Dixon, Jennifer

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First Impressions: LJ\u27s First Year Experience Survey

Fordham University School of Law

Fordham Law School FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History Staff Publications Law Library 4-13-2017 First Impressions: LJ's First Year Experience Survey Jennifer Dixon Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/staff_publications  Part of the Law Commons First Impressions: LJ's First Year Experience Surveyby Jennifer A. Dixon Apr 13, 2017 | Filed in Programs+First-year college and university studentsenter with widely varying levels ofinformation literacy, particularly in light ofthe funding crisis that has left so many K–12 public schools without functioningschool libraries and trained schoollibrarians/media specialists. LJ recently setout to understand what information literacyinstruction entering students need, whatthey’re getting, and what impact it has ontheir experience as first-year students. InJanuary and February, LJ circulated asurvey, sponsored by Credo, to 12,000college and university libraries, both two-year and four-year institutions. Some 543schools (144 two-year and 399 four-year)responded. Credo presented a first look at the data at the Association of College and ResearchLibraries (ACRL) conference in Baltimore, with commentary and takeaways from Ray Pun, first-year student success librarian at California State University, Fresno, and a 2012 LJ Mover &Shaker.WHERE TO FIND, WHICH TO TRUSTLibrarians at both community colleges and four-year colleges and universities ranked the abilityto evaluate sources for reliability as the top challenge for first-year students. Students at four-year schools also lack awareness of library resources and find it challenging to identifyappropriate sources for their assignments. At two-year schools, students lack prior informationliteracy experience and are not well versed in advanced research skills. For example, many haveproblems with proper citation formats. Many new students lack experience in using an academiclibrary or completing research projects. According to a librarian at a public university in PuertoRico, “Most of them did not know how to select and establish a research topic and how todesign objectives to do their research. Many of them don’t have previous experiences doingresearch and using peer-reviewed journals and other materials or resources of the library.”Librarians noted that some students arrive having attended high schools without a library andlack basic computer skills or experience navigating a library.THE ILLUSION OF INFORMATIONPotentially trickier, students don’t always understand that they need to learn these skills, or howthey are helpful. Respondents stated that first-year students sometimes lack an understanding ofwhat they need to learn or how research can benefit them. Overconfidence may make studentsless willing to attend or absorb new training. Other librarians cited problems such as studentapathy and a lack of attention span as additional challenges. Overall, librarians estimated thatless than a third of first-year students (28%) are prepared for college-level research. Contrary towhat some might expect, a great presence of first-generation college students did not correlateto an additional need for help: 26% of schools with more than one-fifth first-generationenrollments reported that their students come unprepared, vs. 29% of schools with less thanone-fifth first-generation students. Breaking through to technology-savvy young students canalso present a challenge. According to LaRita  Schandorff, reference and instructional serviceslibrarian at Northwest Nazarene University, ID, librarians must “convince[e] them that libraryresources are better than what they can find in a list of Google results.... they don’t alwaysappreciate the difference, depth, and reliability of library resources.” While many respondentsreferenced overreliance on Google as a major obstacle for incoming students, a few—7%—offerinstruction on using Google effectively, including Google Scholar.THE CURRENT STATE OF INSTRUCTIONInformation literacy instruction for new students is nearly universal: 97% of respondents offersuch training. In addition to databases, librarians provide instruction on topics like libraryresources, search strategies, topic development, avoiding plagiarism, citations, and managingresearch strategy. In most schools, however, it is optional: only 22% of four-year and just 7% oftwo-year schools have an information literacy class  requirement. Librarians provide embeddedsupport to select classes in 35% of four-year and 23% of two-year schools and offer optionallibrary workshops in 33% of four-year and 40% of two-year schools. Where librarians areembedded, it is usually (70%) in first-year seminar or writing courses. Many also embedlibrarians in social science or language and literature classes. In addition, 21% of communitycolleges provide information literacy instruction upon faculty request. Instructors frequently