“What do you mean I can‘t just use Google?” Information Literacy in an Academic Setting

Authors

  • Laura Thorne Laura is a second year MLIS student, originally from London, Ontario. She completed her B.A. at the University of Guelph, doing a double major in history and anthropology. She has had experience working as a Communications Assistant for an Ontario Governme

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5931/djim.v8i2.364

Abstract

Information literacy has become one of the most crucial skills for the twenty-first century, yet many Canadians, including university students, are not information literate. Universities in Canada aim to prepare students not only as professionals in the workforce, but also to be responsible, informed citizens; yet information literacy is often overlooked when developing curricula and program goals. The responsibility of information literacy instruction often falls to academic librarians, as faculty do not have the time or interest. This paper will outline many of the methods used by librarians to teach information literacy skills to undergraduate students, also discussing the barriers and challenges faced by libraries and librarians when it comes to information library instruction. To conclude, potential future steps that can be taken in Canada, specifically by librarians, but also by universities, faculty, and national professional organizations, are identified and discussed.

Author Biography

Laura Thorne, Laura is a second year MLIS student, originally from London, Ontario. She completed her B.A. at the University of Guelph, doing a double major in history and anthropology. She has had experience working as a Communications Assistant for an Ontario Governme

Laura Thorne is currently enrolled in her second year of the Masters of Library and Information Studies at Dalhousie University. Originally from Ontario, she completed her Bachelor of Arts with a double-major in history and anthropology, at the University of Guelph. This paper developed from an interest in the role of a librarian as instructor. Laura hopes to conduct further research in the near future on information literacy programs, specifically within Canada. This paper was originally written for the Information in Society course from the School of Information Management at Dalhousie University.

References

American Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Final Report. Chicago: American Library Association.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Retrieved December 3, 2011 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm

Bowler, Meagan & Street, Kori. (2008). Investigating the efficacy of embedment: experiments in information literacy integration. Reference Services Review. 36(4), 438–449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00907320810920397

Bury, S. (2011). Faculty attitudes, perceptions and experiences of information literacy: a study across multiple disciplines at York University, Canada. Journal of information literacy, 5(1), 45-64.

Canadian Library Association. (2011). Information Literacy Interest Group. Retrieved December 7, 2011 from http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Information_Literacy

CBC News. (2009, February 26). Universities need higher fees to get through recession: report. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca

Cull, B. W. (2005). Voices in the Wilderness: A Report on Academic Information Literacy Instruction in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Journal of Information & Library Sciences, 29(1), 1-26.

Dahl, C. (2001). Electronic pathfinders in academic libraries: an analysis of their content and form. College and Research Libraries, 62(3), 227-37.

Deiss, K. & Petrowski, M.J. (2009). ACRL 2009 strategic thinking guide for academic librarians in the new economy. Retrieved December 7, 2011 from www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/future/acrlguide09.pdf

Galvin, J. (2005). Alternative Strategies for Promoting Information Literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31(4), 352-357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2005.04.003

Harrison, J & Rourke, L. (2006). The benefits of buy-in: integrating information literacy into each year of an academic program. Reference Services Review, 34(4), 599-606, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00907320610716486

Julien, H. (2000). Information literacy instruction in Canadian academic libraries: Longitudinal trends and international comparisons. College and Research Libraries, 61(6), 510-23.

Julien, H. (2005). A longitudinal analysis of information literacy instruction in Canadian academic libraries. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 29(3), 289-313.

Julien, H. & Boon, S. (2003). Information Literacy in Canada's Academic Libraries. Feliciter, 49(6), 305-7.

Kwon, N. (2008). A mixed-methods investigation of the relationship between critical thinking and library anxiety among undergraduate students in their information search process. College and Research Libraries, 69(2), 117–131.

Labelle, P.R., & Nicholson, K. (2005). Student information research skills: Report on a Quebec-wide study on information literacy. Feliciter, 51(1), 47-49.

Laverty, C. (2009). Our Information Literacy Heritage: From Evolution to Revolution. Feliciter, 55(3), 88-91.

Naisbitt, J. (1982). Megatrends: ten new directions transforming our lives. New York: Warner Books.

Polkinghorne, S. & Wilton, S. (2010). Research is a verb: Exploring a new information literacy-embedded undergraduate research methods course. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 34(4), 457-473.

Reed, M., Kinder, D. & Farnum, C. (2007) Collaboration between Librarians and Teaching Faculty to Teach Information Literacy at One Ontario University: Experiences and Outcomes. Journal of Information Literacy, 1(3), 1-19.

Rockman, I. (2004). Introduction: The Importance of Information Literacy. In Ilene Rockman (Ed.) Integrating information literacy into the higher education curriculum: practical models for transformation (pp. 1-28). Toronto: Jossey-Bass.

Saunders, L. (2011). Information Literacy as a Learning Student Outcome: The Perspective of Institutional Accreditation. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.

Simard, S. (2009). An information literacy program built for relevance and purpose. Reference Services Review, 37(4), 386-394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00907320911006994

University of Toronto Libraries. (2005). Information Literacy Instruction Outcomes for Students & Faculty. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/faculty

Whitehead, M.J., & Quinlan, C.A. (2002). Canada: An information literacy case study. White paper prepared for UNESCO, the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague, Czech Republic.

Whitehead, M. J., & Quinlan, C. A. (2003). Information literacy in higher education. Feliciter, 49(1), 22-24.

Workshop for Instruction in Library Use. (2011). WILU History. Retrieved December 6, 2011 from http://sites.macewan.ca/wilu2012/history/

Downloads

Published

2012-03-31

Issue

Section

Articles