Teaching information literacy at John Cabot University has become more challenging given that the number of students has recently increased. Library instruction is typically held in the computer lab. What if the lab is too small to accommodate classes with a growing number of students? This poster illustrates how the librarians decided to create a mobile lab that integrates desktops, BYOD options and library tablets, in order to give all students access to devices that can help them learn how to better use the library resources and meet the learning outcomes of the sessions.

The instruction librarians at John Cabot University teach approximately 100 one-shot information literacy sessions per year. The instruction is typically, or ideally, held in the library lab in order to allow students to meet the learning outcomes of the session, including demonstrating an understanding of the library electronic resources for conducting successful research. Therefore access to a computer is critical for both the students, that need to put theory into practice, and the instruction librarians, that can develop the instruction around a series of hands-on exercises, rather than relying on lecturing only.

Since the instruction librarians are increasingly called on to teach classes with a number of students higher than the number of computers in the lab, we felt the need to create a new way of bringing information literacy to the students by building a “mobile lab” equipped with 10 tablets.

This poster illustrates the initial steps taken to create this mobile lab, and describes the challenges that such a lab brings in, including the different uses of the tablets within the class time, the problems raised by these new devices, and the creative ways found to solve technical problems during instruction time.