1. Create Your Own
Cephalonian Method
Adventure
Amanda K. Izenstark
Mary C. MacDonald
University of Rhode Island
LOEX 2012

2. Image from Visit Greece flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/visitgreecegr/5732642933/sizes/l/in/photostream/

4. Examples

5. Previous Content
Librarian:
On your left is the Circulation Desk. It's where
you go to check out books and to activate your
ID as your library card. You can check out
books for 28 days, and renew them for an
additional 28 days. If they're overdue, though,
the fine is 50¢ per day. This is also where
"Reserve" materials are held. If your professor
has told you to look at a book or article on
Reserve, stop by this desk for assistance.

6. Same Content, New Questions
Student: Do I need a card to use the Library?
Librarian: Your ID is your library card. Stop
here at the Circulation Desk to activate it.
Student: How long can I check books out for?
What happens if they're overdue?
Librarian: You can check books out for 28
days. They're 50¢ a day if they're overdue, but
you can renew them online.

7. More Challenging Content
Librarian:
For some of your projects, your professors will
specify that you need "scholarly" articles.
Scholarly articles are written by researchers (or
scholars) and convey the results of their first-
hand research. They are generally longer than
popular articles, like you would see in
magazines like "Time" and "Newsweek," and
frequently contain extensive bibliographies.

8. More Challenging Questions
Student: My professor told me I need
"scholarly" articles for my research project.
What's "scholarly"?
Librarian:
• Scholarly means written by researchers (or
scholars) for researcher (or scholars).
• Generally longer than popular articles.
• Frequently contain extensive bibliographies.

9. Image from Visit Greece flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/visitgreecegr/5732642933/sizes/l/in/photostream/

10. Your turn!

11. Overview
1. Create 2-5 questions you might use in a
Cephalonian Method session (10 minutes)
2. Swap, shuffle, and test (10 minutes)
3. Share with the group (5 minutes)

12. Consider & Create (~10 minutes)
Consider: What content are you going to cover?
Tour? Policies?
Finding Articles? Evaluating Sources?
What do you want students to know?
Create:
Two to five questions about that content
Two bullet points to answer each.

13. Swap, Shuffle, and Test (~10
minutes)
Find a partner
Swap & Shuffle Questions
Ask partner at least 2 questions of your set
Check:
o Do the questions stand on their own?
o Do they reflect real life student needs?
o Can they be answered briefly?

14. Share your creations!

16. Share with everyone!
Contribute to the Question Bank
LOEX 2012 Cephalonian Question Bank
bit.ly/loexcephform
Add questions by June 1
• Name, institution and questions and answers
in Google Form
• See the results and we'll include
contributions in our paper (with credit for
you, of course!)

17. Further Readings
Barnes, C. and Walton, E. (2007). Large-group induction at the University of Sussex Library: Adapting the Cephalonian Method.
SCONUL Focus, 40(21), 57-58. Retrieved from http://www.sconul.ac.uk/publications/newsletter/40/21.pdf
Hegarty, N., Carbery, A., & Hurley, T. (2009). Learning by doing: Re-designing the first year information literacy programme at
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) libraries. Journal of Information Literacy, 3(2), 73-87. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=47478472&site=ehost-live
Moran, M. (2009). Effective induction Cardiff Cephalonian. Retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/Mike_Moran/effective-induction-cardiff-cephalonian
Morgan, N.(Undated). The official Cephalonian method page. Retrieved from
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/insrv/educationandtraining/infolit/cephalonianmethod/index.html
Morgan, N., & Davies, L. (2004). Innovative library induction: Introducing the ‘Cephalonian method’. SCONUL Focus, 32(2), 4-8.
Retrieved from http://www.sconul.ac.uk/publications/newsletter/32/2.rtf

18. Thank you!
Amanda K. Izenstark
amanda@uri.edu
Mary C. MacDonald
marymac@uri.edu
University of Rhode Island
LOEX 2012