The First-Year Information Literacy Program is a collaboration of the Library Instruction Program with University 101, English 101 and English 102. The program is designed to give a firm foundation in the research process and the acquisition of basic research skills to first-year students. Students learn about information literacy concepts and develop research skills from their professors in the classroom, from librarians in library sessions, and from assignments on which classroom and library faculty collaborate. The goal is to focus on research as a process and to reinforce that process between the library and the classroom and across the three courses.
The purpose of the Information Literacy Standards for First-Year Students is to provide a one-page summary of the research process based on the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (Association of College and Research Libraries 2000). The bullet points under each standard give examples of research skills and activities associated with each standard.
John Siegel - Coordinator of Information Literacy
Esther Godfrey - Director of Composition
Susannah Waldrop - Director of the Student Success Center (University 101)
Information literacy is a way of defining, thinking about, and teaching the research process. Put simply, information literacy involves not only research skills, but also problem-solving and critical thinking. Teaching and learning information literacy is a collaborative effort among classroom faculty, librarians, educational support staff, administrators, and students.
In 2000, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the academic library arm of the American Library Association, published the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This document provides a detailed model of the research process organized by five standards, each with performance indicators and learning outcomes.
In 2015, ACRL released the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, which presents an alternate conceptualization of information literacy based on threshold concepts.
The Library Virtual Tour includes a quiz and interactive activity are also included. Students need to type in their email address to receive the quiz score, which can then be downloaded and submitted.
This tour is required of all University 101 students and strongly recommended for Composition I and II students not also enrolled in University 101.