— Brenna WadeResearch is a process and a skill to be developed.
Faculty Information
Additional Faculty Information for Brenna Wade
Education
M.L.S., Indiana University, 2011
B.A., Hillsdale College, 2008
Courses Taught
IDS 393: Information Literacy and Research Skills
CSP 301: Life of the Mind
IDS 393: Pride and Prejudice in Film
Drowning in Information: A Study of Information Issues, Fall 2014
A History of Money, Spring 2013
Memberships
Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA)
Phi Kappa Phi
American Library Association (ALA)
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
Association of Christian Librarians (ACL)
Presentations
“The Packaging Reuse Project: Creating Connections with Mutually Beneficial Partnerships” Presentation at the Michigan Academic Library Association Annual Conference, 2026.
“Conducting a Listening Tour to Assess Services and Connect with Faculty” Poster presentation at the Michigan Academic Library Association Annual Conference, 2025
Welcoming Student Input: Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Communication through Student Advisory Boards.
Co-presentation at the Michigan Academic Library Association annual conference with Jessica Shuck, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2018.
Generating Buzz and Connecting with Your Academic Community through Outreach Activities and Initiatives.
Panel presentation at the Michigan Academic Library Association annual conference with Cynthia Simpson, Lawrence Technological University and Anne Hudson, formerly at Wayne State University, Central Michigan University-Park Library, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, 2016.
Navigating Sierra.
Co-presentation at the Michigan Innovative Users Group with Technical Services Librarian LeAnne Rumler and librarians from the Bloomfield Township Library, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, 2013.
The Value of Primary Source Material in Teaching.
Lively Lunch panel presentation at the Charleston Conference, Charleston, South Carolina, 2012.
Biography
I have been a librarian at Hillsdale College since 2011. I am the Instruction and Outreach Librarian, responsible for instruction, outreach, and resource sharing.
I teach a one-credit class, IDS 393: Introduction to Scholarship. We cover the entire research process from creating a research question to finding the best resources, as well as learning how to best evaluate and interact with information in our daily lives. I also conduct one-time instructional sessions for classes where I address the research skills needed for a particular discipline and assignment. I try to be as thorough as I can and then encourage students to continue to ask questions once they start the research process on their own.
Research is a process and a skill to be developed. My goal is to teach all students about the basic principles of information literacy and to help them as they conduct research to navigate the myriad sources and resources available.