Program Overview

 Types of Information Literacy Instruction

 What Is Information Literacy?
The information literate persons are able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information. While many instructors and researchers are familiar with these concepts and skills, most students are not. In fact, research indicates that most college students obtain their information for class from the Internet. They see no difference between a library book or scholarly article and a Web site randomly obtained from Google.

We must do better.

Our Program
USM Libraries offer a systematic, integrated approach to information literacy based on standards outlined by the Association of College & Research Libraries(ACRL). We seek to work directly with individual instructors to design instruction tailored to the needs of each class and also offer more general types of instruction that may be scheduled as needed.

Oversight for the program is provided by the Information Literacy Council, which guides services and policies based on input from varied sources.

Our standard approaches to instruction include:

Library Tours (may be scheduled or drop-in)
We offer an overview of the building's layout, holdings, and services, but do not offer any in-depth instruction. Generally 15 - 30 minutes

Course-Related Instruction
Librarians offer instructional sessions that provide information about sources and research strategies for a specific courses or assignments. Sessions are usually one class period long. We can offer a hands-on research experience in the library computer classroom (518 Glickman, Portland) or can come to your room.

Course-Integrated Instruction
Reference librarians collaborate with faculty to integrate library instruction into courses that contain a significant research component or that require the use of specialized electronic or print resources. Such instruction consists of lectures, learning activities and group work presented in short sessions throughout the term.

Questions? Contact Bill Grubb, Head of Reference & Instructional Services, 780-4672 or bgrubb@usm.maine.edu