REVIEW: Higher Education in the Internet Age

Review of the non-fiction book Higher Education in the Internet Age, by Patricia Senn Breivik and E. Gordon Gee

Information Literacy: an Overview

A \u27White Paper\u27 that defines information literacy and explores its impact on teaching and learning

Information literacy, the goal of bibliographic instruction: a position paper

In order to learn if a common theory and practice exist and influence bibliographic instruction in academic libraries, this paper presents a view of concepts from bibliographic instruction literature. Next, three learning theories from the field of psychology are summarized and judged according to their applicability and relevance to bibliographic instruction. Then literature on information literacy is reviewed to find a common definition of information literacy. Finding that the definition has shifted from describing attributes and skills to defining a concept, a personal definition of the concept of information literacy is proposed. Then an example is offered of a research process and its accompanying skills, which are influenced by, and become the goal of, functionalist theory-based, information literacy-oriented bibliographic instruction. Finally, topics for further research are suggested

The History and Role of Libraries in Adult Literacy

This exploration begins with the history of libraries in the United States, examining the ways in which Jefferson’s library, the Library of Congress, and Benjamin Franklin’s ideas about libraries intended to address public literacy levels and problems. Changes to the structure, function, and role of libraries in public life are discussed in terms of the changes made since the first libraries were founded in the US with an eye toward developing public literacy and critical literacy as presently understood. Finally, the current practices of public libraries, including their support for community reading projects, their use as sites of literacy instruction (both ESL and basic education), and their use of technology and related functions are explored to see how libraries contribute to the goal of improving adult literacy in America. Two case studies will show how public libraries function as key sites and librarians as key supporters of this goal

Assessing Information Literacy Instruction in Selected English Classes At Tennessee State University

In this study, the Brown-Daniel Library located at Tennessee State University (TSU) provided information literacy/bibliographic instruction (IL/BI) to six selected English 1010 classes with a total of 119 students in the spring semester of 2010. Students were administered an online pretest prior to the instructor’s presentation, and administered the same test as a posttest following the lecture. All classes were held on days that allotted one hour and twenty minutes which gave the library faculty time to administer both tests. Students were also asked to evaluate instruction using a Likert-style measure called Library Orientation Survey. All results were electronically submitted to the investigators for analyses

Expanding Horizons: Using Information in the 21st Century

A Quality Enhancement Plan for Trinity University, 2008-2013 The development of information literacy—the ability to locate, gather, evaluate, and use information analytically and effectively—is the focus of Trinity University’s “Expanding Horizons” Quality Enhancement Plan. Trinity has always valued critical reading, analytical writing, and reasoned judgment as key components of a liberal arts education, and it supports a variety of opportunities for student research. However, the sheer volume of information and its rapidly changing forms challenge us to move beyond what we have traditionally done in and out of the classroom. Expanding Horizons asks faculty to design a creative and systematic approach to information literacy that is an integral part of the academic curriculum, and it asks staff and student leaders to reinforce information literacy in the co-curriculum. Over the next five years, “Expanding Horizons” will ensure that students are better prepared to work conscientiously and ethically with information in their coursework, and it will provide opportunities for students to apply similar critical thinking and research skills in their co-curricular lives. The result will be a campus culture that is more thoughtful, more informed, and thus more energized. This, in turn, will lead to graduates who are well prepared for their lives beyond Trinity

Toward Metaliteracy and Transliteracy in the History Classroom: A Case Study Among Underserved Students

In the last twenty years, scholars have reimagined information literacy to better address an overly saturated world of information and the growing participatory culture of Web 2.0. Outside of library and information science (LIS), researchers have promoted transliteracy—the intersection between information, visual, digital, and other literacies—to help students find and assess information. Within the LIS discipline, metaliteracy has provided a foundation to rethink information literacy frameworks, redefining students as creators who produce and share information. Relatively few studies exist, however, on how to leverage literacies in support of student digital scholarship projects. Likewise, digital humanities professors promote metaliteracy in the classroom, yet fewer scholars create digital humanities projects or write case studies about them outside of research institutions, prestigious private colleges, and larger, well-established public history programs. This case study examines a class project for a small undergraduate Introduction to Public History course at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (TAMU–CC), a regional university with a comparatively large population of historically underserved students. Working with one archivist, two librarians, and the professor, students established a digital home for the ongoing South Texas Stories oral history project. Through this project, students learned and practiced various aspects of primary source literacy, information literacy, visual literacy, and digital literacy. The authors argue that such digital projects promote both metaliteracy and transliteracy, offering students a holistic learning experience during which they can practice their skills and that these types of projects are feasible at all kinds of institutions, even those with largely historically underserved populations

Information Literacy: An Issue of Equity for New Majority Students

Educating over 49% of those who attend higher education, public colleges and universities must assume a more dynamic leadership role during this societal transformation if New Majority students are to develop the intellectual skills required to compete effectively in today\u27s marketplace. By adopting an information literacy culture, public higher education can foster the intellectual empowerment needed by New Majority students to evolve into competent life-long learners and contributors to American life and the world at large

The Warp and Weft of Information Literacy: Changing Contexts, Enduring Challenges

In this personal exploration of information literacy instruction at one institution, I look back at three decades of my involvement with pedagogy and how our local practices have reflected national conversations about the field. Anxiety about the identity and purpose of academic libraries in higher education has shaped the ways we have conceptualized and argued for the value of IL, yet in spite of spirited efforts to reformulate our purpose, many of the challenges we face have consistently resisted solutions