Teaching SciFinder Basics to Organic Chemistry Students

Our library has taught chemistry library instruction with a focus on SciFinder to students since 2006. This article provides an overview of the methods we use for building information literacy in our organic chemistry students. Assessment of the program included pre-instruction and post-instruction surveys of 476 students. The surveys covered objective skills as well as attitudinal questions. Survey results indicated that how to use SciFinder is not self-evident but that library instruction can substantially improve students' use of this powerful chemistry database. Students expressed a very high degree of satisfaction with the training. Professors mentioned that the chemistry library instruction with SciFinder yielded significant benefits to the students' final projects.