Information Literacy Strategic Plan, 2017-2020 Ellie ... · initiatives of the library, through its information literacy program (ILP). ... Information Literacy released a report

Information Literacy Strategic Plan, 2017-2020

Ellie Horowitz, MLIS

Assistant Librarian for Information Literacy Services

Sullivan Library

Dominican College

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Introduction

In concert with the mission of Dominican College (DC), the Sullivan Library intends to

position itself as a dynamic, student-centered space “characterized by respect for the individual

and concern for the community” (Dominican College, 2016). The Sullivan Library is uniquely

positioned to fulfill a number of the College’s academic goals and objectives, which include

enabling students to identify their own learning goals by becoming information literate and

enhancing educational options available to commuting, transfer, adult, and part-time students by

expanding the library’s online presence through instruction and content creation (Office of

Academic Affairs, 2016). Through its information literacy programming, the library also has the

potential to help fulfill most of the College’s Educational Goals, which also serve as

departmental student learning outcomes (Office of Academic Affairs, 2016).

The document titled Information Literacy Strategic Plan 2016-2019 outlines the specific

ways in which the library will fulfill the overarching goals of the College, as well as the strategic

initiatives of the library, through its information literacy program (ILP). This document contains

the goals and objectives for the ILP and its intended outcomes, which, collectively, are the

guiding light for the program’s design.

What is information literacy and its relationship to the library?

According to the Middle States Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of

Affiliation, information literacy is considered an essential skill students should acquire through

an institution’s undergraduate curriculum (Middle States Commission on Higher Education,

2015). In 1989, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Presidential Committee on

Information Literacy released a report in which they described what it means to have acquired

information literacy skills:

To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and

have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Producing such a

citizenry will require that schools and colleges appreciate and integrate the concept of

information literacy into their learning programs and that they play a leadership role in equipping

individuals and institutions to take advantage of the opportunities inherent within the information

society. Ultimately, information-literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They

know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and

how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared

for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or

decision at hand.

In 2000, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of ALA,

published the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. For 15 years,

these have been the standards by which academic librarians across the United States have

assessed the information literacy skills attained by students throughout their careers in higher

education—particularly within library instruction sessions—and the standards by which

librarians assess their own teaching. They are:

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1. The information literate student determines the nature and extent of information needed.

2. The information literate student assess needed information effectively and efficiently.

3. The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and

incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.

4. The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information

effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

5. The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues

surrounding the use of information and information technology.

Since 2000, as the higher education environment evolved and new technologies emerged, and as

a literature of critique of the Standards grew substantially, a reevaluation and rewrite of the

Standards became necessary. In 2015, the ACRL Board filed the Framework for Information

Literacy for Higher Education. In lieu of standards, the Framework “is based on a cluster of

interconnected core concepts, with flexible options for implementation” (Association of College

and Research Libraries, 2015). These “threshold concepts” or “frames” are:

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

Information as a Creation Process

Information Has Value

Research as Inquiry

Scholarship as Conversation

Searching as Strategic Exploration

Clearly, these frames are a looser, more conceptual, and more critical set of ideas than a

prescriptive set of standards. Each frame contains a set of dispositions and knowledge practices

that further illustrate potential ways in which students can demonstrate their understanding and

awareness of each frame. The frames should be as familiar to faculty as they are to librarians:

anyone who has spent a substantial amount of time in the muck of research knows these concepts

to be true. If faculty assign appropriate research-based papers and projects, students should be

learning these concepts throughout their undergraduate careers on an instinctual level; they

should naturally come to understand that information has value or that scholarship is

conversation, etc. While faculty instill these concepts via their assignments and class

discussions, librarians are here to teach these ideas more explicitly via information literacy

instruction; to bring to light ideas that students may already know, but perhaps haven’t thought

or talked about outright.

While not absolute and prescriptive—and while it always can be ignored if one chooses to—the

Framework is the document published by the largest-looming professional body of academic

(college and university) libraries in the United States. Therefore, it is best practice for academic

librarians to at least keep the Framework in mind when designing information literacy programs

and lesson plans, while working one-on-one with students, and beyond (as pedagogy moves

beyond the classroom and reference desk); Dominican College students should be graduated with

information literacy skills that, while absolutely tailored to the DC culture and to individual

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student needs, at least resemble those of other college and university graduates.1 We also believe

it is necessary for Dominican College faculty and administration to a) have an awareness of the

Framework and ACRL’s definitions of information literacy concepts and b) trust librarians to

teach these concepts, as it is what we are trained and expected to do by our professional body.

