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Objective: University of Florida HSCL librarians have long offered information-related instruction through guest lectures in the programs they serve and stand-alone workshops; however, librarians had not taught any credit-bearing courses focused on information literacy prior to 2016. To more fully integrate information-related skills into curricula, librarians developed a one-credit course for graduate students, initially targeting those in basic science programs but expecting that its modular format would allow easy adaptation for other health science programs. After two successful semesters teaching this course, librarians adapted the instructional content to an audience of graduate students in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. Methods: The basic science version of the course covered literature searching, bibliographic citation software, basic NCBI resources, funding sources, data management, and information ethics. In transforming the class for health professional students, librarians replaced the genetic and genomic resources sessions with introductory sessions on systematic reviews and grey literature. Conceptual material fit mapped well to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Framework. Health professions PhD program coordinators provided feedback on the syllabus and helped inform students about the course. Results: Formal student evaluation data is not yet available; however, informal feedback indicated that the course was incredibly valuable for doctoral students; one student even suggested making the course required. Student quiz scores and class discussion revealed that the choice of topics resonated with students, captured their interests, and fulfilled a need not met by their other courses. Conclusions: Developing and teaching a credit-bearing graduate course on information-related topics is one mechanism for librarians to further integrate into the curricula of their programs and broaden their reach. A course that has been developed and approved by a specific campus unit may prove relevant to other units and easily customized to fit their needs, thus increasing its impact.

Funded by a grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, three academic health science librarians collaborated with local public libraries to identify the health information needs of library staff, design and conduct a workshop on providing consumer health and health literacy information services, and assess workshop participants’ increase in confidence related to finding health information online.