The Campaign for Information Literacy: 

Politics, Personalities, & Perseverance

Elisa Slater Acosta

Library Instruction Coordinator

Loyola Marymount University

What is Information Literacy?

Definitions

“Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (ACRL)

“Information literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use, and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals” (UNESCO)

Image courtesy of Beloit College Library http://www.beloit.edu/library/infolit/

Association of Colleges & Research Libraries Info. Lit. Standards

Need

Access

EvaluateUse

Ethics

http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

Why Do Students Need Information Literacy?

ERIAL Project Findings

• Inability to correctly read citation

• Little or no understanding of cataloging systems

• No organized search strategies beyond Google style

• Poor abilities in locating & evaluating resources

http://www.erialproject.org/

PIL Findings

http://projectinfolit.org/

Citation Project Findings

• Don’t understand their sources or read deeply

• Don’t know how to analyze sources

• Instead of summarizing, students paraphrased, copied from, or patchwrote from individual sentences in their sources

• Inadvertently plagiarizing

http://site.citationproject.net/

“If we can't find the information we need for the topic we are truly interested in, we'll just switch to a new topic of less interest but requiring less work…”

“The blame for our lack of research skills does not lie solely in our lack of zeal…. this problem stems from the lack of training in good research habits” – Kim Tran, Opinion Editor, Loyolan “Feeling Lucky Doesn’t Always Work Out So Well” in 10/6/11 issue

THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press Secretary_____________________________________________For Immediate Release October 1, 2009

NATIONAL INFORMATION LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH, 2009

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAA PROCLAMATION

“The ability to seek, find, and decipher information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether financial, medical, educational, or technical.”

“This month, we dedicate ourselves to increasing information literacy awareness so that all citizens understand its vital importance. An informed and educated citizenry is essential to the functioning of our modern democratic society, and I encourage educational and community institutions across the country to help Americans find and evaluate the information they seek, in all its forms.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Information-Literacy-Awareness-Month

WASC AccreditationCORE COMPETENCIES

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

ORAL COMMUNICATION

QUANTITATIVE REASONING

INFORMATION LITERACY

CRITICAL THINKING

WASC 2013 Handbook of Accreditation, CFR 2.2a

Loyola Marymount University

• Private Jesuit and Marymount university in Los Angeles, CA

• 5,962 Undergraduate• 2,129 Graduate

Strategies to Promote Information Literacy

I WANT YOU!To embed information literacy into your curriculum today!

High Impact Practices

• First-Year Seminars & Experience* • Common Intellectual Experiences*• Learning Communities• Writing Intensive Courses*• Collaborative Assignments & projects• Undergraduate Research*• Diversity/Global Learning• Service Learning• Internships• Capstones*

High Impact Practices http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/hip_tables.pdf

“Personalities”

• Director of Freshman English Program

• Academic Resource Center

• Office of Assessment

• Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE)

• Faculty Library Liaisons

• Faculty super-library-users

Future possibilities…• Director of the Core• FYS Faculty Development

Working Group• FYS Writing Instructor Working

Group• Faculty Learning Communities

“Politics”• Deans Council (1 Librarian)

• Associate Deans Council (1)

• Assessment Advisory Committee (1)

• APRC (1)

• Faculty Senate (2)

• New Core Curriculum Committee (1)o Course Criteria Working Groups (2)o Course Approval Subcommittee – IL

Flag (1)

Info Lit

Assessment

LMU Undergraduate Learning Goals and Outcomes (2010)

Information literacy:

Students will be able to identify information needs,

locate and access relevant information and critically

evaluate a diverse array of sources

http://www.lmu.edu/about/services/academicplanning/assessment/Undergraduate_Learning_Goals_and_Outcomes.htm

Sources of Evidence

• Direct Measure: Looks at student work products or performances that demonstrate learning

• iSkills Testing

• Indirect Measure: Captures students’ perceptions of their learning and the educational environment that supports learning

• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

• 2012 Alumni Outcomes Survey

7

Standardized Tests

The Information Literacy Test (ILT)

Blevens, C. (2012). Catching up with information literacy assessment. College & Research Libraries News, 73(4), 202-206. http://crln.acrl.org/content/73/4/202.full

iSkills Test

• Spring 2012• Library E-classroom• 7 test dates• 60-70 minute test• 75 Seniors • Incentives: $20 cash

Poster created by McKenzie Sweeney from LMU Office of Assessment

DEFINE - the ability to understand the scope of an information problem to facilitate the search for information.

