This document summarizes the results of an audit conducted at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to assess undergraduate students' development of digital and information literacies. The audit found that while these literacies are seen as important, they are not fully embedded in the curriculum and support is inconsistent. In response, LSE is developing an information literacy framework, strengthening partnerships between library and learning support staff, and exploring ways to better integrate these skills into online learning and through student ambassadors. The goal is to make improvements sustainable and scalable, while continuing to measure progress through potential future audits.

1. Developing digital and
information literacies in LSE
undergraduate students
Jane Secker and Maria Bell
London School of Economics and Political Science

2. A word about terminology…

3. A New Curriculum for Information
Literacy (ANCIL)
http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com

4. LSE Context
 LSE : specialist social science
institution – world class library
 Highly ranked for research
 Cosmopolitan students - relatively
small undergraduate population
 Compulsory core course for
undergraduates (LSE100)
 Traditional teaching and assessment
 Moodle used by all courses for
readings and resources

5. Why audit?
Image cc fromhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/notkaiho/5716096442/
 To inform Library / CLT teaching provision
 To highlight good practice and any gaps in provision
 Put information literacy on the agenda at LSE

6. Methodology
 Interviews with key members of staff to explore
provision in central support departments,
 Interviews with Deans of UG and PG Studies
 Interviews / online survey with academic staff
 Questionnaire for Academic Support Librarians
 Student focus groups
 How prepared are they for study at LSE
 What support students they need
 Their preference for delivery

7. Results of the audit
 Not embedded
 Belief that IL is important: find,
evaluate and manage
 Some good practice but
inconsistent
 Time main barrier
 Students ‘should’ have IL skills
 Information use largely driven by
reading lists and resources in
Moodle
Photo by starmanseries licensed under Creative Commons

8. Careers
Language Centre
Teaching & Learning Centre
Language Centre
LSE100
Departments
Library
Teaching & Learning
Centre
Departments
Language Centre
Library
Departments
LSE100
Language Centre
Teaching & Learning Centre
Careers
Departments
LSE100
Teaching & Learning Centre
Departments
Language Centre
Library
Centre for Learning
Technology
Library
Library
Library

9. Developing an LSE Framework
 Covers digital and
information literacy
 Based on ANCIL and other
frameworks
 Purpose to inform
academics and provide
examples
 Enable mapping of existing
provision
 Tool can be used by
teaching librarians and
learning technologists
Image cc from http://www.flickr.com/photos/markhillary/302630220/in/set-72157594327649691 /

10. Building IL partnerships
 Collaboration with academics
 Closer working between
librarians and learning
technologists
 Aligning digital and information
skills programmes
 Working with Teaching and
Learning Centre and educational
developers
 Joined up approach to liaising
with academic departments

11. Embedding IL in the online
environment

12. Student ambassadors
 Used in several JISC Digital
Literacy projects
 Will be piloting this as part
of 1 year SADL project
 Recruiting 20
undergraduates from
Statistics and Social Policy
 Planning workshops,
reflection, peer support
and more…
Photo by Flickingerbrad licensed under Creative Commons
http://lsesadl.wordpress.com

13. Working with schools

14. What does success look like?
 How do we measure
embedded IL?
 Is it sustainable and
scalable?
 Are there staff
development needs?
 Do we repeat the audit?
 The future……

15. Further reading and resources
LSE Digital and Information Literacy
Framework (2013) Available at:
http://bit.ly/1gq63IO
Bell, Maria and Moon, Darren and Secker,
Jane (2012) Undergraduate support at LSE:
the ANCIL report. The London School of
Economics and Political Science, London,
UK. Available at:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48058/
Secker, Jane and Coonan, Emma. (2012)
Rethinking Information Literacy: a practical
framework for support learning. Facet
Publishing: London
Wrathall, Katy (2012) Strategies for
Implementing ANCIL in Non-Cambridge HEIs
http://bit.ly/16kKb8b

16. Thank you
Maria Bell m.bell@lse.ac.uk @bellmari
Jane Secker j.secker@lse.ac.uk @jsecker