The University System of Georgia is a robust system that includes 26 institutions of higher education. Each college and university has its own culture, faculty, and student experiences. They also each have a library. Seeing the need for closer collaboration and professional development, the Regents Academic Committee on Libraries (RACL), a group consisting of each institution’s library director, dean, or university librarian, called for the creation of an information literacy working group.
The RACL Information Literacy working group was formed in early 2019 and focused on informing the University System of Georgia broadly about how instruction and reference librarians serve as partners in teaching and learning initiatives. The group’s immediate focus was to identify best practices in information literacy instruction related to general education and Gateway to Completion courses such as ENGL 1101, and credit-bearing information literacy courses. The group has since been involved in various professional development opportunities to incorporate and promote best practices across the state of Georgia, as well as furthering library interests in an upcoming general education revision.
The presentation will be led by three members of the current working group and will cover the formation of the group and highlights of their work over the last year and half which include details of their state-wide webinar and workshop series. They will also share practical tips on how to form similar groups and overcome common obstacles in planning events for a large group over a vast geographical area. Attendees will learn where to strategically invest their efforts to increase professional development opportunities within their state and how to further library interests at their home institutions
