James White Library - Andrews University

Information Literacy Guidelines

Mission
Mission of the Library: The mission of the James White Library is to support the mission of Andrews University by providing bibliographic, physical and intellectual access to recorded knowledge and information. Library service is part of the university goal of developing the whole being of students and faculty. The library has a primary responsibility to support instructional, service and research programs of Andrews University through the acquisition, organization, and maintenance of appropriate information resources, including access to appropriate electronic resources. The library also accepts a broad responsibility for the support and upgrading of the libraries of Adventist educational institutions around the world.
; Definition of Information Literacy: Information literacy is the ability to recognize a need for information; locate, evaluate, manage, and use that information effectively and ethically.

; Information Literacy Mission: It is the mission of the James White Library information literacy program to develop an awareness of information literacy across the curriculum and teach lifelong skills needed to identify information needs, locate, evaluate, manage, and use the information resources accessible in the library effectively and ethically. This involves educating and working with faculty to integrate information literacy into the curriculum and gaining the support of administrators.

Goal and Objectives
; Competency Standard One. "The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed."
1. "The information literate student defines and articulates the need for information." This includes the skills of distinguishing between general and specific sources, knowing how and when to use each, broadening or narrowing a topic as needed, knowing when and where to use background information, and when to consult with instructors and librarians.
2. "The information literate student identifies a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information." This involves knowing how information is organized, produces and disseminates; understanding subject-related headings and terminology, various formats of information and their uses, popular v.s. scholarly and current v.s. historical resources, primary and secondary sources and their importance.

3. "The information literate student considers the cost, time, and effort as well as benefits of acquiring the needed information." Understands how and when to access a variety of materials beyond the local site and plans accordingly.

4. "The information literate student reevaluates the nature and extent of the information need." Focuses on a topic by revising and modifying a topic as it becomes necessary.

; Competency Standard Two. "The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently."
1. "Selects the most appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval systems for accessing the needed information." Knows the scope (content, types of sources, time period), search language, and strategy of various databases. Uses efficient approaches, evaluates relevancy, familiar with ways of outputting information, analyzes and interprets information according to needs or criteria.
2. "Constructs and implements effectively designed search strategies." Develops a plan. Identifies terminology needed for discipline or data base including subject headings. Designs a search strategy which includes the use of key words, related terms, truncation, Boolean searching, nesting, and database specific protocols. Chooses appropriate tools and sources for specific disciplines and understands how these tools work.

3. "Retrieves information online or in person using a variety of methods." Uses various search systems, classification schemes, and specialized online or in person services to retrieve information in a variety of formats.

4. "Refines the search strategy as necessary." Evaluates quantity, quality, and relevance of sources.

5. "Extracts, records, and manages the information and its sources." Interprets and manages citation; locates, and uses the resources needed.

; Competency Standard Three. "The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system."
1. "Articulates and applies initial criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources." Is able to evaluate "reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias." Knows how to find reviews of sources, investigate qualifications of authors and publishers, understands what place the date of publication plays, recognizes bias, opinions vs. facts, accuracy of facts; and how time, purpose, and cultural context impact information.
2. "Compares new knowledge with prior knowledge to determine the value added, contradictions, or other unique characteristics of the information." Accuracy of data, evaluating new information in comparison with established sources, and determining relevance for initial topic.

3. "Determines whether the initial query should be revised." Knows how to expand or modify searches, using additional databases, etc. to find further sources.

; Competency Standard Four. "The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose." This is defined by course instructors rather than by librarians.
1. "The information literate student communicates the product or performance effectively to others." Chooses proper medium and uses technology to communicate effectively with audience.
; Competency Standard Five. "The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally."
1. "Understands many of the ethical, legal, and socioeconomic issues surrounding infor-formation and information technology." Differentiates between free and free-based sources, limits of licenses, and using a Web search engine versus a Web based, library-provided tool. Comprehends issues of plagiarism, copyright, and freedom of speech.
2. "The information literate student follows laws, regulations, institutional policies and Etiquette related to the access and use of information resources." Complies with institutional policies on access to resources and human subjects research, documents resources correctly, and disseminates information legally.

3. "Acknowledges the use of information sources in communicating the product or performance." Documents all types of sources correctly and consistently using appropriate style or format.

Pedagogy
; Library instruction sessions are initiated by course instructors and administrators. The library also offers workshops for students, faculty, and community members.
The following methods are used to teach information literacy:

Tours

Lectures

Demonstrations

Hands-on exercises

Instruction guides

Tutorials

Individualized coaching during class

One-on-one instruction during consultation sessions

Instruction sessions take place in the Library Instruction Lab, offices, and classrooms, and at departmental and faculty meetings, offices, etc. Session involve a variety of methods, media, and activities, and are designed to achieve maximum results while appealing to individuals with different learning styles.

; Staffing
; The Information Literacy program is administered by the Information Services Department, supported by the Library Instruction Committee, and coordinated by the Instruction Librarian. Members of the Library Instruction Committee are the most frequent instructors, however other library faculty members also participate as needed. Branch librarians provide information literacy services in their own areas.
; Outreach
; The following methods are used to promote the Information Literacy program:

New faculty orientation

Faculty meetings

Departmental meetings

Distribution of brochures

Liaison program

Electronic reference

Consultation program

Library Fair

Campus events such as: Advisor's Breakfast, Creative Arts Festival, Health and Benefits Fair.

Assessment/Evaluation
; Assessment and evaluation are important parts of the Information Literacy program. Assessment is conducted using the following methods: pre-and post-tests, senior survey, faculty survey, library statistics.
Information Literacy Resources

; The following information literacy resources are available:

The Library Primer online tutorial

Faculty Manual, director of online library information

Michigan Colleges Foundation Information Literacy Tutorial for undergraduates

Library Instruction Sourcebook, Web site with ideas for incorporating library instruction into courses and making library assignments more effective

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.html

Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/is/publications/Objs.html

Approved by Library Instruction Committee 05/03/05