Build from simple skills to complex tasks by sequencing activities or assignments. For example, initially focus on how the library works; then emphasize recognizing and sorting out differences among sources; third work on making critical choices among available evidence; and finally practice integrating chosen evidence with one's own knowledge. It's helpful for first term students to get feedback on each of these processes before trying to produce a finished product.
Use the library for writing and speaking occasions that are not research papers. This keeps a "research" task form absorbing a disproportionate amount of time and effort and demonstrates that libraries are used for problem solving of all sorts, not just for a particular genre of academic writing.
Make learning the library an integral part of the course, not a stand-alone task. Research is like writing: it is an act of composing knowledge with a purpose in mind. When the purpose is only "because it's good for you-you need to know this stuff" it becomes a hollow task and the time given to it will be wasted.
Hands-on work is essential for learning the nuts and bolts of information retrieval. Students need to rehearse the process of searching before they can make effective use of the library. But make sure it happens at the right time-it isn't a good idea to have the library session early in the semester if they aren't going to use those skills for an assignment immediately. In fact, the best time to get students' attention is after they have started to think about an assignment and have thought about what they need to know.
Students often need different kinds of help at different points in their research. It can be very helpful for students to schedule more than one session in the library, one to learn the basics, another to refine their searches after they've developed a thesis and done some exploration. Like us, they often don't know what they're looking for until they've already done some initial digging. The electronic classroom can be reserved for this purpose or you may simply want to hold class in the library later in the semester so students can work on their projects with librarians' assistance.
What the librarians can do: