Information Literacy Commons^™

Anarchy And Hope, Patrick K. Morgan

Faculty Presentations

Among the tensions inherent in teaching information literacy within the context of another instructor's classroom is that of balance. Teaching librarians are frequently forced to choose between focusing on practical, contextually-dependent skills of limited value to students (such as database navigation) and on more conceptual, portable themes. This paper presents an argument for granting pride of place to the latter, and provides one experiment as an initial foray into how this might be accomplished.

Flying Off The Shelf: E-Books Go Mobile, Madeline Cohen, Stefanie Havelka, Jennifer Poggiali, Kate Lyons, Elisabeth Tappeiner

Publications and Research

On May 3, 2013, the two Hostos librarians teamed up with two librarians of Lehman College’s Leonard Lief Library at the Bronx EdTech Showcase to address the challenges and joys of e-books. Their hour-long presentation, focused on trends in ebooks, technical issues such as DRM and formats, CUNY’s eBook collections, and the challenges of informing students and faculty about e-books.

Schaub, Gayle, Enriching Library Service To International Students: Current Practices And Perceived Needs, Gayle Schaub

Presentations

Current practices for library outreach to international students includes an orientation at the beginning of each semester, individual consultations with librarians (initiated by the student), and University Libraries representation on a newly-formed globalization task force. The results of this study are intended to better inform the task force, and guide the formation of new materials and practices specifically tailored for the needs of international and L2 library users.

Improving Student Research: The Embedded Librarian, Melissa Clark, Linda Kott, Chris Schafer

Library Conference Presentations and Posters

How can we develop critical thinking and solid research skills in students who prefer to Google, copy, and paste? Academic quality in higher education can benefit/profit greatly from the embedded librarian approach to information literacy instruction, and this presentation will explore the possibilities. Not all instances of embedded librarianship are created equally, and this presentation explains several different models, in addition to discussing how collaborative relationships between departments and librarians may improve student research. Experience with embedded librarianship in a beginning speech communication course is explored.

Addressing Information Management Competency Attainment Through Consultations: An Effective And Sustainable Strategy?, Marie T. Ascher, Penny Liberatos

NYMC Faculty Posters

Objectives: To study the application of local information management competencies in the context of a research methods class in the university's behavioral sciences program. We sought to measure competencies, address them through targeted individualized consultative instructional sessions, and evaluate improvement of skills as well as the sustainability of this level of concentrated individualized service.

Increasing Our Reach While Preserving Quality: Creating And Using Information Literacy Assessments And Rubrics For Non-Librarians, Angela Rice, Rory Patterson, Jeremy Roden

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - May 2013, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

Anthropology Research Project: Through The Portal To The World Exciting Research, Melanie Johnson

Undergraduate Research Conference

The idea of creating a webpage as a resource for anthropology developed over several years as anthropology professors saw their students struggling to do research. The need for another resource was clear. As an anthropology student, I went through the same classes and struggled in the same areas as other students.

Data Mining The Harness Track And Predicting Outcomes, Robert P. Schumaker

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper presented the S&C Racing system that uses Support Vector Regression (SVR) to predict harness race finishes and analyzed it on fifteen months of data from Northfield Park. We found that our system outperforms the most common betting strategies of wagering on the favorites and the mathematical arbitrage Dr. Z system in five of the seven wager types tested. This work would suggest that an informational inequality exists within the harness racing market that is not apparent to domain experts.

Community Engagement: Computer Skills For The Homeless, Fannie Cox

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

What does it mean to provide information literacy skills? The number of homeless people is growing regardless of their socio-economic status, age, gender, race, religion, or ethnicity. An Outreach Librarian from a university developed a community partnership to teach computer skills to residents of a homeless shelter. This paper presents the benefits, impacts, and outcomes of these classes for both the residents and librarians.

