Ever wish you knew in high school what you know now? Would it have made a positive difference in your life? In your collegiate experience? How about when it comes to research? Well, high school sophomores from the International Academy of Macomb got a sneak peek into college level research at the McNichols Campus Library last week, thanks to the efforts of many of the public services librarians, staff, and administrators. 

While most of the campus was quiet over Spring Break, the Library bustled with curiosity and instruction over two mornings as 130 students from the International Baccalaureate magnet school learned to navigate the University of Detroit Mercy information hub. Students received instruction from librarians on the ins and outs of searching for articles in the online databases, as well as how to spot a scholarly journal article, sought out books from the Library “stacks” (a new term for many of the students!) and conducted individual research on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s in the Library computer lab. 

The information literacy focused visits originated when IAM teachers reached out to Dean Jennifer Dean about the possibility of bringing their history students to the library to conduct research for a paper. The goal was not only to introduce them to college level research, but also to the academic environment of the University of Detroit Mercy Campus and McNichols Campus Library.