Instructional Tools & Resources Librarian-created tools to build information literacy and research skills

UK Libraries' Educational Services offers two self-guided courses that are free and openly available in Canvas. We can customize copies of each course and tailor them to specific assignments and course needs. If you are interested in exploring our customization options, please get in touch and let us know how we can help.

Open Information Literacy Course

The Open Information Literacy Course is designed to help students improve their library research skills. Anyone may enroll in the course. The course takes about 40 minutes to complete and covers topics such as: 

• Developing research questions and search terms 
• Evaluating information 
• Making effective use of sources

The course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end of each of its five modules. Students may complete the entire course or focus on particular modules. If you would like to use the course in your class and receive student quiz scores, contact us at lib-instruct@lsv.uky.edu and provide a class roster. 

Open Academic Research Course

The Open Academic Research Course is aimed at budding researchers and graduate students. Anyone may enroll in the course. There are a wide variety of self-paced modules to explore in any order, covering topics such as:  

• Discovering your field’s keywords, scholars, and journals
• Finding specialized databases and reference sources in your field 
• Selecting journals to consider for submission
• Incorporating digital media and technology tools into your research
• Finding and using primary sources  

Each mini-module includes learning materials, slides and/or video, activities to try, and a list of further resources. Students may complete the entire course or focus on specific modules.