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Information Literacy
Information Literacy Plan | Information Literacy Methods | Contact Information
Purpose/Definition | Activities | Short-term Goals | Long-term Goals | Core Competencies
Purpose/Definition
If USM graduates are to
be lifelong learners, as articulated in the mission statement
of the USM Strategic Plan, the University must incorporate
information literacy in its curriculum. An information-literate
individual understands the need for information, as well as
how to find it, evaluate it, and use it effectively, ethically
and legally. The University Libraries adhere to and promote
the Information
Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education created
by the Association
of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and accepted
as the national standard.
Because information literacy can not be taught in a vacuum, collaboration with faculty is essential. “Being information literate involves being literate about something….in a robust, holistic IL [information literacy] program, these skills are presented and developed as the curriculum of each course is taught. Librarians and classroom faculty share the responsibility for teaching them so that each teaches the skills that their credentials and background best qualify them to teach. Librarians are responsible for imparting the enabling skills that are prerequisite to information seeking and knowledge acquisition across the curriculum, while classroom faculty have the responsibility of teaching those skills that are required for subject-specific inquiry and research.” (Grafstein, Ann. “A Discipline-Based Approach to Information Literacy.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 28 (2002): 202)
Activities
The USM Libraries, which are the academic/literacy/learning
centers of their campuses, are using a multidisciplinary
approach to integrate information literacy into the curriculum. Methods include single and/or multi-session research instruction sessions, individual and/or small group research consultations, creation of web-based subject and course guides of relevant library and Internet resources, creation of web-based tutorials, and presentations on the topics of information literacy and plagiarism prevention as Center for Teaching workshops. The Coordinator for Information Literacy is also serving on the General Education Curriculum Planning Group. In addition, the librarians avail themselves of professional development opportunities at the regional and national level. The USM Libraries will be hosting the annual conference of the Association Of College and Research Libraries New England Chapter Library Instruction group on June 10, 2005.
Short-term Goals
•Develop and implement core competencies/outcomes to use as guide for instruction session content
• Develop/adapt tutorials for different ability levels
• Develop common language for defining information literacy in order to better communicate these principles to faculty, students, and staff
• Proactively contact College Writing faculty to ascertain possibility of providing instruction/consultation for these classes
• Proactively contact faculty within liaison areas to explore information literacy opportunities
• Create and mount comprehensive, discipline-specific, Web-based subject guides that address both core competencies and outcomes
• Create and mount class-specific, Web-based course guides for faculty in individual liaison areas in order to offer targeted instruction and consultation
• Explore ways to contribute to and/or become a part of General Education Committee to further communicate/ experience information literacy
• Participate in Center for Teaching workshops
• Set up consultation opportunities at campus sites: e.g., dorms, cafeteria, etc.
• Proactively contact clubs and other student organizations that could benefit (example: Model UN)
• Participate in new student orientation
• Develop workshops targeted to specific groups (example: administrative assistants/professional staff)
• Collaborate with other areas of the library and campus to offer instruction classes, programs, etc. (examples: Special Collections, Osher Map Library, UCT).
•Explore other "grass roots" advocacy methods
Long-term Goals
• Develop and implement assessment instruments such as pre-tests, post-tests, citation analysis, etc.
• Provide opportunities for liaisons to build instruction skills
• Partner with faculty and academic units to create integrated, curriculum based information literacy programs that will be nationally recognized.
• Collaborate with other libraries within the state in furthering the integration of information literacy into curriculums
• Explore other mediums of delivery, such as software, streaming video, etc. (example: Camtasia)
• Explore other software relevant to information literacy (example: EndNote)
Core Competencies
First Year
General
• Understand that there is an information need
• Stating the information need
• Developing questions that lead to thesis statement
Books
• Locate the online catalog
• Recognize the types of materials found in the catalog (books; journal titles, but not articles; government documents; electronic books; etc.)
• Understand difference between title, author, subject, and keyword searching
• Know how to limit searches by material type, libraries
• Understand and be able to successfully do Boolean searching (AND, OR, NOT)
• Understand how to request materials from another library within URSUS system
• Understand how to make ILL request if item(s) not available via URSUS
• Understand difference between general and discipline specific encyclopedias
• Understand how to use reference sources as background reading to determine core concepts, vocabulary, etc.
Journals
• Understand the difference between a database and popular search engines
• Understand difference between print index and electronic index
• Understand that not everything is available electronically
• Understand and be able to successfully use criteria for determining which database to use(date coverage, scope, etc.)
• Understand difference between scholarly and popular periodicals
• Understand difference between primary and secondary sources
• Understand how to do BOOLEAN searching in databases
• Understand truncation and nesting
• Understand parts of journal citation
• Understand how to locate the journal in URSUS
• Understand how to make ILL request to obtain a journal article not available through URSUS
• Understand how to use search results to find other articles (endnotes, bibliography, subject headings)
• Understand need to use synonyms for search terms
• Understand need to change vocabulary if initial search terms are not sufficient.
• Understand how to evaluate usefulness of results
Internet
• Understand how to evaluate Internet sites for authenticity
• Understand how to search Internet
Citation/Plagiarism
• Understand how to paraphrase, quote, etc.
• Understand how to properly cite different types of information
• Understand that there is a difference in citation styles
• Understand difference between endnotes, footnotes, bibliography
Course-related instruction
Classes tailored to specific course content and assignment,
usually one meeting, and available to all academic departments.
Course-integrated instruction
The teaching of the use of the library and library resources
as an integral part of the objectives of the course. Includes
collaboration with classroom faculty to develop the research
component, and scheduled meetings with class throughout semester
to focus strategies.
Consultations
One-on-one or small group sessions with the academic subject
liaison are also available.
Center for Information Literacy
Our state-of-the art electronic classroom features 36 student workstations, a teacher's workstation, and projection system.
Technology is also available for DVD, CD, and video viewing. Students are able to experience what they have learned through hands-on opportunities.
Instruction Session Request
For more information about information literacy and opportunities to incorporate the principles into the USM curriculum, please contact TBA, Coordinator for the Information Literacy Program at 780-4272 or via email at libraryweb@usm.maine.edu.
Subject/Course Guides
Comprehensive web-based subject guides and course-specific web-based guides are available for a variety of disciplines to further promote the information literacy standards. They include reference sources for background reading, relevant databases and indexes, Internet site evaluation criteria as well as pertinent Internet sites, citation style information and, in the case of course guides, avoiding plagiarism guidelines. Guides are developed on a regular basis. These guides can be accessed via the Resources by Subject page.
For more information about information literacy at USM, please contact TBA, Coordinator, at libraryweb@usm.maine.edu or 780-4272.
To contact the library liaison for your department/program please consult the subject liaison listing.
Last update: 04-25-05 bjm
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