Who we are

Where we are

The Library

Edwin Mookini Library

The Edwin H. Mookini Library, completed in 1981, is located in the heart of the campus. Available to students are 240,000 bound volumes and 1,200 current periodicals from Hawai`i, the U.S. mainland, Asia and Europe. Special formats collected include films, audio, and video cassettes, slides, compact disks and microforms. The library subscribes to a wide range of online databases, including Dialog, Expanded Academic Index, PsycLit, GeoRef and many others. In addition, the library is a depository for both United States and Hawai`i State documents and currently holds more than 350,000 U.S. documents. The Hawaiian Collections room houses the library's extensive Hawaiiana holdings. To ensure student proficiency in use of these collections, library faculty offer a comprehensive program of library instruction.

Library Instruction Program

Each student at UHH participates in the Library's Instruction program as a requirement of English 100. We use a skills workbook, based on a model pioneered by Miriam Dudley of UCLA in the 70's.

Some library instruction programs have abandoned the workbook approach. We continue to use a workbook because we find that it is the most effective means of teaching library skills and concepts. The workbook is divided into two components: the first familiarizes the student to the physical layout, online catalog, and periodical indexes. The second  is a guided note-taking approach to formulating a research strategy, and a step-by-step method of evaluating sources.

The UH System recently conducted a pilot program using a Web-based library skills tutorial. This was done to try and establish a system-wide approach to basic library skills. Librarians from each of the ten campuses met regularly to design and create the tutorial. The pilot program, known as Ho'okele (Hawaiian for "navigator, navigation") was UH's first attempt at Web CAI ("Computer Aided Instruction.") The pilot program showed great potential for using the Web as a teaching tool. However, the participants concluded that the Web has not yet evolved to replace the traditional lecture and demonstration. Questions were raised about the availability of Web technology to the average student when he or she needs it. The University cannot meet the demand for the numbers of workstations it would take to comfortably accommodate all students learning via the Web.The library will continue to monitor the improvements in Web technology with great interest. In the future we will undoubtedly move move parts of the instruction program to this new format.

We at Mookini believe that technology skills are important; however, we have not lost sight of the fact that students still need to know how to conduct "manual" library research, using periodical indexes and  bound volumes. We actively and continuously remind students of online's unique place in research as well as the tried and true manual methods of research. We do not wish to convey to students that online is the only place to look for information.

Would you like a copy of Mookini's Library Skills Workbook ? If so, follow the link and send me your snail-mail address and I will send you a copy around the last week of August. Let me know if you want the "Research Strategy and Evaluating Sources" component as well (printed separately).

Library Skills Workbooks are distributed to school libraries and public libraries on the Island of Hawai`i to keep librarians informed of the skills we are looking for as well as keeping them informed of new technology available to UH students.

High school students are welcome to use the library when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Students in advanced placement classes can check out books using the bar code of the class's instructor. If an item is lost or overdue, borrowing privileges are suspended until the item is returned.

Freshman Library Skills

Mookini librarians work with approximately 500 new freshmen and transfer students each year. We assume that students know nothing about libraries when they first arrive. Our size and librarian : student ratio allow us to offer a great deal of individualized instruction. Because our culture here is somewhat different from the continental US, students are more shy about asking for help. We actively encourage them to seek our help.  For example, during the busiest part of each day, two librarians are assigned to the Reference Desk: one to hold down the fort, and the other to rove the PAC terminals and CD-ROM stations to check if students are finding what they need.

What do we expect of incoming students? We hope that students come to UH-Hilo with an inquisitive mind. A student's ability to formulate questions regarding his or her  information need, along with the ability to follow directions, are skills we hope for in every incoming student . Recognizing that a student is really a composite of all of the teachers, librarians, and tutors that s/he has been exposed to, we as educators must be flexible to the many levels of experience that walk through our doors seeking help. We cannot pre-suppose that an entire class is familiar with searching a database or finding a periodical article on the shelf. For example, many students have difficulty interpreting the parts of a bibliographic citation, confusing the article title with the journal title. To remedy the situation, instruction librarians place extra emphasis on interpreting citations in lectures and online demonstrations.

Active Learning has been a component of the program for several years. Active learning involves the student and reinforces skills and concepts through collaborative learning with peers, problem-based learning, case methods, course projects, simulations, and different uses of technology. Emphasis is placed on encouraging critical thinking skills: analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information,  instead of concentrating solely on content.  The Teaching Methods Committee, a part of the Instruction Section under the American Library Association's  Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), has been a leader in this area and recently produced a sourcebook of active learning strategies for use in the library classroom.

Mookini library achieves active learning through hands-on interactive training with the library's online catalog under the supervision of a librarian in a classroom. The library's electronic classroom has twelve terminals connected to the University's Computing Center, allowing students to search for topics while librarians roam, offering assistance. Until recent budget cuts forced us to downsize our program, the library used student assistants as tutors and workbook graders. Students often will ask other students about the library before seeing a librarian. We use students at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters to conduct 15 minute library tours for new students. Research has documented and  proven the effectiveness of active learning and peer-instruction when it comes to learning and mastering library skills. The library will continue to use these methods of instruction when it can.

The Teaching Methods Committee was also responsible for creating a poster session entitled "How to Build Librarian/Instructional faculty collaborative partnerships" at the 1997 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. This poster session presented ways that librarians could build effective working  partnerships with faculty, allowing students to master course content and library skills at the same time.

visit the Mookini library Web page

visit the ACRL Instruction Section's Teaching Methods Web page

20 July 1998 kmr