Information Literacy @ Ursinus College

An explanation for Ursinus faculty and administrators from the Myrin Library

The Myrin Library and its staff support student achievement at Ursinus College in many ways, from developing, cataloging and circulating a robust collection of materials in all disciplinary areas, to arranging and describing primary sources for student use in its Special Collections, to providing a wonderful study space for all to use. One of the most important ways the library remains directly tied to the educational mission of the college is through its support of information literacy. The main aim of the library’s information literacy program is to ensure that all students learn to engage in meaningful academic research over the course of their careers at Ursinus College. In close partnership with the faculty members, through a liaison program that links each department to a librarian, librarians seek to teach, guide and help students to conduct thorough, comprehensive and academically sound research in any discipline in which the students work. Further, in supporting the development of information literate students, librarians strive to instill a life-long love for learning that will last long after graduation.

The Myrin Library at Ursinus College adopts the general definition of information literacy laid out by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) in the Information Literacy Competency Standards. There are two main components of the definition:

• Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."
• Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning.

ACRL’s five well-established information literacy competency standards are used by Myrin Library and colleges and universities across the country as a guide for their information literacy programs.

• The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
• The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
• The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
• The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
• The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.

Specific performance indicators and outcomes that the Myrin Library will use as a guide are listed on ACRL's page.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities VALUE project includes a rubric for assessing students’ information literacy competency that provides high-level performance indicators and outcomes to serve as a guide for assessment. The National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) provides a wealth of current resources, practices and applications relating to information literacy.

Middle States accreditation standards call attention to the importance of the library’s role in the broader educational mission of the college through the inclusion of information literacy in Standards 11 (Educational Offerings) & 12 (General Education). In calling for “academic content, rigor, and coherence” in an institution’s educational offerings, Standard 11 highlights “collaboration between professional library staff and faculty in teaching and fostering information literacy skills relevant to the curriculum” and “programs that promote student use of information and learning resources.” Standard 12 requires that students “demonstrate college-level proficiency in general education and essential skills” including “information literacy…which includes critical analysis and reasoning.” The 2009 accreditation report to Ursinus College commended the library on many aspects, but warned that, in light of the merging of the library and the IT department, the library must strive to remain “closely tied to the educational enterprise,” and noted the following:

“As the college continues to focus on outcomes assessment the team hopes it will give serious attention to a comprehensive program of information literacy, beginning with the CIE, moving into departmental methodology courses, and culminating in capstone course work as appropriate. Currently there is no comprehensive information literacy program”

Since that report, efforts to better publicize the library’s current information literacy program have begun and plans have been made to conduct a thorough analysis of the curriculum to determine how best to expand the program in a more comprehensive way. A webpage outlining the library’s definition of information literacy, and highlighting ways that the library currently supports the teaching and learning of it, was developed in the Spring 2011 semester by the reference/instruction librarian and the Library Director. The text was discussed with the Library Committee, and then approved for posting by them, in a meeting on April 11, 2011. The minutes of this meeting were submitted to the umbrella Academic Support group. This website has made the library’s information literacy program more visible to current and prospective students as well as to faculty members. It provides links to useful resources such as the ACRL standards, rubrics for assessing student competencies, and articles outlining the bigger picture of information literacy as illustrated by the linguist Geoffrey Nunberg with the metaphor of swimming adrift in a sea of information. As outlined on the webpage, the library’s information literacy program currently includes the following aspects:

• Librarians conduct workshops for one or more sessions of a course at the request of professors.
• Librarians hold in-depth research conferences with students working on research papers, especially honors and summer fellows projects.
• Librarians staff the Reference Desk to answer questions on an as-needed basis.
• Course and subject guides created by librarians in concert with professors provide students with 24/7 research support.
• Librarians work with professors to develop assignments that require students to use library resources effectively and to develop information literacy skills.
• Professors can require students to come to consult with a librarian on their literature reviews or research papers.
• Librarians team-teach with professors in classes where there is a significant research component, or serve as an "embedded librarian" by attending class meetings as needed and being involved in the whole course rather than just one workshop session.

Diane Skorina, reference & instruction/information literacy librarian at Ursinus College, is working to develop the library’s information literacy program over the next several years with the following general framework:

• Development of a working partnership with the Center for Writing and Speaking
• Participation in CIE 1 and CIE 2 training to (1) determine whether CIE is an appropriate place to address “information literacy” and (2) to be able to participate in discussions of how CIE develops going forward (2011-2012 academic year)
• Teach CIE sections on an on-going basis and develop library resources that can support CIE
• Conduct a needs assessment of departments on campus academic year to determine where information literacy is being adequately addressed and where there is room for improvement, ideally in the context of a Working Group with librarian/faculty involvement
• In the future, liaisons will continue to explore ideas to develop a plan for teaching research skills/information literacy in the disciplines – this could take many forms, for example, working with faculty to develop a 1-credit research course for majors, developing rubrics, or redesigning assignments in course to align with student abilities at different levels. In some cases, direct librarian involvement may not be necessary.
•  Diane will continue to serve as a liaison to the Outcomes Assessment Committee (OAC) to determine appropriate ways of assessing student research skills on an individual level, a discipline specific level, and on a higher, College-wide level

This basic framework outlines the main ways the Library will address Ursinus students’ information literacy needs in a more comprehensive and holistic way over the next several years and beyond. Work with individual departments is expected to be varied based on the levels of partnership with faculty, and to reflect the range of student needs in different disciplines and at different stages of their academic careers. Surveys, focus groups, informal meetings, formal presentations and general publicity will necessarily supplement this framework, and as needs are uncovered and the campus continues to change and develop, so too will the library’s information literacy program to meet the needs of its students and to foster student achievement.

--- Diane Skorina

Reference & Instruction Librarian

September 2011
Updated August 2013 for posting to LibGuide