Digital Commons Network^™

Preserving Our Heritage: Protecting Law Library Core Missions Through Updated Library Quality Assessment Standards, Sarah Hooke Lee

Sarah Hooke Lee

Professor Lee argues that traditional quality criteria for judging law libraries are now inadequate because they no longer capture the vital multiple missions of today's libraries. She suggests ways that law librarians can begin to develop indicia of quality that can adequately evaluate the contemporary law school library and preserve its core missions.

Librarian-Faculty Collaboration Inventory: A Personal Reflection Exercise, Susan A. Ariew, James Eison

Academic Services Faculty and Staff Publications

There are many different ways librarians can create opportunities for networking,coordination and collaboration with faculty members. This inventory identifies briefly some 20 different possibilities.

Librarian-Faculty Collaboration Inventory: A Personal Reflection Exercise, Susan Ariew, James Eison

Susan A. Ariew

There are many different ways librarians can create opportunities for networking,coordination and collaboration with faculty members. This inventory identifies briefly some 20 different possibilities. Unpublished paper © 2010 by Susan A. Ariew and Jim Eison is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Challenges In Building An Incremental, Multi-Year Information Literacy Plan, Mary C. Macdonald, Andrée J. Rathemacher, Joanna M. Burkhardt

Joanna M Burkhardt

The authors discuss the plan for building an incremental, multi-year information literacy program at the University of Rhode Island. Review of the current library instruction program leads to why and how they plan to change the program by focusing on the concepts of understanding what information is in addition to learning how to gather, evaluate, and use information. The Draft Plan for Information Literacy at the University of Rhode Island Libraries addresses the information and research needs of undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty needs. The development of credit-bearing courses in information literacy, the creation of information literacy …

Information Literacy Developments @ Itt Dublin, Philip Russell

Other Resources

Provides an overview of information literacy activity at ITT Dublin; the approaches taken including blended and online learning and some of the issues and challenges involved in delivering information literacy training. There is also a discussion on use of new technologies to enhance information literacy progression.

A New Model For Evaluating The Online Tutorial: Does Your Tutorial Reflect Your Mission?, Paulette Kerr, Jana Valejs

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The online tutorial has emerged as a ubiquitous representation of information literacy instruction and often is the visible face of these programs. Academic libraries currently boast an expanding array of tutorials which are presented as effective alternatives and supplements to face-to-face instruction. A growing body of literature exists about the design and evaluation of the online tutorial (Atwater-Singer & Metcalf, 2006; Dewald, 1999; Hrycaj, 2005; Tronstad, Phillips, Garcia, & Harlow, 2009). Typically, evaluations focus on the quality of the tutorial or its effect on student learning. Quality questions ask whether it is engaging, easy to navigate, and up-to-date. Effectiveness questions …

Letting The Inmates Run The Asylum: Student Engagement In The Progressive Classroom, Tracey Mayfield, Katy Farrell French

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

One of the biggest challenges in library instruction today is engaging students in the one-shot library instruction setting. Students are bored, incommunicative and motivating them to participate proves difficult. These challenges with students beg the question: how do we initiate and maintain student engagement in the one-shot library instruction?

Our approach is a simple one: let the students set the learning agenda.

This presentation will address how librarians can partner with students during the library instruction session to chart a unique and customized path towards learning. The presenters will demonstrate their method of letting students set the agenda that identifies …

The Map Is Useless Unless You Know Where You Are: Information Literacy Pre-Assessment As A Tool For Understanding And Collaboration, Jason Ertz

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The objective of this presentation is to provide librarians with a potential outline for beginning an information literacy assessment strategy, starting with pre-assessment. Librarians unsure about where to start when it comes to assessment will find that developing a pre-test can be a great way to start such a strategy collaborating with classroom faculty. Pre-assessment also is nonjudgmental pertaining to faculty’s teaching abilities and students’ learning making it an easier sell for collaboration or even initiating collaboration where none existed. If we can’t know where students end up after a class, at least we can get a sense of where …

Using A Pre- And Post-Survey Method To Assess The Effectiveness And Usability Of An Online Information Literacy Tutorial, Lesley M. Moyo

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The presentation is a case study reporting on the assessment of Virginia Tech’s online Information Skills Modules (ISM): http://info-skills.lib.vt.edu/. The ISM is an information literacy tutorial developed for use either as a teaching tool or independently. The evaluators used a pre and post survey method to determine the ISM impact on research skills of agricultural economics students who used the tutorial as a textbook for a component of their course. The session will cover methods and instruments employed in collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, and how the data was analyzed. Discussion will include detailed findings and recommendations.

