Faculty Resources

Information Literacy

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) defines information literacy as:

...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.

"Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" by Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Library instruction is a great way to incorporate information literacy into courses. Faculty can request a library instruction (face to face or online) to teach students how to access library resources and services, evaluate information, and develop research strategies. The librarian can also discuss other information literacy principles such as the ethics of sharing information, inequities in the production and publishing of information, and mis-/dis-information.

Library instruction can happen in two ways:

1. One-shot instruction sessions. The librarian teaches only one workshop for the instructor. This can be in-person or online (synchronous).
2. Embedded library instruction. The librarian is embedded into the course, going beyond the one-shot library instruction. An example of what this looks like is the librarian can create a Canvas module customized to the requesting instructor's course and an in-person workshop. The librarian can host a series of library workshops (at most 3) in tandem with student working towards a research project. This work well with scaffolded assignments in which students pick a topic in the beginning of the course and complete small assignments (such as a bibliography or short essay) that leads to a end-of-semester project (such as a presentation, annotated bibliography, or research paper).

To request an undergraduate library workshop, email Nora Smolonsky, the Undergraduate Instruction and Student Success Librarian at nora.smolonsky@goucher.edu or complete the Instruction Request Form.

To request a graduate library workshop, email Courtney Douglass, the Graduate Research and Instruction Librarian, at courtney.douglass@goucher.edu.