College and Research Libraries Instructional Design: Increasing the Effectiveness of Bibliographic Instruction Marian I. Miller and Barry D. Bratton Public service librarians frequently offer library instruction to academic library users. Despite good intentions, this instruction is often hampered by insufficient planning for the particular situation. The instructional design process provides a systematic method to prepare and present bibliographic instruction both effectively and efficiently by focusing on five essential elements. Those who use instructional design report favorably on the results of this systematic approach. ettings may vary for public ser- vice librarians in academic li- braries, but patrons' problems are similar. For example: • A student asks the location of learning disabilities journals to find articles on minimal brain dysfunction for which she has no references. She does not know that periodical indexes can greatly simplify her information search. • A disconcerted patron, accustomed only to the Dewey Decimal Classifica- tion System, cannot find the books for which he has call numbers. He has cop- ied the numerals for the Library of Con- gress call numbers but has omitted the letters. Patrons' consternation with such prob- lems can turn to frustration for the librar- ian. Basic unfamiliarity with library ser- vices may be responsible. Opportunities for formal instruction are frequently lim- ited in academic library settings. Even when the opportunity exists, the instruc- tion may not be as effective as the librarian would hope. Quality library instruction could benefit many academic library pa- trons and in turn ease the burden on the library staff. Keith Cottam and Connie Dowell have cited the contribution of instructional de- , sign in the development of bibliographic instruction. 1 This article introduces read- ers to instructional design as a means for designing library instruction. Instructional design is a systematic methodology for creating educational pro- grams that achieve the desired objectives. The five key elements considered when designing programs are the learners, the learning objectives, the subject content, the teachin~ methods, and the evaluation of learning .. THE LEARNERS Who are the learners, and what are their educational needs? Are they freshmen and, therefore, new to the library and to Marian I. Miller is a Reference Librarian at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois 61201. Barry D. Bratton is Associate Professor, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242. 545 546 College & Research Libraries college life altogether? Are they nontradi- tional students who have been away from a formal learning environment for years? Are they international students for whom there are many cultural adjustments? Are they faculty members new to the campus or unfamiliar with the library resources? The learner must be the constant focus in the instructional design process. Effective instruction is based on an edu- cational need, that is, the discrepancy be- tween what the learners now know and what they ideally should know. For exam- ple, freshmen may not be able to find books on their subjects because they do not know how to use the Library of Con- gress subject headings when searching the card catalog. They would be more suc- cessful if they knew standardized terms exist in Library of Congress Subject Headings. Do students lack skills in using periodical indexes? Are they unfamiliar with the physical arrangement of the library? Are basic library terms a barrier for interna- tional students? These are examples of in- structional needs and should be consid- ered in planning instruction. To be effective, library instruction must be pre- pared conscientiously, with a detailed consideration of the audience. Iowa State University librarians and in- structional designers developed instruc- tion for freshmen who were primarily from rural backgrounds, had limited li- brary experiences, and were unfamiliar with the facilities of a large state university library by taking into account those char- acteristics and designing the program ap- propriately. 3 Likewise, at the University of Houston-University Park, librarians de- signed new library instruction for nontra- ditional students. Working with an in- structional design consultant, the librarians identified learning needs such as interpreting citations, finding statistics, and understanding computer searching. 4 Persons planning library instruction fre- quently try to teach too much in one ses- sion. At Brigham Young University, li- brarians recognized in their philosophical criteria the importance of limiting instruc- tion to educational needs. 