Libraries provide instruction because:

- library studies conducted in higher education have recently shown that students do not know:

• how to critically evaluate information sources, such as scholarly versus non-scholarly journals, and Web sites
• how to search effectively in the online catalog, the library’s subscription databases, and the Web
• when to cite sources used in a paper, presentation or project

- libraries are no longer the "sole" information collector/provider on campus. Librarians and faculty develop academic collections, carefully evaluating and selecting the resources added to ensure quality and relevance. With the wide availability of resources on the World Wide Web, the vast majority of which undergo no review process, it is important that students learn the skills necessary to critically evaluate sources found before incorporating unverifiable information into course-related efforts.

- there is a significant alignment between academic programs and libraries -- shared learning outcome objectives. The Sawyer Library has written a Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan for Information Literacy which illustrates this point.