Purpose of this Document

To ensure the College’s student population is information literate according to the above

definitions and concepts, and to uphold Middles States standards, the library has formalized this

plan, which we hope the College will embrace. We intend to embed, standardize where

appropriate, and critically assess information literacy instruction to the best of our abilities, and

through it, collaborate with and reach as much of the Dominican community as possible. Via

these efforts, we also hope to reposition Dominican College librarians as crucial co-teachers in

the curricula, in addition to our current roles as academic support staff. With the support of the

College administration and faculty, we will become a teaching library—more than a reference

desk, a building, and a set of resources.

1 To be transparent, I am aware this statement plays into neoliberal values; I am using the Framework, a single document published by a powerful organization, to a) advocate for information literacy instruction as essential to a student’s educational career and b) advocate for the librarians’ ability, willingness, and duty to teach these higher-level, soft skills that librarians have not been expected to, nor had the opportunity to teach in the past. Is it necessary to use a document—standards-based or not—to advocate for these important items? Even though the Framework is not as prescriptive as the Standards, it still exists within a standards family tree.

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Information Literacy Strategic Plan 2017-2020

Mission

The aim of the information literacy program at the Sullivan Library is to help foster life-long

learners among the Dominican College community. The information literacy program intends to

promote and provoke inquiry by helping learners engage deeply in the richness of a research

topic through questioning (not necessarily providing answers), critically analyzing sources and

authority, and synthesizing this difficult work into original webs of inquiry and thought

(McTighe & Wiggins, 2013). The information literacy program is committed to teaching hard

skills, such as database and catalog searching, to help learners further these lines of inquiry. In

becoming information literate, learners will be self-sufficient thinkers, thereby able and willing

to engage responsibly in the pursuit of a more just, ethical, and sustainable world.

Goals

The information literacy program at Dominican College will:

1. foster a student-centered, active learning environment where students create rather than

consume knowledge, ask questions, and are motivated and responsible for their own

learning.

2. meet all students (full-time, non-traditional, CASE distant learners) at their point of

need—this may mean face-to-face in the library, classroom, and/or other on-campus

location, or online via up-to-date video tutorials, research guides, virtual reference,

Blackboard, webinars, and other virtual instruction.

3. introduce information literacy concepts in a holistic, comprehensive, and strategic

manner; lessons and concepts will be “scaffolded” and built-upon rather than repeated as

students move through their undergraduate careers. That being said, no lesson or plan for

instruction will be set in stone: as needs arise or change, so will information literacy

instruction.

4. collaborate with all faculty to develop curricula that promote information literacy skills

and to teach them about the library’s resources. The information literacy program will

also work with faculty, when appropriate, to help them create well-written, research-

based assignments.

5. meet and orient all graduate students to the library at the start of their respective

programs and provide information literacy instruction within their classes as needed.

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6. support all transfer students by providing orientation materials virtually, through video

tutorials and research guides, and in-person, during transfer registration days.

7. assess itself—assess instruction sessions, reference dialogues, and workshops—regularly

through observational assessment techniques, pre- and post-assessments, and via

initiatives like information literacy rubrics for final term and/or capstone papers.

8. advocate for librarians as teaching partners and encourage faculty, staff, and

administration collaboration whenever possible.

9. be an advocate and arbiter for all students and their academic needs.

Planning & Outcomes

This section of the Information Literacy Strategic Plan takes each of the plan’s goals, and maps

them to Dominican College’s Educational Goals, ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy,

SLOs, and methods/indicators.