Wikipedia, Ipods, And Chickens: An Active Learning Exercise To Teach Evaluation Of Information, Latisha Reynolds, Anna Marie Johnson

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Librarians at the University of Louisville developed an evaluation of information exercise that is completely interactive. Students learn evaluation skills by participating in a small-group exercise, after which, the groups teach their classmates what they have learned.

Each small-group is assigned a different publication to evaluate such as a book, a website, a scholarly article, magazine or newspaper. They also have questions to answer in order to evaluate each source. After they evaluate the sources, each group chooses a student to present the information in front of the class.

The librarian acts as a facilitator to guide the students and …

Git Along Li’L Dogies: A Collaborative Approach To Library Instruction For First-Year Writing Students, Jim Kinnie, Kerry Caparco

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

This presentation outlines the collaboration between URI Libraries and the URI Department of Writing and Rhetoric that has been designed to improve library skills for first-year writing students who all come to the library for an information literacy session. In ongoing discussions, URI librarians and Writing chairs updated the goals and outcomes of the library sessions and during the spring 2008 semester piloted a concept mapping pre-activity for students to enhance their research projects & prepare them for library research. The project design and assessment are detailed as well as the overall URI library instruction program for writing students.

Treading New Paths: How Creative Collaboration Transformed Teaching The Research Process To Usc Upstate’S First-Year Students, Andrew Kearns

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

What are the special needs of first-year students in learning the research process? How will students come to see information literacy as a process rather than a set of discrete skills? What research and information literacy skills need to be intentionally taught in the classroom and library instruction sessions? How do we as librarians make sure that our instruction session fits organically into the course of which it is ostensibly a part? At USC Upstate, we have addressed these questions through creation of our First-Year Information Literacy Program in three first-year courses, involving creative collaboration between the library, the University …

Instruction 2.0: Engaging Students And Faculty Through Course Wikis, Kristine Esch Kasbohm, Hazel A. Mcclure

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Merriam-Webster online defines a "wiki" as "a Web site that allows visitors to make changes, contributions, or corrections". Librarians at Canisius College have used a variety of web-based collaborative resources such as wikis, Google applications, and Angel course management software to improve student engagement and faculty interest in information literacy instruction. These collaborative resources offer instructional support beyond the one-shot session in the library. They also provide an avenue for librarians to interact with students and faculty.

We have used wikis in several different ways. When students do not completely understand something discussed in the library session, or when they …

Save A Horse, Ride A New Train Of Thought: Using Threshold Concepts To Teach Information Literacy, Lori Townsend, Korey Brunetti, Amy R. Hofer

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The sun beat down on a high, lonesome hilltop in Hayward... where three librarians at Cal State East Bay were redesigning a credit-bearing first-year Information Literacy course in order to move the content online. They reckoned that creating this online hootenanny would require rustling up some fresh lessons and activities and distilling the class down to a few essential learning objectives, based on ACRL standards. One librarian thundered into town with talk of "threshold concepts," a pedagogical strategy developed by Jan Meyer and Ray Land. Could threshold concepts serve as a lasso for students to snare a deeper understanding of …

To The Instruction Cave, Librarian! Graphic Novels And Information Literacy, Steven Hoover

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Graphic novels emerged as highly visible additions to many academic library collections over the last few years. Much has been written about the pedagogical value of graphic novels in K-12 settings, but their potential applications in relation to information literacy in higher education have not been seriously addressed. Graphic novels provide an ideal backdrop for teaching students a variety of skills, especially with regard to the ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standard Three and visual literacy. In addition, graphic novels are excellent source material for projects that require students to conduct research, evaluate source quality, engage in reflective writing, compare versions …

