The UB Library Skills Workbook was designed to help students develop their research skills, yet was often a neglected requirement put off by many students until the end of their senior year.
After a change to the language of the requirement, freshmen must now complete the Workbook during their first year at college.
The Library Skills Workbook is a general education requirement for all UB undergraduate students. Before the rule changed, however, the requirement was merely encouraged to be fulfilled sooner rather than later.
"This change is to ensure students have the ability to use the UB Libraries efficiently during their baccalaureate studies," said William Baumer, a philosophy professor at UB.
Often, students finish this requirement within their last weeks before graduating, which destroys the value of teaching students how to efficiently use the libraries for research at UB. By finishing the library skills early, students will learn about the resources they need to have a successful undergraduate career at UB.
Students who do not successfully complete the workbook by the freshman year deadline will be restricted from enrolling in future courses.
