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Collaborating to Get Beyond Point and
Click Library Literacy? Information Literacy? Technology Literacy? Information-Technology Literacy?! As we work together to move towards a more outcomes-assessment based curriculum, the question is raised, what competencies are valuable to the members of the Pace community? We probably all agree that reading, writing, critical thinking, and problem solving are some of the essential basics. Building on those basics are additional, slightly more complex skills that are crucial in contributing to the success of Pace's student body; these are Information Literacy skills. One of the most obvious challenges facing us today is the overload of information being delivered through a multitude of mediums: the Internet, PDAs, digital cable, e-mail, chat rooms, Blackboard course shells, Web search engines, and yes, online Library research tools. The first and most apparent test we face is simply learning to navigate and manipulate these various forms of technology. Beyond that surface skill, however, lurks an even more formidable challenge - the seemingly endless search for the ability to locate quality information. In addition to merely knowing what type of information one needs, and acquiring the ability to perform a productive search in one of the library's research databases, students also need to be able to evaluate the information they find, and then use that information in an ethical and legal fashion to produce a quality final product, whether that final product be a research paper, a multimedia production, or a presentation for a job interview. These skills are the core elements of Information Literacy. In their document Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, the Association for College & Research Libraries states: "Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual is able to:
So, how do we facilitate the acquisition of Information Literacy skills by the members of the Pace student body? Through collaboration! Librarians work with faculty and instructors to design and provide library instruction to incoming freshmen through programs for UNV 101, ENG 101, and in Pleasantville, ENG 102. We look forward to continuing our programs for these courses as they take fresh shape in the new Core Curriculum. To see the Information Literacy Learning Outcomes that have been identified for these programs, take a look at our Information Literacy at Pace web page, available at http://www.pace.edu/library/pages/instruct/informationliteracy.htm. Beyond the freshmen year, we do partner with many faculty to provide library instruction sessions for their subject courses. We offer sessions focusing on research in areas such as literature, nursing, sociology, anthropology, marketing, history, education and psychology, to name a few. These sessions have always focused on assisting students with their research for a particular course, and helping them understand that the skills they learn for one particular course can transfer to other courses, and even to their own personal research. We hope to further our efforts to reach students after the freshmen year in the Writing in the Disciplines course being developed for the new Core, and through better and more involved collaboration with faculty. Specifically, we would like to more clearly identify the Information Literacy learning objectives for these subject sessions, and to develop assessment tools to measure how well these objectives are met. Our goal this Spring semester is for each of the Instructional Librarians to do this for at least one subject session. The process of identifying Information Literacy learning objectives, and then designing appropriate instructional methods and materials, as well as an effective assessment tool is a challenging one, but together we hope we can take our Information Literacy programming to the next level. Some groundwork for this was put in place during presentations and conversations we had with members of the Faculty Teaching Circles over the past year. The instructors in the Teaching Circles work to develop courses for the new Core. The Library has developed materials and information to assist these instructors in planning for Information Literacy learning objectives, which you can access online at http://www.pace.edu/library/pages/instruct/effectiveassignments.htm. Included on this page are some general guidelines, as well as sample research exercises and assignments that address specific Information Literacy skills, adapted from the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. When you get a chance, take a look at these assignments, and the learning outcomes that are identified for each. (For further examples of terminal learning objectives, see ACRL's Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians - ACRL Document .) Then ask yourself the really tough question, beyond "doing research," what do you really want your students to be able to do as a result of their library instruction session, and the research assignment you have given? Do you want them to be able to select the appropriate tool (e.g., library catalog, online database) for research on a particular topic? Do you want them to be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information? Do you want them to be able to explain how different types of information sources (e.g., popular magazines vs. scholarly journals) treat a subject differently? Do you want them to be able to evaluate a web site using specific criteria? Do you want them to understand why they must cite their information sources, and do so according to standard guidelines, such as MLA? Breaking down "research" into teachable and measurable learning objectives for our students is a challenge, but one we must face with determination and persistence. To work with an Instruction librarian on identifing the Information Literacy skills you would like your students to acquire, and to plan for a library instruction session, please do not hesitate to contact one of us via the Instructional Services page, on which you will find a link for Staff - http://www.pace.edu/library/pages/instruct/instructservices.htm. We are eager to work with the members of the Pace faculty on the integration of Information Literacy and library research skills throughout the curriculum, and look forward to hearing from you!
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"Beyond that surface skill, however, lurks an even more formidable challenge – the seemingly endless search for the ability to locate quality information."
"We hope to further our efforts to reach students after the freshmen year in the Writing in the Disciplines course being developed for the new Core, and through better and more involved collaboration with faculty."
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