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Information

Literacy

Program Goals

Method/Indicator Outcome Dominican College

Educational Goals

ACRL

Framework for

Information

Literacy

1. Foster a student-

centered, active

learning

environment where

students create

rather than

consume

knowledge, ask

questions, and are

motivated and

responsible for

their own learning.

a. Engage in reference

dialogues with students

b. Conduct information

literacy instruction

throughout

undergraduate and

graduate courses

c. Students create original

artifacts of their

learning experience

during information

literacy sessions

2015-2016

a. >400 reference dialogues occurred in

2015-2016 year

b. >80 information literacy instruction

sessions occurred in 2015-2016 year

c. Students will write papers, create

posters—create information—

throughout their learning process

2016-2017

a. 777 reference interactions occurred

(6/30/17)

b. 94 information literacy instruction

sessions (including 2017 summer); 79

undergraduate courses and 15 graduate

courses

c. Students completed/created: reflective,

in class brainstorming/writing (senior

seminars); preliminary research

questions (senior seminars) story pitches

based on basic research (EN113);

bibliographies (various); research

posters (poster workshops)

Think logically,

critically, creatively,

and independently

Present and defend

their own points of

view while also

listening to and

learning from the

views of others,

including views

widely different

from their own

Demonstrate

proficiency in

communication and

analysis, including

reading, writing,

listening, speaking,

and quantitative

skills

Exhibit proficiency

in assembling,

synthesizing, and

presenting

knowledge through

the use of

technological and

other information

sources

Display a readiness

to integrate new

Information

creation as a

process

Research as

Inquiry

Scholarship

as

Conversation

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knowledge with

personal experience

and previous

understanding,

giving promise of

life-long learning

2. Meet all students

(full-time, part-

time, non-

traditional, CASE

distant learners) at

their point of

need—this may

mean face-to-face

in the library,

classroom, and/or

other on-campus

location, or online

via up-to-date

video tutorials,

research guides,

virtual reference,

Blackboard,

webinars, and other

virtual instruction.

a. Create video tutorials

for particular courses as

well as tutorials

regarding abstract

skills, such as

evaluating sources and

identifying scholarly

articles

b. Provide a virtual

reference service via

the library website

c. Embed a library or

librarian profile within

all distant-learning

Blackboard pages

d. Create course and

topical research guides

e. Increase online library

workshops and

webinars online

2015-2016

a. Videos created: Interlibrary loan

(ILLIAD) (1/16) & Database page

(9/15). In progress.

b. Virtual reference service to be

implemented in ’16-’17 year.

c. Librarian embedded in BU213L2

Business Law I and RS22P Religion in

America. Also embedded in a handful of

on-campus English courses. Will

communicate with Lisa Surless

regarding library integration into

Blackboard

d. 19 new research guides created

e. One webinar held this year as a library

instruction class. In progress.

2016-2017

a. Videos created: Searching for empirical

studies in psycINFO & psycARTICLES

(for psychology courses) (9/16);

timelapse tour of the library (8/16). New

computer needed to create more videos.

In the meantime, we will better curate

our video library on YouTube. In

progress.

b. LibraryH3lp implemented during

October 2016. 159 logged chats from

October-June.

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c. Sarah and Gina were embedded into the

following Blackboard pages (which were

not necessarily online-only): PT544,

HI453, ED616 (Fall and Spring), SE616

(Fall and Spring).

d. 8 new, public guides created (most

established guides are updated

throughout the year)

e. One instructional video created for

PT789.

3. Introduce

information literacy

concepts in a

holistic,

comprehensive,

and strategic

manner; lessons

and concepts will

be “scaffolded” and

built-upon rather

than repeated as

students move

through their

undergraduate

careers. That being

said, no lesson or

plan for instruction

will be set in stone:

as needs arise or

change, so will


instruction.

a. Provide information

literacy instruction to

first-years via each

section of the EN112-

EN113 sequence

b. Provide information

literacy instruction to

seniors via each senior

seminar section

c. Systematically see

sophomores and juniors

in required courses

based on their major

2015-2016

a. Fall 2015:

# of EN112 sections seen: 15


Total # of students: 334

Spring 2016:




b. 7 senior seminars (or what are

considered “senior seminars”) seen

(missing 1 social science, 1 history, and

1 psychology).

c. In progress. If the general education

curriculum is revised, the library could,

via this revision process, plan to see

required courses based on majors.

2016-2017

a. Fall 2016:




Spring 2017:


Information

Creation as a

Process

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b. 9 senior seminars seen (missing 1

psychology & 1 humanities)

c. In progress. Presented this document to

faculty during full faculty meeting to

express the importance of this indicator.

Ellie has been asked to sit on a

committee to review the College’s

educational goals in preparation to

review the GEC. Will reach out to

departments/majors to better map out

when students should receive particular

information literacy skills.