Many Paths, One Journey: Mapping The Routes To Information Literacy, Margy Macmillan

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Students gain information literacy skills from a range of sources, not all of which involve direct librarian intervention. These skills grow and diversify over the course of their studies in ways that pre/post test research protocols cannot capture. So how can we understand how they learn what they know? This presentation describes a long-term project using the Information Skills résumé as a case study of gathering, analyzing and using qualitative data to better understand student learning and thereby improve information literacy instruction. The Information Skills résumé tool, used to gather information from journalism students over five years, showed development of …

The Savvy Researcher: Teaching Information Management Skills To Graduate Students, Merinda Kaye Hensley

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Who better to teach information management skills than librarians? Run-of-the-mill library instruction rarely leaves time to cover topics such as current awareness tools, copyright concerns or scholarly communication education. The Savvy Researcher asks us to reconsider the drop-in workshop as a venue for the inquisitive graduate student. In this interactive session, we’ll demonstrate several active learning techniques including PowerLearn, a form of speed dating for instruction. You will develop a lesson plan to implement a workshop/module customized for the needs of your institution. At the end of this session, don't miss the Pecha Kucha, “Every path has its puddle: We …

Developing An Online Credit-Bearing Information Fluency Course: Lessons Learned, Rebecca Blakiston, Yvonne Mery, Leslie Sult

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

This presentation will focus on the University of Arizona Libraries’ development and implementation of its first online one-credit information fluency course, the Skillful Researcher. This course is taught entirely online and has allowed the Library to reach new students who have little experience with the Library and its resources. The presentation will be aimed at librarians who are currently planning their own online or credit-bearing courses. Attendees will learn how we developed the course from its inception to its evaluation and how they can avoid the same mistakes and pitfalls in their own development.

Wikipedia, Ipods, And Chickens : An Active Learning Exercise To Teach Evaluation Of Information., Latisha Reynolds, Anna Marie Johnson

Faculty Scholarship

Librarians at the University of Louisville developed an evaluation of information exercise that is completely interactive. Students learn evaluation skills by participating in a small-group exercise, after which, the groups teach their classmates what they have learned.

Each small-group is assigned a different publication to evaluate such as a book, a website, a scholarly article, magazine or newspaper. They also have questions to answer in order to evaluate each source. After they evaluate the sources, each group chooses a student to present the information in front of the class.

The librarian acts as a facilitator to guide the students and …

Librarian Perceptions And Information Literacy Instruction Models, Erin Davis, Kacy Lundstrom, Pamela N. Martin

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Purpose – This paper aims to explore both instruction librarians' attitudes on teaching and how they identify themselves as teachers. Particular attention is to be paid to teaching librarians' views on the effectiveness of two types of instruction models: for-credit courses and course-integrated library instruction.

Design/methodology/approach – To investigate librarians' attitudes towards these two models, a survey was constructed targeting librarians who teach information literacy (IL).

Findings – The results indicate that there is an important relationship between the IL instruction model employed and feelings towards campus politics, perceived effectiveness of IL models, and librarians' self-identification as teachers.

Research limitations/implications …

Getting A Clue: Creating Student Detectives And Dragon Slayers In Your Library, Anna-Lise Smith, Lesli Baker

Annie Smith

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how Utah Valley University Library staff created two games to orient students to the library and library services.

Design/methodology/approach – Library staff developed and marketed the Get a Clue game, which used clues placed throughout the building at the beginning of the Fall semester to orient new students as they solved a mystery. During the Spring semester, the library staff introduced library services through LibraryCraft, an online game where students used library resources to slay a dragon.

Findings – In post-game surveys, students found the games entertaining and informative. The …

Information Literacy: The Library's Academic Program, Cheryl B. Truesdell

Cheryl B. Truesdell

No abstract provided.

