Teaching and Curricular Services for Faculty and Instructors

Classes and Workshops

Instruction in Lamont Library's Larsen Room.

Research classes support students in locating information and developing critical thinking skills. The library invites faculty members, teaching fellows, and other instructors to work with Harvard librarians to design research classes that highlight essential resources and are tailored to course goals. Instruction may take place during one or several class meetings; in a library or the classroom. For more information related to classes and workshops, see Course Development or Teaching with Special Collections Materials.

Course-Integrated Instruction

Librarians offer course-integrated, hands-on research instruction on request, targeted to the particular learning goals of any Harvard class. If the class is part of a specific academic program in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, such as Expository Writing, Freshman Seminars, or General Education, instructors will find librarians already well versed in the norms and learning goals of the program, and ready to tailor instruction to the curriculum at hand. To book a session, you may contact your Library Liaisons and Research Contacts directly, or fill out this online form to schedule a class with a librarian. Please make requests at least two weeks in advance of the desired class time, if possible.

Multimedia Production and Post-Production

Classes on multimedia production and post-production can be arranged in conjunction with an academic course for which students have an option to create movies or other media products. Course content will be customized according to the instructor's preferences and may include the basics of multimedia authoring, proper source documentation, and more. Students will also have access to the Multimedia Lab located in Lamont room A-10, which features Mac and Windows equipment for creating, editing, and publishing a wide variety of multimedia projects. To schedule a class, e-mail the multimedia librarian, Paul Worster, or fill out this online form to schedule a class with a librarian.

Orientations and Tours

Faculty and teaching fellows touring Widener Library.

A full introduction to the Harvard Library can help researchers and students use its rich resources more effectively. On request, librarians will conduct orientation sessions and tours for faculty, teaching fellows, and current and prospective students, on an individual basis or for groups. Librarians also offer research orientations and tours for classes, focusing on those classes' particular research projects. To schedule an orientation or tour of this nature, contact your department's Library Liaisons and Research Contacts. Orientations and tours for outside groups or special events can be scheduled through Mikel Burt, administrative coordinator, Services for Academic Programs.

Special, Custom, and Supplemental Instruction

To supplement course-integrated research instruction, librarians offer workshops and exhibits every semester, open to members of the Harvard community. Workshop topics range from citation management software (RefWorks, Mendeley, Endnote, Zotero) and multimedia authoring to special topics such as poetry, rare books, maps, and GIS software. Custom classes may also be arranged; to do so, schedule a class with a librarian. To find out what instruction is currently being offered, contact your Library Liaisons and Research Contacts.

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Consulting

Harvard librarians are available by individual appointment to help faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructors with research assistance related to course development or individual scholarship. Services are also available for your students. If you would benefit from a librarian's expertise tapping resources inside and beyond Harvard's vast library collections, then consider scheduling a consultation with your academic department's Library Liaisons and Research Contacts.

Individual Research Consultations for Instructors

Faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructors are welcome to meet with a librarian to seek in-depth research assistance, plan research classes and workshops, or collaborate on projects related to course development. To select a librarian and schedule a consultation, see Library Liaisons and Research Contacts. 

Individual Research Consultations for Your Students

All Harvard students are welcome to meet with a librarian to seek in-depth research assistance or learn to use specialized information and multimedia tools. Please direct your students to the list of Library Liaisons and Research Contacts to select a librarian and schedule a one-on-one consultation. Help is also available at library reference desks and online through Ask a Librarian.

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Course Development

Harvard librarians are devoted to helping faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructors engage students meaningfully with library collections and resources. If a course offers students opportunities to use library resources to discover and evaluate information, synthesize sources to strengthen their arguments, and cite those sources, then talking with Library Liaisons and Research Contacts will be helpful. For more information related to course development, see Classes and Workshops and Teaching with Special Collections Materials.

Course Source Materials

Library Liaisons and Research Contacts can help instructors compile and deliver course source materials by identifying key resources, assembling them for easy access, and purchashing crucial titles or digitizing fragile materials. Consult Assembling Course Source Materials for details. The libraries will also assist instructors with course reserve readings. Support includes processing requests from faculty and identifying, locating, photocopying, and sometimes purchasing or borrowing materials. When possible, reserve readings will be made available online by linking to electronic resources. For additional information, see the Course Reserves page or see Purchasing New Library Materials.