4. Collaborate with

all faculty to

develop curricula

that promote


skills and to teach

them about the

library’s resources.

The information

literacy program

will also work with

faculty, when

appropriate, to help

them create well-

written, research-

based assignments.

a. Develop workshops for

faculty regarding

effective research

assignment design,

“How-Tos,”

introduction to new

library resources, and

more.

b. Present at Division or

Department meetings

to introduce new

library resources and


skills to consider when

developing curricula

and assignments.

2015-2016

a. In progress. Need to determine outreach

strategies to ensure faculty participation

in such workshops.

b. In progress. Need to contact division and

department heads; may be best to do so

once the new website is live.

2016-2017

a. Hosted or taught five workshops for

faculty and staff: Microsoft 365,

Copyright for Online Instruction,

Microsoft 365/OneDrive, New Research

Tools, and OneNote. Will continue to

develop more workshops as needs and

requests arise. Most of the workshops

taught did not address effective research

assignment design.

b. In progress. Presented this document to

faculty at full meeting in May 2017. Will

reach out to department heads for

curriculum mapping purposes, which

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may include discussion on learning and

teaching IL skills and resources

themselves.

5. Meet and orient

all graduate

students to the

library at the start

of their respective

programs and

provide


instruction within

their classes as

needed.

a. Provide library

orientation/introduction

at the start of each

graduate program

b. Provide information

literacy instruction

within each program as

needed

c. Work with program

directors to determine

which classes would

benefit most from


instruction and if

instruction should

occur in a systematic

manner

2015-2016

a. Orientations attended:

OT Orientation

RN-to-BSN/FNP Orientation

b. 12 graduate level classes seen between

ED, SE, OT, NR (FNP/DNP), PT.

c. In progress. Gina has tried to contact

Nancy DiDona for nursing. Other

directors need to be contacted.

2016-2017

a. Orientations attended:

OT Orientation

RN-to-BSN/FNP Orientation

b. 12 graduate level classes seen between

ED, SE, OT, NR (FNP/DNP), PT, MBA.

c. In progress.

6. Support all

transfer students by

providing

orientation

materials virtually,

through video

tutorials and

research guides,

and in-person,

during transfer

registration days.

a. Provide library

orientation materials

via video tutorials

b. Provide library


via research guides

c. Provide library


during transfer

registration days

2015-2016

a. In progress.

b. In progress.

c. Plan to provide informational literature

for transfer registration days during

Summer 2016.

2016-2017

a. Video creation was suspended during the

year due to technical restraints. With

purchase of better computer hopefully

we can move forward with these types of

introductory videos.

b. Not created. Will discuss with librarians

whether or not this would be useful to

create.

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c. Basic literature was provided on transfer

registration days in Summer 2016.

7. Assess itself—

assess instruction

sessions, reference

dialogues, and

workshops—

regularly through

observational

assessment

techniques, pre-

and post-

assessments, and

via initiatives like


rubrics for final

term and/or

capstone papers.

a. Assess instruction

sessions

b. Track reference

dialogues

c. Assess workshops

d. Initiate new assessment

techniques such as

observational

assessment and rubric

assessment

2015-2016

a. Informal formative assessments taken

during class time; 170 pre-assessments

gathered from EN112 classes & 183

post-assessments gathered from EN113

that tested basic information literacy

skills (general improvement was seen

from the pre- to post-test).

b. Reference dialogues tracked in Google

spreadsheet by time/date,

class/discipline, medium (in-person,

email, phone, other), librarian, question

asked, answer, and notes; 412 reference

questions received between 11/19/15 and

6/21/2016.

c. Due to poor workshop attendance, no

workshop assessment occurred. New

assessment plan for new workshop series

needed for ’16-’17 year.

d. In the ’16-’17 academic year, librarians

will assess one-quarter of all instruction

using observational assessment.

Additionally, if determined to be useful,

a rubric will be created to assess

information literacy skills via final

EN113 papers or capstone papers, or

both.

