Library Policies and Procedures: Information Literacy

According to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy, “information literacy is a set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.”

The Six Concepts of the Framework for Information Literacy

• Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
• Information Creation as a Process
• Information Has Value
• Research as Inquiry
• Scholarship as Conversation
• Searching as Strategic Exploration

Information Literacy Goals

ACRL Goals:

An information literate individual is able to:

• Determine the extent of information needed
• Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
• Evaluate information and its sources critically
• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

KCTCS General Education Competencies related to information literacy:

Students should prepare for twenty-first century challenges by gaining: B. Intellectual and practical skills, including

• inquiry and analysis
• critical and creative thinking
• written and oral communication
• quantitative literacy
• information literacy
• teamwork and problem solving

ECTC Goals & Outcomes:

The information literate student should be able to:

• Identify a variety of ways information is accessed and locate relevant sources effectively and efficiently
• Recognize different types of sources (books, magazine articles, websites, scholarly articles) and understand the different characteristics of those sources
• Create an effective search strategy including focusing a topic, keyword identification, and Boolean Operators (AND/OR/NOT).
• Identify and recognize the authority of a source or author within context of the information need
• Select the best source to meet their information need based on assignment, audience, context, and content
• Recognize the various elements of a citation

Assessment

A variety of formal and informal tools and techniques will be used to assess information literacy instruction and outcomes including: pre/post tests, library assignments, source evaluation, peer evaluation, and in-class assessments. The goal of assessment is to:

• Continually evaluate and improve our information literacy program
• Confirm library instruction helped students meet the student learning outcomes or competencies
• Assess whether library instruction improved student work and strengthened information literacy skills
• Identify areas where the library can provide additional instructional support to ECTC faculty and students 

The following information is communicated to faculty members via the library website, campus email, and other forms of communication.

Faculty Attendance

Faculty are strongly encouraged to attend library instruction classes and actively participate so that students understand the direct connection between information literacy skills and their course content. Faculty input, collaboration, and reflection is also an integral part of information literacy program assessment.

Scheduling

Please schedule classes at least five business days in advance for main campus classes and ten business days in advance for satellite campus, dual credit, or on-line classes. Although every effort will be made to accommodate your preferred date, requests are first-come, first-served and based on availability. Information literacy instruction or library orientations are normally conducted during the regularly scheduled class time.

Library instruction sessions will be taught in your regularly scheduled classroom, unless a computer classroom is needed for hands-on activities. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to request a computer classroom by submitting an email to el-roomreservation@kctcs.edu.

To request a library instructional session, please use the Library Instruction Request Form or contact Katie Meyer, cmeyer0015@kctcs.edu, 270-706-8443.

A librarian will contact the course instructor to discuss the content covered, assignments, opportunities for collaboration and confirm the date, time, and place for the class.

Content

When scheduling a class, please supply the assignment associated with the IL instruction class. Information literacy instruction is most effective when given in conjunction with a specific course assignment. If no formal assignment is given, the librarian can work with course instructors to create an assignment based on IL competencies. Information literacy sessions and supplemental workshops cover topics such as:

• Basic academic research: narrowing a topic, formulating a search strategy, identifying different types of sources, source evaluation
• Website evaluation
• Academic databases and navigation of electronic resources
• Google and Google Scholar
• Advanced academic research: limiters, subject terms, how to read a peer reviewed article
• Citation Styles

If you cannot fit a library instruction session in your class schedule consider requiring or offering extra credit to students who attend one of our open workshops. This might also serve as a backup option for students who are absent during a scheduled library instruction session.

Research Guides

Librarians can work with you to create a research guide (LibGuide) which can support general, discipline-specific research sources or can be tailored to specific courses, research assignments, or topics covered in your class. If interested in a research guide, contact Katie Meyer cmeyer0015@kctcs.edu.