Information Outlook, March/April 2013, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2013

Volume 17, Issue 2

Ipedagogy For Adults, Jessica Alverson, Susan Shultz

Staff Publications - University Libraries

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The C. Y. Thompson Library For The 21st Century Task Force Report, Mark Balschweid, Larry Van Tassell, Jill Brown, Charlene Maxey-Harris, Nancy J. Busch, Vishal Singh, Jeanetta Drueke, Sue Voss, Tom Field

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: White Papers

The C. Y. Thompson (CYT) Library enjoys a location central to east campus. This creates an ideal setting for CYT to serve as a hub for activities of all kinds. And, based upon the feedback from online surveys and face-to-face focus groups, there is no shortage of interest and ideas for how CYT can become the premier gathering place on UNL’s east campus for users from all backgrounds. In spite of this, the primary question needing to be addressed is ‘what is C. Y. Thompson’? Is it a building? Is it a library? Is it something entirely different? The task …

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - April 2013, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

Mapping Standards To Content: Creating Research Guides Using Acrl’S Psychology Information Literacy Standards, Annie Armstrong, Kimberly D. Pendell

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Although librarians have embraced online research guides (typically SpringShare’s LibGuides) as a mechanism for informing students of key resources across the disciplines, to what degree have they leveraged the full potential of these guides for delivering and supporting instruction? Guided by disciplinary information literacy standards, how could librarians create more instructionally robust guides which both promote and support the development of disciplinary research competencies?

Worked Examples In Teaching Queries For Searching Academic Databases, Mary Kickham-Samy

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The worked-example effect, an application of cognitive load theory, is a well-supported method of instruction for well-structured problems (Chandler and Sweller, 1991; Cooper and Sweller, 1987; Sweller and Cooper, 1985; Tuovinen & Sweller, 1999; Ward and Sweller, 1990). One limitation is expertise-reversal effect, where advanced students perform less well when exposed to worked examples than when exposed to traditional problem solving (Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003; Kalyuga, Chandler, & Sweller, 1998; Kalyuga, Chandler, Tuovinen, & Sweller, 2001). A possible alternative to the worked-example approach is the fading example, designed to transition intermediate students to solving well-structured problems without assistance …

Serving Those Who Serve: Outreach And Instruction For Student Cadets And Veterans, Nancy E. Fawley, Nikki Kyrsak

Library Faculty Research

Student cadets and veterans new to college have unique academic needs, and the abrupt switch from civilian to Corps life for new students at a military university can be challenging. Likewise, transitioning from military life to civilian life as a veteran student can be overwhelming. The libraries at Norwich University and The University of Alabama are supporting programs to assist new students in the transition from civilian to Corps life and from military to civilian life, respectively. While these students are at different stages of their military careers, cadets and veterans have common attributes that inform library support and instruction, …

Crafting Assessment Questions: Creating The Tools To Assess Information Literacy Objectives For Art And Design: A Workshop, Rebecca Feind, Kathy Clarke

Faculty and Staff Publications

Now that information literacy standards for higher education have been created and are commonly incorporated within university curricula, assessing student mastery of the objectives is the next step in creating a measurable information literacy program. In addition to responding to institutional needs for data on student learning, assessment data is a valuable resource for updating instruction programs based on student knowledge and performance. While many librarians have vast amounts of anecdotal knowledge about what students know, being able to gather hard data on what students learn from online and in-person instruction can quantify the strengths and needs of your instruction …

Hidden Surveillance On Consumer Health Information Websites, Jacquelyn A. Burkell, Alexandre Fortier

FIMS Publications

Behavioural tracking presents a significant privacy risk to Canadians, particularly when their online behaviours reveal sensitive information that could be used to discriminate against them. This concern is particularly relevant in the context of online health information seeking, since searches can reveal details about health conditions and concerns that the individual may wish to keep private. The privacy threats are exacerbated because behavioural tracking mechanisms are large invisible to users, and many are unaware of the strategies and mechanisms available to track online behaviour. In this project, we seek to document the behavioural tracking practices of consumer health websites, and …

Information Literacy And Epistemological Inquiry, Patrick K. Morgan

Faculty Presentations

Information literacy is frequently invoked as leitmotiv in college-level library instruction, a fact which by no means implies a unanimous sense of its “meaning” among teaching librarians. Even a cursory perusal of the library literature demonstrates the importance of the concept, both as an educational paradigm and theoretic stimulus. Notably, despite rising acknowledgment that information literacy grows ever more vital for today’s students, little consideration of its place and purpose within other fields is found in academic publications outside information science. Likewise, information literacy instruction, while acknowledged in core curricula, is frequently marginalized in practice: cramped sessions within other …