Electronic Resources

Librarians can help instructors identify and locate e-resources and link to them from secure course web pages, giving students direct access to online readings. This may help reduce the size and cost of printed course packs. For assistance, consult Library Liaisons and Research Contacts to find your library liaison, who can facilitate this process. For detailed instructions, see the research guide Linking to Harvard Library E-Resources.

Research Assignments

Harvard library liaisons keep abreast of the scholarship of teaching and learning, especially concerning the challenges students face when conducting research in the digital age. This awareness, combined with a deep knowledge of library collections, technologies, and services, makes them helpful allies in developing successful research assignments--whether papers, videos, exhibits, or other projects. In concert with course learning goals, a librarian can help to integrate resource discovery, evaluation, and documentation meaningfully into the curriculum. See Library Liaisons and Research Contacts to schedule an assignment design consultation, or see Classes and Workshops to schedule a class with a librarian.

Research Guides

Research guides created by HCL librarians cluster disparate but related resources on a topic in one convenient location and provide detailed advice on how to use the libraries to conduct research for a given class or academic discipline. Librarians will collaborate with instructors to build customized, course-specific guides. For a complete listing of existing guides, visit HCL Research Guides. The guides are also accessible via the E-Research site. To speak with a librarian about creating a new research guide, see Library Liaisons and Research Contacts.

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Library Liaisons and Research Contacts

Harvard librarians who are research contacts and library liaisons have research expertise in specific subject areas. Library liaisons serve affiliated academic departments, programs, and committees; they meet with students and faculty, provide one-on-one consultations, develop research guides, assist in designing research assignments, teach workshops, and offer reference assistance to members of their academic communities. In addition to consulting library liaisons, members of the academic community may seek assistance from research contacts who specialize in particular subjects or languages.

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Purchasing New Library Materials

Harvard Library’s collections support scholarship and teaching across the University’s broad range of academic programs. To sustain this level of support, collection development librarians regularly purchase new materials, often considering suggestions from members of the Harvard Community.

Collections Purchase Request

Harvard Library bibliographers, library liaisons, curators, and other collection development librarians are available to discuss information needs and potential acquisitions with faculty and students. For a contact list, please see Collection Development Librarians by Subjects and Regions, or submit your Purchase Request online. For additional information, please contact Dan Hazen, the associate librarian of Harvard College for collection development, at 617-495-0677.

Course Source Materials

Librarians can help instructors compile and deliver course source materials by identifying key resources, assembling them for easy access, and purchashing crucial titles or digitizing fragile materials. Consult Assembling Course Source Materials for details. The libraries will also assist instructors with course reserve readings. Support includes processing requests from faculty and identifying, locating, photocopying, and sometimes purchasing or borrowing materials. When possible, readings will be made available online by linking to electronic resources. For additional information, see the Course Reserves page.

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Teaching with Special Collections Materials

Harvard Library collections, magnificent in size, variety, and depth, draw scholars from across the globe. Your students have these collections at their fingertips--how many are aware of the treasures that await them? The use of library special collections in teaching and exhibits presents a unique opportunity for students to consult potentially transformative resources that can illustrate and illuminate a given topic of study. Consider including special collections in your course design.

Classes and Workshops

Faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructors may work with a Harvard librarian to design a research class that highlights special collections materials and is tailored to course goals. For specific types of classes and information about scheduling a session, see Classes and Workshops.

Course Development

Harvard librarians and curators are devoted to helping faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructors engage students meaningfully with special collections materials that support intellectual inquiry. The Destinations research guide developed by librarian for undergraduate programs for writing Susan Gilroy, and the companion assignments for papers one and two, demonstrate what is possible when faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructors collaborate with librarians on assignment design using special collections. For details on this type of service, see Course Development.

Course Source Materials

Librarians can help instructors compile and deliver course source materials by identifying key resources, assembling them for easy access, and purchashing crucial titles or digitizing fragile or special collections materials. Consult Assembling Course Source Materials for details.

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