Week 7, October 17, Information literacy and Instruction in Academic libraries (Rachel Radon, instructional librarian UTK Hodges)

Our class included a guest speaker, Rachel Radom, Instructional Services Librarian from UTK Hodges Library.  It was enlightening to hear from a librarian in the trenches.  Instruction is a large part of what is needed at Hodges so students can effectively use the library and keep up with technology.  It was amazing to hear how it was all accomplished since instruction seems to be a full-time job and librarians still have other duties that are more traditional like liaison work, reference, and the added pressures of being on a tenure track.  It must be fulfilling to teach but also it must get boring to teach the same class over and over each semester to different students.  Academic libraries seem to be more involved in instruction than ever.  It is definitely an area that I can personally improve on.