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Blueprint for a Solid Information Literacy Foundation: Building a Program from the Ground Up

Blueprint for a Solid Information Literacy Foundation: Building a Program from the Ground Up. Judy Williams judy.williams@belmont.edu April 30, 2010. Belmont University. Nashville, TN Teaching university Liberal arts and professional programs 5,400 students. In the Beginning….

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Blueprint for a Solid Information Literacy Foundation: Building a Program from the Ground Up

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  1. Blueprint for a Solid Information Literacy Foundation:Building a Program from the Ground Up Judy Williams judy.williams@belmont.edu April 30, 2010

  2. Belmont University • Nashville, TN • Teaching university • Liberal arts and professional programs • 5,400 students

  3. In the Beginning…

  4. The Idea Is Germinated… Transformation of the College Library Workshop (April, 2006) • Attended by Associate Provost, Library Director, member of English faculty • Developed comprehensive campus plan for Information Literacy

  5. Comprehensive IL Plan Three-step plan: • Infuse IL into curriculum • Enhance library’s educational environment • Strengthen faculty collaboration via collection development and allocations

  6. Key to Plan’s Success – Top-Down Support • Approved by Provost Council • Information Literacy Team • Associate Provost • Librarians • Gen Ed faculty • Other faculty

  7. Infusing IL into the Curriculum General Education Freshman Level First Year Seminar First Year Writing Junior Level Third Year Writing Junior Cornerstone

  8. First Year Seminar • Required of all freshmen and transfer students • Taught by faculty from across disciplines • Theme – “Ways of Knowing” • Common assignment – argument paper

  9. First Year Seminar and IL • Research Process • Preliminary research • Narrowing the topic • Formulating the research question • Types of publishing • Scholarly • Popular • Evaluating sources

  10. Class Activity • Work in pairs • Answer 2 questions about source • Report to class • Smart Board

  11. First Year Writing • Introductory composition class • Required of most freshmen • Develop reading and research skills • Recognize, evaluate, and construct written arguments

  12. First Year Writing and IL • Keyword vs. Subject Searching • Boolean Searching • Reading and Interpreting Citations • Online Catalog and General Databases • BILS Tutorial

  13. Class Activity • “Boolean Café” • Students work in groups • AND, OR, NOT • Select menu items And , Or, and Not stop in at the Boolean Café for dessert. And knows exactly what she wants. She orders chocolate AND strawberries. Or is a big eater with a sweet tooth. He orders chocolate OR strawberries. Not has to be a bit more careful. He is allergic to strawberries, so he orders chocolate NOT strawberries.

  14. Third Year Writing • Enhanced critical thinking, reading, writing, and research abilities • Thematically linked assignments • Examples: • Jane Austen – Austenmania • New media and communication - ethnographies

  15. Third Year Writing and IL • Builds on First Year Writing • Thesaurus, specialized vocabulary • Subject-specific sources • Advanced searching features • Review of citation identification

  16. Class Activity • Locate a known item from its printed citation • Complete search worksheet • Begin in catalog • Chart search process

  17. Junior Cornerstone Seminar • Taught by faculty in various departments • Employs problem-based learning • Teamwork, collaboration • Research, writing, and critical thinking skills

  18. Junior Cornerstone and IL • Menu of IL competencies • More in-depth research skills • Content tailored to specific classes • Specialized databases

  19. Sample Menu Items Conducting a literature review (20 min.) Identifying sources Finding review articles Evaluating web sites (15 min.) Discuss evaluative criteria Analyze sample sites Information Life Cycle (15 min.) Follow an idea through stages – news, research, article, book, reference work

  20. Information Literacy in the Disciplines Information Literacy Plan • Identify learning objectives that include IL skills • Identify courses where IL skills are already being addressed • Identify assignments that meet IL objectives/develop IL skills

  21. A Work in Progress… • Psychology Department • Introductory level class • Research methods class • Health Sciences • Nursing - undergraduate • Occupational Therapy – graduate • Communication Studies • Fundamentals of Speech Communication – course guide

  22. Total Classes

  23. Total Students

  24. Assessment Freshman General Education • BILS test • Covers class material and tutorial • Administered as part of Computer Proficiency Test • All freshmen must pass • Faculty Surveys

  25. Survey Comments • “I believe our students do not recognize the importance of using the library resources…they need to expand their ways of obtaining knowledge. It definitely improved their critical thinking skills.” • “…when I see the majority of my students using ProQuest, Educational databases, and other reputable scholarly sources I can be nothing but thankful for the work you have done. Thank you.” • “The workshop definitely got my students thinking about the need to consider the credibility of sources!...I was VERY pleased with the IL session! Jenny did a GREAT job.”

  26. Enhance Educational Environment • Creation of information literacy classroom • Reconfiguration of reference area • Individual and group work space • Updated look

  27. Collection Development and Allocations • Library liaisons assigned to each department • Work with department chairs to review research requirements and collection needs • Inclusion of IL factored into budget allocations

  28. Course-Related Library Resource Needs Scale 0 – No usage/need 1 – Light usage/need • Required 1-4 times 2 – Medium usage/need • Required 5-7 times • <10 pages or 15 minutes; <7 resources 3 – Heavy usage/need • Required 8+ times • >10 pages or 15 minutes; >7 resources

  29. Using the Scale • Meeting ~ Department Chair/Liaison Librarian/Coordinator of Reference Services • Weight assigned to each course • Syllabus required for a rating of 3 • Math model = 12.5% of allocation • Will take effect June 2010 • Re-evaluate on three-year cycle

  30. Information Literacy Wiki • What is IL and why is it important? • ACRL standards • Comprehensive Plan • IL Campus Team • What we do in General Education • What we hope to do in the disciplines • Templates and Examples

  31. Successes • Positive survey response • More faculty coming on board • Information literacy as a university learning goal • Recognition of importance of IL through the required BILS test • Dedicated classroom • Increase in reference questions • Increase in interaction with students

  32. The Future • More disciplines create IL plans • Increase professional staff • Create a Learning Commons

  33. URLs • http://bunchlibrary.pbworks.com/Information+Literacy+Across+the+Curriculum • http://library.belmont.edu • Questions?

  34. Bill Amend, FoxTrot

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