2016-2017

a. Informal formative assessments taken

during class time; brief formal

assessments taken after class; 160 pre-

assessments gathered from EN112

classes & 98 post-assessments gathered

Information

Has Value

12

from EN113 that tested basic

information literacy skills (general

improvement was seen for 7 of 10

questions from the pre- to post-test).

b. Reference dialogues tracked in Google

spreadsheet by time/date,

class/discipline, medium (in-person,

email, phone, other), librarian, question

asked, answer, and notes; 777 reference

questions received

c. Poor workshop attendance by students

continued this year, therefore workshops

continued to run unassessed. Assessment

should focus on workshops for

faculty/staff in the new academic year.

d. Observational assessment did not occur

due to poor planning and commitment

(on my part). Obviously, better planning

and commitment to this process needed

for the future. Rubric also has yet to be

created/used to assess papers. Need to

reach out to appropriate faculty. In

progress.

8. Advocate for

librarians as

teaching partners

and encourage

faculty-, staff-, and

administrative

collaboration

whenever possible.

a. Teach credit-bearing


course(s)

b. Partner with faculty

and administration to

offer workshop series,

certificates, etc.

c. Introduce library staff

and services via college

conferences and faculty

meetings.

2015-2016

a. In progress. Will approach Academic

Deans to discuss possibility of teaching

1CR English course on research skills.

(6/22)

b. In progress. Will be teaching series of 8-

10 science-research related workshops in

Fall 2016 to Dr. Connors S-STEM

Scholar students. Have contacted

AnnMarie Dellipizzi regarding doing a

similar series with the honors program.

d. Exhibit an

awareness of

communal

concerns, a

spirit of

responsible

involvement in

community, and

the initiative

needed to

assume

leadership roles

Scholarship

as

Conversation

Authority is

Constructed

and

Contextual

13

c. Need to contact conference and faculty

meeting facilitators in order get on

agenda. (6/22)

2016-2017

a. Interest indicated from both the

Academic Deans’ Office as well as

English Department. Will further explore

possibilities with review of GEC.

b. Biology series reduced to four sessions

(two taught by the Sullivan Library and

two by the ASC). Taught two Honors

Program workshops. Have scheduled

two Honors sessions for Fall 2017. Will

again be partnering with Dr. Connors to

work with East Ramapo High School

interns during Summer 2017. Will reach

out to Athletic Department and Student

Development to see if we can work with

athletes for study halls.

c. Completed. Presented at two full-faculty

meetings during the 2016-2017 year (to

review new library spaces and services

and to review this document).

9. Be an advocate

and arbiter for all

students and their

academic needs.

a. Communicate with

faculty if students have

trouble with an

assignment (due to

poor explanation or

assignment design)

b. Communicate with

appropriate

administrative staff

members if students

appear to need help

beyond the library (ie.

2015-2016

a. Will result in correspondence with

faculty to voice concerns about a

particular assignment, why it was/is

difficult for students to

interpret/complete and, if appropriate,

suggest ways to improve assignment

design.

b. Have met and corresponded with

appropriate offices regarding students

with apparent learning disabilities who

do not have an IEP, for example. Will

c. Exhibit an

awareness of

communal concerns,

a spirit of

responsible

involvement in

community, and the

initiative needed to

assume leadership

roles

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Office of Special

Services, Health and

Counseling, the

Academic Success

Center, Academic

Dean’s Office)

continue to do so as needed. Will

encourage all librarians to document

and/or contact other administrators on

campus if they feel a student needs help

beyond our abilities.

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Conclusion

The Information Literacy Strategic Plan goals are set from 2017-2020. The goals should be met

by the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. For the next three years the Information Literacy

Strategic Plan will be revised at the start of every summer. New goals will be added as needed

and should be met within the following three years. If at any point a goal appears to be

unattainable for any reason, a note will be made to explain in detail why it is an unattainable or

no longer relevant goal.

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References

American Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on information literacy: Final

report (Rep.). Washington, D.C.: American Library Association.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information literacy competency

standards for higher education (Publication). Chicago, IL.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2016). Framework for information literacy for

higher education (Publication). Chicago, IL.

Dominican College. (2017). Our mission. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from

http://www.dc.edu/about/our-mission/

McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. P. (n.d.). Essential questions: Opening doors to student

understanding. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education. (2015). Standards for accreditation and

requirements of affiliation (13th ed., Publication). Philadelphia, PA: Middle States

Commission on Higher Education.

Office of Academic Affairs. (2016). College catalog 2016-2017. Orangeburg, NY: Dominican

College.

Documents

Information Literacy Strategic Plan, 2017-2020 Ellie ... · initiatives of the library, through its information literacy program (ILP). ... Information Literacy released a report