ACCESS - the ability to collect information in digital environments.

EVALUATE - the ability to judge whether information satisfies an information problem.

MANAGE – the ability to organize information in such a way that it is easy to locate later.

INTEGRATE- the ability to interpret and represent information.

CREATE - the ability to adapt, apply, design or construct information.

COMMUNICATE - the ability to disseminate information tailored to a

particular audience.

Seven iSkills Task Types(aligned with the ACRL Standards)

http://www.ets.org/iskills/scores_reports/reports/

http://www.ets.org/iskills/scores_reports/reports/

National Survey of Student Engagement

• The NSSE assesses the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development.

• Spring 2012• All Freshmen and Seniors

invited• Incentives: 16 gift cards,

$50

Poster created by McKenzie Sweeney from LMU Office of Assessment

To what extent has your experience at this institution contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal development in using computing and information technology?

In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you used an electronic medium to discuss or complete an assignment?

The following NSSE items relate to Information Literacy:

2012 Alumni Outcomes Survey

Image from http://alumni.lmu.edu/

2012 Alumni Outcomes Survey

In January 2012 members of the classes of 2004 and 2009 were invited to participate in an Alumni Outcomes Survey. Alumni were asked to rate their abilities, knowledge, and skills (referred to as ‘Self-Rating’) and indicate the extent to which LMU contributed to their development in these areas (referred to as ‘LMU’s Impact’).

2012 Alumni Outcomes Survey Undergraduate Version

Survey image courtesy of LMU Office of Assessment

LMU Assessment Cyclefor information literacy outcome

2012 iSkills Testing

2013 Evidence Report

2014 Actions for Improvement

Spring 2014 Department Survey (Actions for Improvement)

• For which components of Information Literacy do you feel students demonstrated satisfactory levels of achievement?

• For which components of Information Literacy do you feel students are in need of improvement?

• Does your program’s curriculum contain an information literacy component? If so, what kinds of pedagogies and assignments are used to develop students’ abilities to identify information needs, locate and access information, and critically evaluate sources?

• What modifications to your program’s approach to integrating information literacy into the curriculum might help students to improve on the components you identified as needing improvement?

• What contributions might your program make to help students achieve the related information literacy outcome through the new University Core Curriculum?

“Perseverance”

Librarians can help…

• Designing & Revising IL assignments

• Instruction - teaching search strategy, how to evaluate sources

• Custom Research guides/Online tutorials

• Assessment - rubrics & testing

• Get Help - research consultation appointments, chat or text-a-librarian, in-person or phone help

Image created by Jamie Hazlitt, Outreach Librarian

Additional Information

All images are from Microsoft Office clip art unless noted.

• PPT Slides: http://works.bepress.com/elisa_acosta/3

• Contact Information:

Elisa Slater Acosta

elisa.acosta@lmu.edu

California Association of Research Librarians (CARL): Information Literacy 101: From Building Campus Awareness to Assessment for AccreditationApril 10, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Convener: Les Kong, CARL Executive Board member and Coordinator, Media Services, California State University, San Bernardino This SIG gathering, sponsored by the California Academic and Research Libraries (CARL) is designed for librarians, teaching faculty, and academic administrators who wish to learn more about what distinguishes information literacy from other core competencies and how to promote its use on campuses. We will discuss strategies for developing effective avenues and working relationships with specific groups and/or units at academic institutions. Assessment instruments and methodologies will be reviewed, and examples provided of implementation of information literacy assessment at different levels. The gathering will conclude with implications for accreditation.

Contributors:Elisa Slater Acosta, Coordinator, Library Instruction, Loyola Marymount University: The Campaign for Information Literacy: Politics, Personalities, & PerseveranceSusan Gardner Archambault, Head, Reference and Instruction, Loyola Marymount University: The Great Race: Embedding Information Literacy into LMU's Core CurriculumHenri Mondschein, Manager, Information Literacy, Pearson Library, California Lutheran University: A Recipe for Accreditation Success: Faculty, Librarians and Program ReviewsKaty French, Instruction/Information Literacy Librarian, Palomar College: An Information Literacy Assessment Story

WASC Academic Resource Conference (ARC) 2013