Instructional Services 

Check out our Tutorials  site or...

Start with one of these:

Refing Your Research Topic ... In 3 Minutes

Going Beyond Google ...  In 3 Minutes

Finding Books ... In 3 Minutes 

Finding Articles ... In 3 Minutes

Citing Your Sources ... In 3 Minutes

Finding Articles At USM

Literature Review Tutorial

Starting a Research Project - Champlain College

The Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) - Univ. of Texas

What Makes a Journal Scholarly - Rutgers University

What's The Difference? Magazine vs. Journal

Critical Evaluation of Information Sources - Univ. of Louisville

"Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information," (ACRL). This ability lies at the heart of student success and touches upon many other areas within any university. We invite you to explore this site and urge faculty members schedule instruction for their classes.

Our Vision, Mission, & Values

What Is Information Literacy? (ACRL)

Program Overview

Learning Goals & Objectives

Information Literacy Council (See tab above)

Library Instruction Evaluation Form

Services for Non-USM Groups

Schedule a Class

Are your students driving you crazy by not citing sources coming very close to plagiarising? Well, there is hope...with SafeAssign. Read Mark Lappings recent note:

TO ALL USM FACULTY:

Plagiarism and similar forms of academic dishonesty seem to be more prevalent as students have greater access to online materials and use them in the preparation of assignments and papers. Whether it is unintentional borrowing of small text passages without proper attribution or outright copying of larger sections of the work of others, studies indicate that it is becoming more of a problem than one may wish to imagine. It is time consuming for faculty to identify and pursue perceived violations.

The Blackboard Course Management System has an application called "SafeAssign" that can review electronically submitted written work, compare the work to the internet, article databases, and an institutional repository of previously submitted papers. "SafeAssign" reviews the paper and provides the instructor with a report on similarities with other sources. The report provides the faculty member with information to help decide if the student simply needs to learn proper citation formats or if he/she has outright taken from the work of others.

At the last meeting of UMS Chief Academic Officers, it was decided to "turn on" this function within Blackboard. The decision to use "SafeAssign" will be solely up to individual faculty members. It is being offered as a tool which can be used to educate students about using the work of others or, in the extreme case, to be used as evidence of plagiarism. If you wish to learn more about "SafeAssign," please go to:

http://wiki.safeassign.com/download/attachments/5460/Bb_Safeassign_datasheet_FINAL.pdf