About Library Instruction:

Librarians can work with faculty to organize library instruction for individual courses in various formats. Information literacy (IL) is at the centre of what VIU Library does in the University. IL is one of the pillars in VIU’s Graduate Attributes, and there it refers to “the ability to find and critically evaluate relevant information and its sources, and to synthesize the information with existing knowledge” (Vancouver Island University, 1). IL intersects with, relates to, and relies on many Library activities.

How to Request Library Instruction

For Degree English Requirement (DER) courses, please use the form below.

For other courses, please contact your liaison librarian directly or email library.instruction@viu.ca.

Booking Guidelines

• All sessions need to be arranged in advance so that there is a sufficient amount of time for the librarian to work with the instructor to tailor specific learning objectives and outcomes.
• Plan to attend in-person or online synchronous library instruction sessions with your students, as sessions cannot be held if the instructor is not present.
• Important information for First-year courses: VIU Library's DER instruction program ensures that most first-year students get introductory library instruction in ENGL 115 courses, and prevents the same first-year student in more than one very similar library session. Prior to requesting library instruction for a first-year course, please verify if students have already received library instruction before considering if further library instruction is required.
• According to best pedagogical practices, we recommend that instructors make the Library Instruction module in VIULearn available to students before or after instructional sessions. For more information, visit the Library Instruction Module page.

A librarian will contact you by phone or email to confirm your booking request and discuss details and instruction format. If you have any questions, please contact us.