1. Information literacy and the General Education program: The library’s role
Mary O’Kelly, Emily Frigo, Kathryn Waggoner
Grand Valley State University Libraries
Abstract
Grand Valley State University’s newly revised General
Education Program requires that information literacy be
taught and assessed using a standardized rubric. To create
that standardized rubric, the General Education Committee
turned to the experts in information literacy, the librarians.
The librarians used GVSU’s custom Information Literacy
Core Competencies (ILCC) to draft the assessment rubric.
With this process – library faculty using information
literacy competencies to write a general education
assessment rubric – the library is steadily and successfully
integrating information literacy into the curriculum.
Visual Model of Information Literacy Core Competencies
Purpose: To define and
represent the four assessable
elements of information
literacy integrated into the
General Education Program.
1. Articulate the
specific
information
needed
2. Access
information using
appropriate
search tools
4. Communicate
results ethically
and appropriately
3. Evaluate the
quality,
usefulness, and
relevance of the
information
People with a general education work with many forms of
information: text, data, images, and multimedia. Becoming
information literate is a multi-step, iterative process that
includes articulating the need for information; finding
information efficiently; thinking critically about resources;
managing the abundance of information available; using
information ethically; synthesizing and incorporating
information into one’s knowledge base; and creatively
expressing and effectively communicating new
knowledge.
• Librarians are faculty
• Library faculty have a representative on the General
Education Committee
• Librarians have clearly defined Information Literacy
Core Competencies (ILCCs)
• The ILCCs were customized for the University’s
curriculum, making them highly relevant to University
instruction and assessment
• The core competencies were heavily influenced by the
General Education Program
• The core competencies, in turn, influenced the
assessment rubric used by the General Education
Program
• That inter-dependence both demonstrates and allows
curricular integration of information literacy
Next Steps
Definition of Information Literacy
Information Literacy is the process of identifying,
accessing, evaluating, and using multiple forms of
information.
Key Elements of Curricular Integration
General Education Information Literacy Assessment Rubric
• With the Gen Ed Program: The General Education
Committee, including our own library faculty
representative, will be finalizing all assessment rubrics,
including our IL rubric, this fall.
• With the ILCCs: The interdependence of assessment
and instruction means that we must regularly revisit our
Information Literacy Core Competencies and adjust
them, if needed, to keep them relevant for the current
curriculum.
• With the librarians: Librarians are the disciplinary
experts in information literacy, which, as with any
disciplinary expertise, requires ongoing professional
development and assertion of that expertise both on
campus and within the library community.
• With assessment: Library assessment is the next big
priority. We can define what we teach (using the
ILCCs), and now we need to assess those competencies.
Contacts
Mary O’Kelly, Librarian
Head of Instructional Services, University Libraries
okellym@gvsu.edu
Emily Frigo, Librarian
First Year Initiatives Coordinator
Current Library Faculty Representative, General Education Committee
frigoe@gvsu.edu
Kathryn Waggoner, Librarian
Senior Librarian
Former Library Faculty Representative, General Education Committee
waggonek@gvsu.edu
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