There are a number of library related assignments that can be incorporated into a course. Here are a few examples that can be adapted to most subjects.
  • Locate a popular magazine article, then find a scholarly article on the same subject. Compare the two articles for content, style, bias, audience, etc.
  • Prepare an annotated bibliography of books, journal articles, and other sources on a topic. Include evaluative annotations.
  • Select a topic and compare how that topic is treated in two to five different sources: journals, magazines, books, reference books, websites, and non-print media.
  • Write a review of recent (most recent two to five years) literature for a given field. The review can be of books or scholarly journal articles.
  • Look up information about someone related to the course content. Find secondary sources (books, articles) that deal with an idea or event in the person's life. Compare and contrast the sources.
  • Evaluate a website based on specific criteria: authority, coverage objectivity, accuracy, and currency.
  • Pick a topic and research it in literature from the 60s and 70s. Then research the same topic in the literature of the 80s and 90s. Compare and contrast the topic in a bibliographic essay.
  • In biology or health classes, assign each student a 'diagnosis' (for example, Parkinson's disease). Have them find articles from scholarly journals that cover: a description of the condition and its symptoms, its etiology, its prognosis, its prescribed treatment, any side effects or complications, and so forth. Results may be presented in a two-page paper.
  • Write a biographical sketch of a famous person. Use biographical dictionaries, popular press and scholarly sources, books, and Internet resources to find information about the person.