INFORMATION COMPETENCY
PROJECT
Presentation by
Teresa Ojezua, Head Librarian
Katie Davis, Reference / Instruction Librarian
Philander Smith College Little Rock, AR
Outline of Presentation
 Summary of Project
 Introduction
 Project Goal
 Structure
 Process
 Outcomes
 Key Breakthroughs
 Project Review
 Challenges
 Stakeholders
 Key Change Issues
 Insights from Leadership Institute
 Goals Not Met
 Relationship to College Strategic Plan
 Summary & Conclusions
 Questions
 Immunity to Change
 Immunity Map
Summary
Our project focused on establishing information
literacy competencies to enhance students’
development, curriculum redesign and campus
collaboration.
With funds from the office of Title III, we
expanded the Library Committee and held a
series of discussion meetings to develop a set
of IL competencies that all students should
have before they graduate from the college.
The result was a motion by the Faculty Senate
adopting the proposed IL competencies.
Introduction…
 Information explosion—radical change in the
way information is stored, organized, and
retrieved
 To equip students for lifelong learning in an
evolving information universe
 To help students use relevant information for
informed decision making
 To discourage reliance on internet for “copy &
paste” research activities
We are seeing students…
 Failing to evaluate sources or their relevance
to assigned projects
 Clicking and not reading
 Engaging in rampant plagiarism
 Regurgitating ideas of others—no original
thought
 Hitting the print button and thinking they’ve
accomplished their research
Definition of Information Literacy
 Information Literacy is the set of abilities
requiring individuals to “recognize when
information is needed and have the ability to
locate, evaluate, and use effectively the
needed information.” (Information Literacy
Competency Standards for Higher Education,
ALA 2000)
Project Goals
 To provide faculty and staff with a better
understanding of information literacy
 To develop outcomes based guidelines
for information literacy for all PSC
students
 To disseminate the PSC guidelines on the
Worldwide Web (via the library webpage
and in other sources)
Structure
 Expanded the Library Committee to include an
extra faculty member from each Division,
administrators, computing staff, and two student
representatives
 Wrote a Grant for funds from the Director of Title
III
 Held 4 discussion meetings—Dec. 2009, Jan.
2010, Feb. 2010, Mar. 2010
 Invited Consultant & HBCU Mentor to address the
group
Consultant at IL Discussion Forum
Another IL forum in session
Process





Create a vision for the project
Tie aim to personal concerns / observations
Build and empower a team (Stakeholders)
Demonstrate commitment
Use standardized tools to demonstrate
benchmarks (ALA, ACRL)
 Utilize Faculty Senate to institutionalize
proposed IL standards and competencies
 Develop strategies for future implementation
Outcomes
 Promoted a discussion on student information
literacy in academia
 Worked toward changing the library’s role on
campus and in the larger community.
 Built partnerships within the library and campus
wide
 Proposed five I.L. competency standards
 Proposed framework for implementation and
assessment that was accepted by Faculty Senate
Key Breakthroughs…
 Acceptance of information literacy
competency standards in faculty members’
class objectives
 For librarians and library staff, this project has
led to increased communication and improved
services.
 Making connections and sustainable
relationships on campus
 Developed a formal professional relationship
with our HBCU Mentor
Key Breakthroughs…
 Affirm librarians as key players in the
institution and important role of the library in
enhancing teaching and learning
 Changing IL competency as a “library thing” to
literacy skills into classroom instruction
 Funding can be obtained for professional
development of faculty
 IL connects all the stakeholders (students,
faculty, librarians, computer staff, student
services, campus administrators)
Project Review—Challenges
 Faculty resistance—fear of losing control
over subject matter and lack of time to
incorporate IL objectives into classroom.
 Convincing faculty of shared
responsibility and collaboration in
executing the proposed I.L.
competencies.
 Establishing buy-in among the library
staff
Meeting the challenges
 Established trust and communicated our
vision with persistence.
 Positive reinforcement for participation
 Inclusion of all library staff in library
planning meetings
 Monthly professional development
exercises for library staff
Stakeholders
Administrators
Librarians
Faculty
Student Reps
Computing Staff
HBCU Mentor
Key Change Issues
 To Raise the bar on student research
competence and confidence
 To Establish lasting collaborative relationships
 To Empower Library staff
Helpful Insights from Leadership
Institute…
 Create a vision that is relevant to the
institution’s strategic plan
 Stakeholder analysis
 Develop strategies (communication,
funds, change management, staff etc.)
 Develop a project plan
 Execute (take action)
What goals were not met?
 One goal is still in progress:
to disseminate the IL guidelines on
the WWW via the library website
 Anticipated completion: Summer
2010
Relationship of Project to College
Strategic Plan
 I.L. is essential to achieve the College’s
strategic goal #2: “to strengthen it’s
academic profile, programs, and
performance.”
 Provides skills for life-long learning
 Prepares students for post-college work
environment.
 Helps to create student motivation and
engagement
Summary and Conclusions
 Library vision is translated into executable
actions.
 Librarians play a vital and evolving role in
collaborating with campus stakeholders to
implement the changes necessary for an
effective I.L. program.
 From workshop presentations, to one-on-one
consultations, faculty see the library as more
than a collections-related resource, and more
of a service and training-centered resource.
Immunity to Change
 Time to think outside the box!
Immunity Map
Visible
Commitment
Doing/ Not Doing
Instead
Hidden Competing
Commitments
Big Assumptions
Improve Customer
Service Quality
through:
Innovation
Prompt Delivery of
Service
Excellence
Customer service
doesn’t go far
beyond traditional
in-person
transactions.
Library staff feel
that patrons are not
self-reliant enough,
and the staff do not
want to “do
students’ work for
them.”
That improved
customer service
will not increase
patrons’
understanding of
information
retrieval and library
resources.
Library staff
sometimes don’t
refer questions
Reluctance in going
when they reach an above and beyond
impasse.
original job
description.
Delayed response
to patron needs
Changes are
unnecessary, and
the status quo
serves the library
effectively.
Insights from Immunity Concept:
 This concept shows the multidimensional nature of change.
 Change is prevented by barriers coming
from both individual and group
commitments.
 Team work as well as individual reflection
is necessary to overcome resistance to
change.
Questions…?