This document summarizes a collaboration between a librarian, faculty member, and institutional research director at Goldey-Beacom College on an information literacy assessment program. It describes how the original course project of having students analyze digital advertisements was redesigned through partnerships with the library and institutional research. Students uploaded images, completed surveys on them, and provided peer reflections. This collaboration helped address issues students had in finding legitimate sources and interpreting ads by leveraging different departments' expertise. The benefits of cross-departmental partnerships are discussed, including access to new resources and saving time through cooperation.

1. DIGITAL HUMANITIES
COLLABORATION:
Perspectives from a Librarian, a Faculty Member,
and an Institutional Research Director
Kevin Hunt, Ph.D., Russell Michalak, MLIS, & Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D.

2. Departments Collaborating
Russell Michalak, MLIS
Director
Library & Learning Center
Kevin Hunt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Composition
Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D.
Director
Institutional Research & Training

3. Information Literacy Assessment
(ILA) Program
@ Goldey-Beacom College
(the project that led to this collaboration)

4. ILA Deployments: 1-4
Deployment 1 Deployment 2 Deployment 3 Deployment 4
(Summer 2015) –
International graduate
students; assessments
completed by students in
Google Forms and scored
by Flubaroo, a free
Google Forms plugin; no
online training videos;
instructional content
provided through
LibGuides (static content
website). Purpose was to
create an institutional
benchmark.
(Fall 2015) – All students
who participated in
deployment 1;
assessments and online
training modules
completed by students in
Office Mix modules (a
free eLearning plugin for
PowerPoint).
(Fall 2015) – One
professor elected to
utilize the Office Mix
modules in a first-year
composition class as
optional supplemental
resources.
(Summer 2016) –
Students in the bridge
program, Boot Camp,
completed the modules
as part of their computer
applications course.
Assessment questions
and training modules in
Office Mix.

5. ILA Deployments: 5-8
Deployment 5 Deployment 6 Deployment 7 Deployment 8
Deployment 5 (Spring
2017) – 10 sections of
first-year composition
class sections, described
in this paper. SPIL-Q and
ILA questions in Qualtrics,
training modules in Office
Mix.
Deployment 6 (Summer
2017): Students in the
bridge program, Boot
Camp, completed the
modules as part of their
computer applications
course. First iteration that
utilized LibGuides to
house the pre-test and
training modules.
Assessment questions
and training modules in
Knovio.
Deployment 7 (Summer
2017 / Ongoing): All
incoming graduate
students are invited via
email to complete the full
ILA program. This
program must be
completed during the first
course they are enrolled
in at the college.
Deployment 8 (Spring
2018): All ENG 176 (first
year composition course)
students are completing
the program as part of
their course using the
hybrid deployment mode.
SPIL-Q and ILA Pre-Test
questions are in Qualtrics,
training modules are in
Knovio, and post-test
questions are in Knovio.

6. The Original Course Project:
Students Analyzing Digital Primary Sources

7. The Original Course Project:
Students Analyzing Digital Primary Sources
Goals of advertisement analysis project in
first-year composition based on Council of Writing Project
Administrators’ Outcomes:
• Facilitate a “process” approach to writing that emphasizes collaboration.
• Promote “critical thinking outcomes” involving analysis of a variety of texts.
• Use scholarly archives or databases.
• Use technologies used for research and communication

8. The Original Course Project:
Students Analyzing Digital Primary Sources
Issues arising from the original
project:
• Difficulty in locating legitimate primary
sources
• Difficulty in “reading” the advertisements
• Difficulty in engaging in productive
collaboration.

9. Finding Ads from the
wrong time frame
This image of Dr. J holding his
Converse All Star sneaker, is an
image that a student submitted as
a vintage advertisement.
Obviously, this illustrate the
problematic nature of students
using Google images to try to find
advertisements.

10. Difficulty “Reading” Ads
This image is of a Citgo gasoline ad. In
students’ analyses of this ad, several
students focused primarily on the RV that is
barely visible in the background and
discussed it as if it were the most significant
detail in the ad (and thus overlooking the
ad’s central appeal, which has nothing to do
with gasoline or RVs.)

11. Course Project Redesign
Partnering with the Library

12. ROI of digital
humanities projects
Chris Bourg (2012) states, “An ROI
framework doesn’t account very well
for “rare events.” And I think Academic
Libraries are about, at least in part,
facilitating rare events.”

13. Course Project Redesign:
Partnering with the Library
Finding something
local
1
Finding something
relevant
2
Finding something
interesting
3

14. Something local

15. Something
relevant

16. Something
interesting

17. Course Project Redesign
Partnering with Institutional Research & Training

18. Survey #1
Initial
Image
Upload

19. • Who created this advertisement?
• Who do you think the audience was for this
advertisement?
• What year or decade was it created?
• What was happening or what do you think life was like
during that time period?
• What biases or stereotypes do you see in this
advertisement?
Survey #2: The Original Student Reflection
Question 1: The Heat map Question
Questions 2-6: Reflection Questions

20. Survey #3: Peer Reflection Survey

21. Survey #4
Students were asked to reflect on
the peers’ responses to their originally
selected image and to share feedback
on the entire advertisement
reflection process.
Students were also asked to consider
how this process of uploading content
which was shared with students and
peers for reflection (and
ultimate summarization of reflections
for the original student) could be
utilized in the future, both for the
current composition course and for
other courses at the college.

22. Benefits of Cross Departmental Collaboration
Two heads are better than one.
(Sometimes 3 are better than 2)
Potential access to larger budgets
Access to advanced expertise
Save time (?)

23. Tips for Beginning
Cross Departmental Conversations
How can you add value?
What can you buy?
Be seen.

24. Contact Information
• Russell Michalak, MLIS
Director, Hirons Library & Learning Center
michalr@gbc.edu
• Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Institutional Research & Training
rysavym@gbc.edu
• Kevin Hunt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
huntk@gbc.edu