Maintaining Our Libraries’ Relevancy in the 21 st Century Information Literacy Trends in the Sciences Andrew Wick Klein May 8, 2006

The Situation Changing landscape of information Emerging delivery methods: wikis, blogs, RSS New tools: Google Scholar, competitors Online journals, open access

Changing landscape of information

Emerging delivery methods: wikis, blogs, RSS

New tools: Google Scholar, competitors

Online journals, open access

The Situation Generation Y / Millennial Generation Changing profile of “college student” Faculty and teaching Libraries

Generation Y / Millennial Generation

Changing profile of “college student”

Faculty and teaching

Libraries

We Ask Ourselves… Keep up-to-date? Prepare for the future? Best way to reach our users? Support the educational mission? Stay relevant? Information Literacy

Keep up-to-date?

Prepare for the future?

Best way to reach our users?

Support the educational mission?

Stay relevant?

Information Literacy

Information Literacy The set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information Learning how to learn Increasingly important in the Information Age Essential to producing life-long learners

The set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information

Learning how to learn

Increasingly important in the Information Age

Essential to producing life-long learners

IL versus BI BI: one-shot sessions, specific assignments, no followup Bigger and broader: Information needs on a global level Throughout the entire process Outside the classroom General and specific

BI: one-shot sessions, specific assignments, no followup

Bigger and broader:

Information needs on a global level

Throughout the entire process

Outside the classroom

General and specific

Standards 2000: ACRL publishes Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Supporting documents Draft: Standards for Science & Technology Libraries

2000: ACRL publishes Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

Supporting documents

Draft: Standards for Science & Technology Libraries

Successes Wide acceptance, praise for standards Voluminous literature on IL strategies, programs and tips Professional support: Instruction Section, conferences, discussion lists

Wide acceptance, praise for standards

Voluminous literature on IL strategies, programs and tips

Professional support: Instruction Section, conferences, discussion lists

Problems Lack of support – financial, personnel, teaching venues Resistance and “inertia” from faculty Lack of understanding that IL is a mainstream educational issue rather than just library-centric Is it working? Lack of assessment

Lack of support – financial, personnel, teaching venues

Resistance and “inertia” from faculty

Lack of understanding that IL is a mainstream educational issue rather than just library-centric

Is it working? Lack of assessment

Implementation Effective Assessment Collaboration With Faculty Curriculum Integration Outcome- specific Discipline- specific Information Literacy

1. Discipline-specific Standards strike a balance between generality and discipline specificity IL in isolation loses relevance Context emphasizes importance User need is paramount User need is discipline-specific

Standards strike a balance between generality and discipline specificity

IL in isolation loses relevance

Context emphasizes importance

User need is paramount

User need is discipline-specific

2. Outcome-specific Emphasized in Standards Outcomes themselves can vary from general to specific Good educational theory: backward design Essential to assessment

Emphasized in Standards

Outcomes themselves can vary from general to specific

Good educational theory: backward design

Essential to assessment

3. Curriculum integration IL skills are science skills Necessary for standardization across department Important for faculty collaboration User needs vary with program

IL skills are science skills

Necessary for standardization across department

Important for faculty collaboration

User needs vary with program

4. Collaboration with faculty Foster good relationships: listening, asking rather than telling, suggesting Work with representative group Partners working towards same educational goal – we’re here to help! User needs!

Foster good relationships: listening, asking rather than telling, suggesting

Work with representative group

Partners working towards same educational goal – we’re here to help!

User needs!

5. Effective Assessment Focused on desired outcomes Also learning environment and IL program components Formal and informal Ongoing and integrated into design of IL program

Focused on desired outcomes

Also learning environment and IL program components

Formal and informal

Ongoing and integrated into design of IL program

Questions?

I Am Preaching to the Choir or IL at Cal State Northridge Mission, goals: “information competence” is clear priority Information Competence Initiative: grants, resources CSUN Assessment plan: IL is 1 of 3 ICT Literacy Assessment Initiative with EST

Mission, goals: “information competence” is clear priority

Information Competence Initiative: grants, resources

CSUN Assessment plan: IL is 1 of 3

ICT Literacy Assessment Initiative with EST

Room for Improvement Trends that aren’t going away: Relevance of IL to science curricula Value of discipline-specific programs Need for faculty support Importance of effective assessment

Trends that aren’t going away:

Relevance of IL to science curricula

Value of discipline-specific programs

Need for faculty support

Importance of effective assessment

Bibliography ACRL website on Information Literacy. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/informationliteracy.htm (Accessed May 5, 2006). Badke, William. “Can’t Get No Respect: Helping Faculty to Understand the Educational Power of Information Literacy.” The Reference Librarian , 89/90 (2005), pp. 63-80. Galvin, Jeanne. “Alternative Strategies for Promoting Information Literacy.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship , 31 (2005), pp. 352-357. Gardner, Susan. “What Students Want: Generation Y and the Changing Function of the Academic Library.” portal: Libraries and the Academy , 5 (2005), pp. 405-420. Gilson, Caroline. Personal correspondence. Hebb, Tiffany. Personal correspondence. “ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.” Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries (2000).

Bibliography Lindauer, Bonnie G. “The Three Arenas of Information Literacy Assessment.” Reference & User Services Quarterly , 44 (2004), pp. 122-129. Manuel, Kate. “Generic and Discipline-Specific Information Literacy Competencies: The Case for the Sciences.” Science & Technology Libraries , 24 (2004), pp. 279-308. Rockman, Ilene. “Integrating information literacy into the learning outcomes of academic disciplines.” College & Research Libraries News , 64 (2003), pp. 612-615. Smith, Eleanor M. “Developing an Information Literacy Curriculum for the Sciences.” Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship , 37 (Spring 2003). Winterman, Brian. Personal correspondence.

Thank you!