Innovation in Instruction Award

The award was accepted by Jacalyn Bryan, assistant professor and reference and instruction services librarian, and Elana Karshmer, instruction program and information literacy librarian on behalf of Cannon Memorial. The Innovation in Instruction Award was created to recognize a library that demonstrates innovation in support of information literacy and instruction, with an emphasis on low-cost and easily reproducible innovations.

The librarians at Cannon Memorial Library designed an effective and innovative take on the traditional new student orientation library scavenger hunt, developing a multi-stage program based around a “Mission Impossible” theme that involved saving Fritz, the University’s mascot. Paula C. Johnson, chair of the LIRT Awards Committee, explained, “Their instruction utilized a flipped classroom approach, a video tutorial, and team-based learning that incorporated gamification. The program has clear objectives, was relatively low cost and reproducible, and had a built-in assessment plan.”