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

Association of Colleges & Research Libraries Info. Lit. Standards Need Access EvaluateUse Ethics

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

PIL Findings

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

“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 issueFeeling Lucky Doesn’t Always Work Out So Well

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 1, 2009 NATIONAL INFORMATION LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH, 2009 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A 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.”

WASC Accreditation CORE 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

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

“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

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),

iSkills Test Spring 2012 Library E-classroom 7 test dates minute test 75 Seniors Incentives: $20 cash Poster created by McKenzie Sweeney from LMU Office of Assessment

Seven iSkills Task Types (aligned with the ACRL Standards)

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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

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 Cycle for 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: Contact Information: Elisa Slater Acosta

California Association of Research Librarians (CARL): Information Literacy 101: From Building Campus Awareness to Assessment for Accreditation April 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, & Perseverance Susan Gardner Archambault, Head, Reference and Instruction, Loyola Marymount University: The Great Race: Embedding Information Literacy into LMU's Core Curriculum Henri Mondschein, Manager, Information Literacy, Pearson Library, California Lutheran University: A Recipe for Accreditation Success: Faculty, Librarians and Program Reviews Katy French, Instruction/Information Literacy Librarian, Palomar College: An Information Literacy Assessment Story WASC Academic Resource Conference (ARC) 2013