Faculty And Librarian Collaboration In Online Instruction: Harnessing The Learning Management System, Shannon F. Johnson, Tammy R. Toscos

Shannon F Johnson

Tammy Toscos, Nursing Informatics Professor, and Shannon Johnson, Health Sciences Librarian, will share their experiences harnessing the Learning Management System for information literacy instruction and how this has affected IL instruction delivery at IPFW. They will discuss their use of online technology to expand the traditional bibliographic instruction into new realms, increasing the number of students they reach and allowing for more in-depth instruction to take place.

Click Or Poll Your Way To An Interactive Library Instruction, Sarah Gewirtz

Libraries Staff Publications

Many of us have gotten the blank stare when we ask students, “Do you have any questions?” or “Can anyone give me a search term to try?” This might be the only time we see them. We want to make a positive impression but also make sure they learn something during their short time. How can we do all of that? Easy! Use Clickers (Audience Response Systems) or an online version like PollEverywhere.com. During this presentation, Sarah discussed the questions she’s asked and responses she’s gotten from classes she’s taught using both Clickers and PollEverywhere.com. She discussed feedback from each …

Strategies For Teaching 21st Century Skills To Tomorrow's College Students, Ann Marie Smeraldi, Kenneth J. Burhanna, Joanna Mcnally, Jennifer Schwelik

Ann Marie Smeraldi

Today’s first year college students arrive on campus underprepared for the academic demands that await them. Despite the dedicated efforts of high school librarians, research continues to illustrate that students lack basic information literacy skills crucial to their academic success in higher education. In this session high school and academic librarians will explore this issue with participants to identify key deficits in students’ 21st Century Skills. The presenters will share their insights on college professors’ expectations and offer best practices for educating tomorrow’s college students. Presenters will provide ideas for lesson plans and assessment; actual college assignments will be shared.

Strategies For Teaching 21st Century Skills To Tomorrow's College Students, Ann Marie Smeraldi, Kenneth J. Burhanna, Joanna Mcnally, Jennifer Schwelik

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Today’s first year college students arrive on campus underprepared for the academic demands that await them. Despite the dedicated efforts of high school librarians, research continues to illustrate that students lack basic information literacy skills crucial to their academic success in higher education. In this session high school and academic librarians will explore this issue with participants to identify key deficits in students’ 21st Century Skills.

The presenters will share their insights on college professors’ expectations and offer best practices for educating tomorrow’s college students. Presenters will provide ideas for lesson plans and assessment; actual college assignments will be shared.

Strategies For Teaching 21st Century Skills To Tomorrow's College Students, Ann Marie Smeraldi, Kenneth J. Burhanna, Joanna Mcnally, Jennifer Schwelik

Kenneth Burhanna

Today’s first year college students arrive on campus underprepared for the academic demands that await them. Despite the dedicated efforts of high school librarians, research continues to illustrate that students lack basic information literacy skills crucial to their academic success in higher education. In this session high school and academic librarians will explore this issue with participants to identify key deficits in students’ 21st Century Skills. The presenters will share their insights on college professors’ expectations and offer best practices for educating tomorrow’s college students. Presenters will provide ideas for lesson plans and assessment; actual college assignments will be shared.

Visualizing History: Using Museum Skills To Teach Information Literacy To Undergraduates, Sandra Roff

Publications and Research

Baruch College began an information studies minor that reinforces the principles of information literacy. However, it did not employ the visual to teach information literacy skills. To fill this gap, a new course, using the process of researching and preparing an exhibit script to teach undergraduates information literacy skills, was developed. In this course students have the opportunity to become creative, while at the same time learning the organizational and research skills needed to compose exhibit proposals, write labels and press releases and finally to produce exhibit script.

Closing The Gap: An Evolving Professional Development Workshop Bridging K12 & Higher Education, Sonya Shepherd

Sonya S. Gaither

No abstract provided.

Critical Thinking As Information Literacy: A Model For The Core Curriculum?, Lisa P. Smith, Phyllis S. Dallas

Library Faculty Presentations

Presentation Description

The presenters will share the history of the new critical thinking requirements adopted by Georgia Southern University, which are based upon information literacy goals. In addition, the presenters will briefly examine models for developing and measuring critical thinking skills from other USG institutions. Finally, an opportunity for input from the participants will be welcomed and facilitated through questions from the presenters that focus on assessment of critical thinking.