The University Library Information Literacy Program (ILP) marked its 17^th edition on Sept. 14-18, this time virtually, to equip the UPLB constituents, especially the new freshmen, with skills to effectively and efficiently access information in this time of a pandemic.

ILP held one session each day via Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube.

Session 1, entitled“Introduction to online information sources and services of the University Library,” gave a brief background and composition of the University Library, its collections, and its offered services and resources.

Session 2, called “Citing and referencing using Mendeley,” tackled the concepts of citing and referencing, in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies, and referencing styles. It also included a demonstration of the basic use of Reference Management Software (Mendeley).

Meanwhile, under Session 3 on “Detecting plagiarism using paper originality check tool,” the participants were educated about various forms of plagiarism, which should all be avoided; the rights and responsibilities when creating and using information; and familiarity, knowledge, and skills in using the Turnitin software.

Session 4, entitled “Online databases and literature search strategies,” introduced various online databases available in the University Library, the search tools in literature searching, and performing search queries techniques and strategies.

Lastly, Session 5, on “Evaluating information sources,” discussed the criteria being used to evaluate information sources, the difference between print and Internet information resources, and the characteristics of scholarly and popular article.

Before each session, the organizers played introductory videos of online services offered by the University Library and of its unit and college libraries. Meanwhile, at the end of each session, an online quiz using the https://quizizz.com/ was facilitated, with the top three winners being given cash prizes.

The more than 600 participants rated ILP as very good and excellent during the evaluation.

“Overall, the webinar session was very good in all aspects and I gained enough knowledge on the University Library and its units, services online and offline, and other matters. I enjoyed participating in this session,” said participant Naomi Jean C. Unlayao, a BS Development Communication student.

Those who missed the 17^th ILP sessions may still watch the video recordings via the official YouTube channel of the University Library.  Interested library users may also request a one-on-one lecture and hands-on experience in using Turnitin, OpenAthens, and Mendeley with the librarians by registering on this link. (Virginia P. Alcantara)