tailortheir presentations to specific disciplines, such as language and literature, social science, andcommunications. A minority offer only a fundamentals course. Where information literacy ishandled through freshman orientation, that instruction is typically not tailored to a specificdiscipline. While some schools employ librarians specifically focused on information literacyeducation—14%—or first-year experience—9%—most rely on reference or public serviceslibrarians. Three-quarters of libraries coordinate with academic departments to facilitate first-yearinformation literacy coursework, in particular orientation services, student affairs, and the learningresource and writing center. According to multiple survey respondents, faculty buy-in to theimportance of information literacy instruction is key to ensuring this instruction stays relevant forstudents. In particular, survey responses noted the value of faculty setting aside class timededicated to information literacy into for-credit  coursework. LJ also inquired about the ACRLinformation literacy framework. Of the respondents, 67% of those at four-year schools and 62percent of those at two-year schools have ample familiarity with the framework. The mostcommonly employed frameworks are “Research as Inquiry” and “Searching as StrategicExploration,” while the least is “Information Creation as a Process.”TIME & RELEVANCE REMAIN CHALLENGESMost librarians noted that they only have acouple of hours set aside by the institutionfor a tour of the library and a presentationon resource evaluation and proper citation.Many find this inadequate to correctstudents’ research habits or to tailorinstruction to diverse student needs andlevels of experience. Limited classroomtime can hinder librarians’ ability to ensurestudents receive and retain information.Wrote Theresa Zelasko, outreach andinformation literacy librarian atSouthwestern University, Georgetown, TX, “My biggest challenge is inconsistency betweenfaculty’s desires for students to learn to research with me, an expert, and the amount of time Itruly need to do my job effectively.” Librarians also noted that information literacy instruction isjust one of many novel educational endeavors that confront new college students. Consequently,it can prove challenging to teach new research skills adequately while students are beingbombarded with other first-time experiences. As Andi Sibley, reference and user serviceslibrarian at Bryn Athyn College, PA, explained, it can be an issue to “giv[e] them the full scope oflibrary research in a deep and meaningful way in a limited time frame when they are alsoengaged in orienting themselves to the whole college experience socially, academically,spiritually, and physically.” A librarian at a four-year West Virginia college wrote, “The challengesare overloaded curricula, ambivalent (nonlibrary) instructors, unclear/ever-changing expectations,and a lack of time.” Some survey respondents noted that information literacy courses may have abetter impact when they are customized to a particular assignment or coursework that anchorsthe lessons. According to the director of an Illinois community college learning commons. “If [thestudents] are not engaged in a research project, the information is meaningless at the time it ispresented.” In addition, many librarians emphasized the need to show students that informationliteracy is a skill that will serve students in the long-term, throughout college-level classes andbeyond.First-Year Experience Survey  information literacyMEASURING IMPACTThe vast majority—90%—of schools measure student success in their first year. Success ismeasured by student retention in 69% of schools, while 46% work with a student satisfactionsurvey, and 40% monitor student GPA. Particularly at two-year schools, success may bemeasured based on graduation rates or reduced remedial classes. In terms of evaluatinginformation literacy, according to Jonas Lamb, public services librarian and assistant professor atEgan Library, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, it is important to engage in assessment “togauge where they are coming from in terms of comfort evaluating and thinking critically about theinformation ecosystem.” The next phase of research should be to correlate assessments ofinstructional success with the scope and method of library involvement in first-year experienceacross the field as a whole; the University of South Carolina’s National Resource Center for theFirst-Year Experience and Students in Transition’s 2012–13 Survey of First-Year Seminars couldserve as a template. In this way, best practices can be identified and incorporated to help drivefirst-year library instruction. (Complete results of this year’s survey can be downloaded here.)Jennifer A. Dixon is a librarian and recent graduate of the School of Information, Pratt Institute,New York

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First Impressions: LJ\u27s First Year Experience Survey

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