. The amount of information available in today’s academic environment is enormous. The Library provides access to over 75 different databases of journals, newspapers, e-books, and more. My goal is to provide clear instruction and guidance so that the person I’m helping not only gets the information they need, but learns from me how to go about it themselves.

Her approach:
My approach has been to cater to the class or workshop that I am teaching. I like to teach as though I am in the class. I do my homework in advance: What is the class about? What type of project do the students need instruction for? How can I make it clear and interesting to them? I love libraries, I love helping people learn. I think that is conveyed in my classes.

The Bottom Line:
Instruction becomes much more meaningful to people when the topics covered apply to them directly. That is why I tailor each class and workshop individually. Once someone learns the skills to research for their projects, they can apply them forever in all research they do. Think about how important the resources are that you use in your research papers and projects. Your entire assignment is based on the quality and relevance of your sources. I think this teaching approach works quite well, since it provides clear and detailed methods.