5 Teaching mate- rial that is not essential to students' educa- tional needs can overburden the learner November 1988 and can lead to frustration for both stu- dent and instructor. Instructional design helps to focus on specific learners' needs. THE OBJECTIVES Objectives have been part of educa- tional jargon for years. In instructional de- sign, learning objectives play a vital role in building the overall framework. Objectives build toward a goal. For ex- ample, an instructional goal could be to ac- quaint the students with basic resources in a particular library. The following objec- tive, when mastered by the students, might help them reach this goal. From a list of ten authors, subjects, and titles, the students will be able to determine whether to use the author/title section or the subject sec- tion of the card catalog. This objective provides the designer of the instruction with a tool for focusing on the relevant content and for evaluating the ex- tent to which learning is achieved, all lead- ing toward the stated goal. 6 Working to- ward the above objective encourages an instructor to ask, Can the students distin- guish between a subject and a title? If the answer is no, additional instruction will be needed to teach the difference as well as the purposes of the respective sections. If the answer is yes, the need is for instruc- tion in the use of the two sections of the catalog. SUBJECT CONTENT Subject content should be carefully ana- lyzed when instruction is designed. Rec- ognizing objectives can be a means for dis- secting content. For example, in teaching the use of Readers' Guide, one should ask questions such as: What does RG do and how? When should it be used? When should it not be used? Objectives help subject experts see their respective con- tent areas through the eyes of novices. Once objectives have been determined for specific content areas, content should con- tinue to be scrutinized. This will weed nonessential information that over- whelms learners and hampers the learn- ing process. As Wilburn suggests, instruc- tional material must be pared to the essential minimum. 7 The order in which information is pre- sented makes a difference in the success of the learning experience. For example, in order for a student to locate a book, the normal procedure is to begin at the card catalog or public access terminal and then retrieve the book from the stacks. A stu- dent unfamiliar with a particular classifi- · cation system might be better served by an introduction to shelving order of those call numbers before working directly with in- terpreting catalog entries. Someone with little or no knowledge of periodical in- dexes might understand citations better through examination of the parts of an en- try in an actual journal rather than through explanation of entries in periodi- cal indexes. THE TEACHING METHODS Once objectives are developed and con- tent is analyzed, potential teaching meth- ods and resources are considered. For ex- . ample, what facilities and equipment are available? Are personnel trained to use a specific method? If not, is training to do so feasible? What is the budget for develop- ing and implementing new instruction? What are the time constraints? How many learners will be receiving this instruction at any given time? What methods would be most effective with this particular group of learners? These are a number of the questions to be answered when choos- Instructional Design 547 · ing the most ap-propriate instructional methods. Choosing a teaching method implies that the instructional librarian is skilled in a variety of methods. Flexibility in meth- ods allows the teacher to adapt to different learner characteristics and teaching objec- tives. What media should be used? is fre- quently asked as library instruction is planned. Larry Hardesty addresses the subject by emphasizing that the choice of medium to the instruction (whether it be videotape, live lecture, CAl, group discus- sion, etc.) should be dictated by the objec- tives, learner characteristics, and re- sources.8 EVALUATION Evaluation, the fifth element in the in- structional design process, applies to two areas: the learners and the program. Questions typically asked when focusing on the learners include: What do they know before instruction? How are they progressing? What have they learned from the instruction? Other questions focus on the program. Are the methods effective with this group? Are all of the objectives being met? Is this program meeting the learning needs of the students? Is the program cost-effective? Evaluation is an ongoing process when Learning Needs Learners' r Characteristics Procedures " / • Evaluation • / t ~ Teaching Objectives Methods Subject Content FIGURE 1 Kemp's (1985) Instructional Design Model 548 College & Research Libraries designing instruction. Methods of evalua- tion vary from formal testing to surveying participants. Information is collected as a program is developed and implemented, and revisions are made based upon evalu- ations; these revisions are in turn evalu- ated. This cyclical nature of evaluation continues