UC Irvine Libraries' SPIRIT Program

The SPIRIT program has four main goals:

• teach information literacy and life-long learning skills to students and teachers, increasing their understanding of and confidence in their abilities to locate and use information appropriately;
• facilitate access to, and use of, online scholarly resources;
• assist students in becoming eligible and competitive for matriculation at the University of California, to thrive academically, and to graduate;
• help middle and high school students envision themselves attending college.

These visits typically have three parts: a morning research session using electronic resources in a computer lab, lunch in a college dining hall, and an experiential learning activity that might include a visit to a professor’s lab or a museum on campus.

Here is a sample schedule:

• 9:00 am - Arrive on campus, walk to Ayala Science Library
• 9:15 am - Research session with worksheet
• 11:00 am - Lunch
• 12:15 pm - Visit a professor's lab
• 1:30 pm - Board buses, return to school

Many high school students, especially those in AP classes, do research at the UCI Libraries. Navigating through our wide variety of resources can be confusing, even for veteran researchers. While we welcome your students to use our collections at any time, experience tells us that their time will be used more efficiently and effectively if they have had some prior instruction.

The Research Librarian for Education & Outreach can provide orientation and research sessions for your students, especially those in AP/IB classes.  Possible topics include the research process in history and social studies; the differences between primary and secondary sources; the importance of library research in the sciences; how to locate scholarly materials and how to read, understand, and cite them.

Regardless of whether or not your students have had a formal introduction to the library, the information on conducting research at the UCI Libraries will be useful.

If you are interested in bringing your students to campus, please contact Rachel Shulman, Research Librarian for Education and Outreach, at (949) 824-9826, or fill out this form.