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Introduction: Our Mission

The librarians' goal is to assist students with their research and provide them with information literacy skills—skills that contribute to the ability to think critically and that are vital for lifelong learning. In the process, we collaborate with faculty to engage students with inquiry-based assignments that prepare students to seek and use information wisely and effectively in their academic, professional, and personal lives. We teach and develop information literacy through the Information Literacy Program in the following ways:
  • By collaborating and partnering with our colleagues from all departments and offices to integrate information literacy into academic programs.
  • By promoting the use of library resources in all formats.
  • By providing instruction formally or informally, in-person, or via technology.
  • By evaluating the effectiveness of our approaches and constantly renewing our own skills.

A Definition of Information Literacy

Information literacy is a set of competencies enabling individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, access, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." (Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) ) ACRL, a division of the American Library Association, is dedicated to helping information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research.

NEASC Revised Standards

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) revised standards (4.6, 4.18, 7.4, 7.7 and 7.8) specify that graduates successfully completing an undergraduate program should demonstrate competencies including the capability for continuing learning and the skills of information literacy.
Five Competency Standards

ACRL provides a framework for assessing the information literate individual: information literacy consists of five competency standards, intended to apply to any information-seeking situation. The standards also list a range of outcomes for assessing student progress toward information literacy. These competencies are:
  1. Ability to determine the nature and extent of the information needed.
          
    Outcomes      Assignments


  2. Ability to access needed information effectively and efficiently.
          
    Outcomes      Assignments


  3. Ability to appraise information and its sources and to incorporate selected information with existing knowledge.
          
    Outcomes      Assignments


  4. Ability to use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
          
    Outcomes      Assignments


  5. Ability to understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and ability to access and use information ethically and legally.
          
    Outcomes      Assignments

Geisel Library Program Design

The Information Literacy Program seeks to teach information seeking skills to our students, faculty and staff and focuses on measuring outcomes of student learning.

Specific Levels of Information Literacy Instruction
  1. New Student Orientation
  2. First Semester English EN103
  3. Second Semester English EN104
  4. Intermediate level: Ethics/Philosophy
  5. Advanced level: Critical Thinking
Support Programs Additional Programs and Services
Instruction takes place in many ways using a variety of teaching methods: Evaluation and Assessment
  • Searchpath
  • Faculty Classroom Assessment with Librarian Collaboration
  • Library online evaluation survey
  • College evaluation

Assessment Tools

This list reflects examples of common tools used in assessing student learning outcomes in all subject areas. These tools also lend themselves to assessing information literacy skills. (Highlighted titles are PDF files.)
Bibliography

ACRL's bibliography on topics related to Information Literacy.

Information Literacy in the Disciplines


Successful Information Literacy Programs

The following is a list of Information Literacy programs established by colleges and universities in the United States. This is not an exhaustive list.
 

 

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