Information Literacy

Members

Faculty Chair:: Florence Landon, MCC

District Support:: Virginina Cantś

| Kathy Lynch, GWCC | Marcia Melton, MCC | Jane Mente, CGCC |

Charge

The Information Literacy group's charge is to clarify the concept of "information literacy," that is, to identify the critical and analytical skills students must develop in order to use information appropriately and judiciously. The group will look at how we address information literacy with the Maricopa Community Colleges.

Discussion Highlights

Introduction

This is the second year for this committee. Last year the committee defined Information Literacy, presented suggested competencies for MCCCD students, and suggested three models for implementation. This year our charge was to look at how Information Literacy is being addressed in the Maricopa Community Colleges.

The Standards for community, junior, and technical college learning resources programs approved in 1994 by the Association of College and Research Libraries of the American Library Association state in Standard Five: User Services, Objective 5.5:

"An Information Literacy program for students should be provided through a variety of techniques. including group and individual instruction and credit or non-credit courses. Basic reference service should provide individualized assistance at all hours the facility is open. The goal is to prepare students for a lifetime's use of information resources." (579)

Year in Review

The Information Literacy Committee has been successful in obtaining information from GCC, GWCC, CGCC, SMCC, MCC and ASU. Other sources include listservs and articles which are abundant.

Other Sources: Professional publications and the library instruction listserv provide additional input on Information Literacy. Most are still struggling in developing classes and experimenting with integrating material in English courses and other subject areas in order to provide students with multi-level information access skills. There has obviously been an increase in the awareness of and need for this instruction by subject faculty. The Association of College and Research Libraries has joined with the Association of Higher Education in a cooperative research project to collect data on existing information literacy programs in higher education institutions across the United States. More than 200 survey responses have been received and 26 institutions with exemplary information literacy programs were selected to participate in the first regional workshops to be held in the middle states region. Plans also call for a regional workshop in the western region. Representative teams consisting of librarians, faculty, computer center staff and administrators from the 26 colleges are conducting these workshops. The first two are planned for Philadelphia College and Monroe CC in Rochester, New York.

Information Literacy is provided in a variety of ways. Since it is not part of the English Composition Curriculum at MCCCD (or other subject areas), many students are not receiving the research skills or knowledge of information access needed in today's world. The colleges with smaller enrollments seem to be faring better in this respect. Although we provide extensive "one-on-one" service in our libraries, this is inadequate for their transfer to upper-division colleges and occupational careers.

What next?

Incorporating Information Literacy in the educational process requires a cooperative learning and teaching environment. A team approach to develop resource-based learning projects is essential. Librarians and subject faculty partnerships with the support of administrators can provide the linkage necessary for developing and establishing projects that will increase students' information literacy. An excellent source that discusses this in-depth is a 1992 New Directions for Higher Education publication, edited by D.W. Farmer and Terrence F. Mech. The title is, Information Literacy: Developing Students as Independent Learners. The contributors discuss a variety of strategies that have been implemented to meet this challenge in higher education.

Definition of Information Literacy

Information Literacy is the ability to identify what information is needed and the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information in solving problems and composing discourse. It encompasses a set of competencies that will provide for survival and success in an information technology environment. The Secretary's Skills (SCANS) report identifies information literacy as one of five essential skills that the workplace will demand of employees of the future. Teaching information literacy involves communicating the power and scope of information as well as explaining how information is organized, how it is retrieved through a variety of access sources and tools, and how to evaluate, organize, and apply information to a variety of problems and situations.

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