Library Instruction

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.

The USC Upstate Library Information Literacy Program supports the strategic initiative of creating career-relevant and accessible education through partnership with classroom faculty, educational support staff, and administrators. The Program supports the following Spartan Ready competencies:

(1) Communication; (2) Critical Thinking; and (3) Technology.

With increasing confidence, students will develop the following skills as they learn to search, read, think, and contribute in an engaged and iterative process.

• Understand how to navigate the physical library and library website, as well as obtain research help (Ask a Librarian).
• Recognize that various types of information sources exist (i.e. books, magazines, and government websites) and that not all sources are freely available online.
• Locate and retrieve information sources physically and electronically through the Library Catalog and multidisciplinary databases.
• Examine and compare information from magazines, newspapers, and Internet sources (websites, blogs, Wikipedia) to determine reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias.
• Grasp the essentials of searching effectively and efficiently.

o Select relevant keywords and synonyms from a broad topic.
o Assess the quantity, quality, and relevance of search results.

• Understand the ethical importance of citing sources.
• Begin to document sources according to a standard citation style such as MLA.

• Reinforce how to navigate the physical library and library website, as well as obtain research help (Ask a Librarian).
• Understand how information is created and disseminated in their discipline.
• Begin to distinguish and critically evaluate primary and secondary information sources specific to their discipline, such as empirical and review articles, data sets, archival and manuscript resources, and images.  
• Locate and retrieve primary and secondary information sources physically and electronically at USC Upstate through discipline-specific databases, indexes, and finding aids.  
• Understand how to obtain materials such as books and journal articles from other libraries through PASCAL (consortium of academic libraries in South Carolina) and Interlibrary Loan. 
• Begin to use refined search techniques, such as search operators, subject headings, and cited reference searching.
• Begin to document sources according to the citation style in their discipline.

• Reinforce how to navigate the physical library and library website, as well as obtain research help (Ask a Librarian).
• Formulate focused research questions.
• Find and analyze primary and secondary sources in their discipline using advanced search skills.
• Assess the recent scholarly perspectives on topic of interest, such as theses and dissertations.
• Utilize collections beyond USC Upstate through Interlibrary Loan, PASCAL, and outside archives/special collections (i.e South Caroliniana Library).
• Use the citation style required by their discipline to properly document sources.   
• Understand the significance of copyright, fair use, and intellectual freedom.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock – “Scaffolded Framework for Information Literacy Skills”

University of Colorado Colorado Springs – “Information Literacy Skills Progression for Undergraduate Students”
 

Last Updated:07/2022 (JS)