Brookes Bible College Library: Information Literacy

"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."

"Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning.

An information literate individual is able to:  

• Determine the extent of information needed
• Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
• Evaluate information and its sources critically
• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally." (ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education)

The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was introduced by the ACRL Board in February 2015.  The Framework is "based on a cluster of interconnected core concepts with flexible options for implementation, rather than on a set of standards or learning outcomes, or any prescriptive enumeration of skills. At the heart of this Framework are conceptual understandings that organize many other concepts and ideas about information, research, and scholarship into a coherent whole."  The Framework is organized into six frames. The six threshold concepts that anchor the frames are: 

• Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
• Information Creation as a Process
• Information Has Value
• Research as Inquiry
• Scholarship as Conversation
• Searching as Strategic Exploration

"Because this Framework envisions information literacy as extending the arc of learning throughout students’ academic careers and as converging with other academic and social learning goals, an expanded definition of information literacy is offered here to emphasize dynamism, flexibility, individual growth, and community learning:

Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning."

Information literacy instruction is most effective when it is integrated into the academic curriculum. The Library provides a curriculum integrated approach to library insturction designed to address students' information and research needs. A course-integrated instruction approach allows the librarian and classroom faculty to work together to introduce students to the library's resources for research.

The content of the library instruction session will:

• Be based upon assignments in the course
• Include hands-on opportunity for students to begin their research

The Librarian will collaborate with you to:

• Design assignments
• Determine the most appropriate resources (print, electronic, web, etc.) for the instruction session.
• Schedule library instruction when your students are working on their research assignments and are most motivated to learn.
• Provide follow-up research assistance to your students after the library session via email or in-person consultation as needed.
• Create a Course Guide specifically for your course

Assignment Ideas (Source: Smith College Libraries)

DO's and DON'Ts for Faculty (Source: Smith College Libraries)

10 Ways to Improve Student Research - "The following tips for faculty to help students successfully complete research assignments are based on the results of studies conducted by Project Information Literacy (PIL), an ongoing national research project that examines undergraduate student research practices." (Source: Temple University Libraries)

Advice for Students: 10 Steps Toward Better Research - a short and highly informative article