until the designer is satisfied with the efficiency and effectiveness of the program. ''Instructional design models have been developed to serve as 'check- lists' for librarians who plan instruc- tion.'' INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODELS Instructional design models have been developed to serve as "checklists" for li- brarians who plan instruction. Some models are intended for use specifically in library instruction. For example, Cottam's model for bibliographic instruction was developed for academic libraries, using the concepts described above. The model consists of seven phases: 1. Identify a presumed instructional need. 2. Analyze, describe, and define the need. 3. Formulate the performance objec- tives; outline the instructional strategies, methods, and material; design the evalua- tion measures. 4. Develop, produce, or compile the methods, material and other resources. November 1988 5. Deliver the instruction. 6. Analyze the evaluation data. 7. Reprocess. 9 Some models are useful for a variety of disciplines. One example, developed by Jerrold Kemp, advocates the assessment of learning needs, evaluation of the learn- ers' characteristics and current level of knowledge, careful selection of content topics, development of learning objec- tives, analysis of subject content, selection of teaching methods resources based on available support services, and the prepa- ration of learning evaluation procedures. 10 This model, shown in figure 1, can assist with all types of bibliographic instruc- tional design whether it be student orien- tation, staff training, or faculty instruc- tion. CONCLUSION Learning can take place in a planned or an unplanned setting. Students can learn to use the library when they are presented library instruction prepared without the aid of instructional design. However, since more formal library instruction op- portunities have time constraints and edu- cational accountability applies to biblio- graphic instruction, persons responsible for such instruction within academic li- braries should draw on the benefits of in- structional design. The instructional design process en- courages planners of library instruction to scrutinize every angle of the learning and teaching situation. Developing instruc- tion through this process may be time- consuming, but experience and research have shown that it results in significant learning. REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Keith M. Cottam and Connie V. Dowell," A Conceptual Planning Method for Developing Biblio- graphic Instruction Programs," Journal of Academic Librarianship 7:223-28 (Sept. 1981). 2. Jerrold E. Kemp, The Instructional Design Process (New York: Harper, 1985). 3. Gertrude N. Jacobson and Michael J. Albright, ''Motivation via Videotape: Key to Undergraduate Library Instruction in the Research Library," Journal of Academic Librarianship 9:271 (Nov. 1983). 4. Patricia Ann Kenney and Judith N. McArthur, "Designing and Evaluating a Programmed Library Instruction Text," College & Research Libraries 45:36 (Jan. 1984) . ' 5. Marvin E. Wiggins, The Development of Library Use Instructional Programs," College & Research Libraries 33:473-74 (Nov. 1972). Instructional Design 549 6. Leslie J. Briggs, ed., Instructional Design: Principles and Applications (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educa- tional Technology Publications, 1977) p.57-62. 7. Barbara Love, "Library Instruction: Recreating the Image," College & Research Libraries News 48:482 (Sept. 1987). 8. Larry Hardesty, Use of Media in Library Use Instruction (Bethesda, Md.: ERIC Document Reproduc- tion Service, 1984; ED 261688, IR 051258). 9. Cottam and Dowell, ''A Conceptual Planning Method,'' p.225. 10. Kemp, The Instructional Design Process, p.ll. For other models that may be useful in bibliographic instruction, see Briggs, Instructional Design, p.U and Walter Dick and Lou Carey, The Systematic Design of Instruction (Glenview, ill.: Scott, Foresman, 1985), p.2-7. ome to Salt Lake City for the Fifth National Conference and Exhibition of the American Association of School Librarians October 18-22, 1989 Join more than 3,500 of your colleagues from across the country at the Conference that will offer you intellectual stimulation and professional growth through seminars, workshops and programs . ... aJ"~ 'more than 300 ex~lbltors. Preliminary 'programs W,.ill be · malted to AA$1-,members after-January 1, 1989,~ ·--~· •. :,- ... , . . :.:;·;;;;. -··. ~ ,.,,;.Sf<'.:<• .- •', ~%'-' D D D D D D D D c · c D D D D D D D ~D D D D D D D D ~ ·c D D D c ' c D ~ D D ~ Access to Send more information on program __ exhibiting __ _ Name ____________________________ ___ Address ---------------------------- City------- State ____ Zip ___ _ Send to: American Association of School Librarians, Excellence so East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611, (312) 944-6780.