At The Nexus Of Scholarly Communication And Information Literacy, Marianne A. Buehler, Anne E. Zald

Library Faculty Research

Introduction

Graduate students embarking upon a new phase in their educational careers may not realize the range of expectations, particularly the cocurricular or extracurricular expectation to participate in the scholarly communication process. Unforeseen faculty expectations may include a requirement to publish or copublish an article in order to pass a graduate course or to engage in grant-funded research that will result in conference presentations or publications. Learning about the publication process provides a key transitional experience between the independent intellectual endeavor of conducting research for course assignments and the social dynamics of being a professional researcher or scholar, interacting with …

Instruction And Focus Groups, John C. Hill

Blogging the Library

My internship focuses not only on reference librarianship, but also information literacy and instruction. Accordingly, I’ve been fortunate to sit in on some library instruction classes with Clint. I think that the image of a librarian as a reference resource is pretty well established in our cultural consciousness, at least here at Gettysburg College, but the image of librarian as teacher is perhaps not as prominent. At some colleges and universities, however, librarians are considered part of the faculty. [excerpt]

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - March 2013, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

The Rubric: An Assessment Odyssey., Elisa Slater Acosta, Susan Archambault

Librarian Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Information - Access: Denied, Riccardo M. Purita

SURGE

I have been privileged during my lifetime to always have the opportunity to learn about something if I wanted to. When I became interested in music and psychology—or even when I was learning how to apply for college—I googled it. The resources to obtain information have always been there for me: access to computers, the internet, books, journals. It is hard to imagine my life without a computer or access to books to learn about the world, and even harder to imagine if I did not know how to read or write. For this, I can thank my education and …

Using Fun To Teach Rigorous Content, Mary Francis

Communications in Information Literacy

This paper will offer a position on the place of fun within education and learning. It will place fun as an important component of learning. The intent is not to espouse the belief that it is the duty of teachers and instructors to entertain students. Unlike a movie or TV show that provides passive entertainment, fun in this context relates to actions and techniques that aid students in learning new material. So rather than fun being associated with ease, fun is associated with rigor. In drawing together research on the successful impact of fun in education, this paper hopes to …

Student Use Of Library Research Guides Following Library Instruction, Mardi Mahaffy

Communications in Information Literacy

Librarians often provide students who attend one-shot library instruction sessions with research guides they can refer to once class is over. These guides, whether in paper or electronic form, serve to remind the students of key points and resources addressed during the session. It is unclear, though, if and how students refer to these guides once leaving the classroom. This article reports on the results of two focus groups made up of students who attended a basic library instruction session as part of a survey art course. The students shared how they used a paper and electronic research guide, delivered …

Teaching Matters: Reshaping The Role Of Information Literacy Instructional Services, Patrick P. Ragains

Communications in Information Literacy

This column provides an overview of emerging trends in information literacy instruction.

Information Evaluation Instruction: A Three Term Project With A First Year Experience Course, Steve Borrelli, Corey M. Johnson

Communications in Information Literacy

In response to the recognition that work world success is dependent on locating and effectively utilizing information, the academy has acknowledged the need to produce information literate graduates. There needs to be more focus on how to develop the most effective collaborative programs with teaching faculty and benchmark the progress toward research skill mastery. This paper outlines a multiple term collaborative effort targeting student evaluation skill development. Librarians taught hybrid (mostly online with some in-person interaction) lessons to groups of lower undergraduates enrolled in a first year experience seminar. A pre-test/post-test assessment package revealed that students' strongest area of proficiency …

Adapting And Using Instruction Proficiencies To Encourage Reflection, Goal Setting And Professional Development, Uta Hussong-Christian

Communications in Information Literacy

Librarians at Oregon State University undertook a teaching competency project to lay the foundation for practices that improve teaching by adapting the core teaching proficiencies in the ACRL Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators. This article describes one model for locally adapting those proficiencies, the Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) Framework for Teaching Excellence. This framework promotes reflection on, goal setting for, and professional development around teaching. The project team utilized a survey to determine the proficiency categories most valued by OSUL instruction librarians. The development and inclusion of context material for each proficiency category included in the …