ASSESSMENT IN SUPPORT OF
INFORMATION LITERACY
John Pell
Hunter College Libraries
April 21, 2015
WHAT WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT:
• What is information literacy?
• What are some things Hunter’s Librarians are
doing to support information literacy right
now?
• What is one of the Library’s Assessment
Projects for Expanding its support for
information literacy next year?
• What are your questions?
WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?
• ACRL Standards: “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.”1
WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?
• SCONUL Core: “Information literate people
will demonstrate an awareness of how they
gather, use, manage, synthesize and create
information and data in an ethical manner
and will have the information skills to do so
effectively.”2
WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?
• ACRL Framework: “Information literacy is the
set of integrated abilities encompassing the
reflective discovery of information, the
understanding of how information is produced
and valued, and the use of information in
creating new knowledge and participating
ethically in communities of learning.”3
Information literacy Outcomes
(ACRL Standards)1
• Confers with instructors and participates in
class discussions, peer workgroups, and
electronic discussions to identify a research
topic, or other information need
• Develops a thesis statement and formulates
questions based on the information need
• Explores general information sources to
increase familiarity with the topic
Information Literacy Competencies &
Understandings (SCONUL Pillars)2
• Understand the publication process in terms
of why individuals publish and the currency of
information
• Identify controlled vocabularies and
taxonomies for use in searching
• Use appropriate data management software
and techniques to manage data
Information Literacy Knowledge
Practices (ACRL Framework)3
• Identify interested parties, such as scholars,
organizations, governments, and industries,
which might produce information about a topic
and determine how to access that information
• Understand how and why some individuals or
groups of individuals may be underrepresented
or systematically marginalized within the systems
that produce and disseminate information
Hunter Library’s Support for
Information Literacy
• Research Toolkit & Other Web Tutorials
• Reference Chats and Consultations
• Course-related Instruction Sessions
• Graded Assignments
• Semester-Long Credit-Bearing Courses
2015-2016 Assessment Project
• Partner with 1st Year Writing Program
• Assess Impact of Linked Library 100 and English 120
sections on Student Writing and Research
• Close the Loop: Strengthen Learning Communities by
Developing Synergistic Approaches to Lesson Plans
and Assignments
• Close the Loop: Strengthen Learning Communities by
Involving Librarian Liaisons with their Subject Areas
2015-2016 Assessment Project
• John Pell: Pre-Nursing/Science & Medical
Professions
• Hal Grossman: Education/Psychology or Social
Sciences/Pre-business & Pre-law
• Sara Ward & Stephanie Margolin: Humanities
& Arts/Education/Social Sciences
• Phil Swan & Adina Muliken: History
REFERENCES
1.
Association of College & Research Libraries. Framework for
Information Literacy for Higher Education. www.ala.org. 2015.
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework#exploration.
Accessed April 21, 2015.
2.
SCONUL Working Group on Information Literacy. The SCONUL
Seven Pillars of Information Literacy. 2011.
http://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremod
el.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2015.
3.
Association of College & Research Libraries. Information Literacy
Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago, Illinois:
American Library Association; 2000.
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetenc
y. Accessed April 21, 2015.