For students, keeping up with the rapidly changing
information landscape requires continuously learning new skills. Just in the
past couple of years, we have experienced fake news and net neutrality changes
that have altered the way we access, manage, and evaluate information. In a
recent CFI Teaching Toolbox, Peter Eubanks identifies “foster[ing]
digital or information literacy” as one of the ways to build students’ abilities
to navigate fake news and points to librarians as enthusiastic collaborators.
So what is information literacy? At its essence, information
literacy “blends the abilities to ask questions and be curious; identify where
and how to find information in different formats; evaluate the content, intent,
and value of information; and create … work that builds on and is informed by
the ideas of others” (JMU Libraries definition, 2017). As students gain information literacy
skills, they learn to
• develop their own
perspective on a topic,
• assess the
credibility of a source,
• appreciate
opportunities and barriers to information access,
• evaluate the
capabilities and limitations of different formats to best communicate their
ideas and make their voice heard, and
• recognize the
value of intellectual property, copyright, and attribution.
In the Project Information Literacy (PIL) Passage Studies (Head, 2013), researchers observed that
information literacy skills students developed in high school are often not
adequate for university level research. To improve incoming students’ skills,
JMU’s General Education (Gen Ed) program includes information literacy learning
outcomes in Cluster One. Recent assessment results of freshman
students’ information literacy skills show a minimum of 8% and as much as a 16%
improvement in learning outcomes during their first year at JMU.
Librarians have experience scaffolding student learning
outcomes, providing assignment support, and understanding how information
literacy looks through disciplinary lenses. Instructors can collaborate with
liaison librarians in a variety of ways, including in-class instruction,
individual consultations, and the development of teaching materials like custom guides or modules. For example, JMU librarians
developed the PSYCH 211 Research Methods Guide to support students as they acclimate to
their academic area of study. Instructor/librarian collaborations have led to information literacy programs for student athletes, developing assignments (e.g., Wikipedia),
and designing course assessment (e.g., health science) and even full courses and curricula (e.g., Chemistry)
with integrated information literacy learning outcomes.
Developing information literacy habits can make the complex
information landscape more manageable (AAC&U 2016), and practicing information literacy
skills provides students with a strong foundation for developing the habits
that will lead to academic success at JMU and beyond.
We’d be happy to
help! Please contact liaison librarians directly or book an appointment.
About the
author: Liz Thompson is the instruction and educational resources coordinator
in JMU Libraries. She can be reached at thomp3ea@jmu.edu.