Information Literacy Program

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) developed a framework covering the critical thinking, research skills and strategies within information literacy in 2016 - The Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education. JCKL follows the framework to teach students the complexity of information usage and creation in the 21st Century.

Librarians at JCKL have expanded the scope of information literacy to include the personal and professional information needs as well as academic.

The ACRL Framework consists of six frames: information has value, authority is constructed and contextual, searching as strategic exploration, information creation as process, research as inquiry and scholarship as conversation.

Below are student learning outcomes established by UCM faculty librarians to teach students information literacy.

"Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination." - ACRL Framework.

This frame of information literacy focuses on students' ability to identify the different roles information may play, such as facts to help solve a problem or evidence to back an argument. Students' also learn citing of their sources is a form of transparency that bolsters their own work.The learning outcomes below fall into this category.

Students will:

• Identify appropriate type of information sources needed to satisfy their information need.
• Access resources through citations in order to evaluate the original sources.
• "Forward-chain" an information source to assess the potential value of the source at hand.
• Explain the rationale for citing sources to acknowledge authorship and provide recognition of the contributions of others.
• Explain the purpose of citing sources in order to develop an argument.
• Credit sources used in their own work, utilizing formal conventions of attribution in order to identify recognized expertise.
• Identify different types of plagiarism in order to avoid plagiarism in their own work.

"Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required." - ACRL Framework

This frame of information literacy focuses on students' ability to identify expertise, particularly in different situations, and bias in order to critically evaluate information based on the criteria of authority. The learning outcomes below fall into this category.

Students will:

• Identify markers of authority recognized by disciplines, professions, and other communities of knowledge and practice.
• Identify the characteristics of a strong argument in order to determine if a source is authoritative.
• Describe explicit and/or implicit bias within a source and its impact upon authority.
• Develop a critical awareness of their own biases and world views in order to recognize how that impacts their evaluation of sources.
• Debate the way privilege influences perception of authority (activism vs authority/expertise).
• Select resources whose authority meets the requirement of their information needs e.g. personal, professional, academic.

"Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops." - ACRL Framework

This frame of information literacy focuses on students' recognition that the research process is fluid, often requiring the use of different search terms, search tools and information sources to meet their information needs. Students also learn about the personalization of search engines that skews the information results.  The learning outcomes below fall into this category.

Students will:

• Use search as an exploratory tool to select a research topic (broad topic to a narrow topic).
• Use a research question to identify descriptive search terms in order to begin online searching.
• Select resources from a search that best fit their research question/problem.
• Access resources through source citations in order to identify additional sources.
• Recognize searching is not one directional, rather that it is iterative with opportunities for adjustment during the search i.e. broaden/narrow the search, relevance of results, etc.
• Explain that modern search engines tailor results based on personal preferences and history in order to understand the limitations and biases of search results.
• Access the appropriate information by identifying interested parties (scholars, organizations, government sources, and industries) that produce information about a topic.

"Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences." - ACRL Framework

This frame of information literacy focuses on students' ability to identify the intended audiences of information and know why different information formats exist. The learning outcomes below fall into this category.

Students will:

• Identify common characteristics of a variety of information source types in order to differentiate scholarly, trade and popular publications.
• Recognize that scholarly research materials exist in a variety of formats and will select resources that meet their needs regardless of medium.
  • Identify the intended audience of academic books in order to use resources often written for a beginner audience.
  • Recognize the difference between a single author academic book and an edited academic book and the role each serve within the research process.
  • Identify the intended audience of academic journal articles in order to use resources often written for an advanced audience.
• Trace the development of a scholarly idea through analyzing two or more sources to illustrate how ideas/knowledge evolves over time.
• Recognize trade/professional publications in order to articulate their value in the workplace.
• Compare news resources to academic resources in order to understand how research results may (or may not) be simplified or inflated when written about for a general audience.

"Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field." - ACRL Framework

This frame focuses on students' ability to recognize the research process as a perpetual seeking of new knowledge to better understand the world, solve problems, make decisions and improve society. The learning outcomes below fall into this category.

Students will:

• Identify the particular inquiry/questions posed by authors in order to understand inquiry is the engine of scholarship.
• Recognize the processes by which new knowledge is created.
• Explore multiple sources in order to develop a meaningful research question on a topic.
• Revise their research questions in response to new information or understandings.
• Select research methodology(ies) based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry.
• Demonstrate persistence, adaptability, and reflection as components of research inquiry.

"Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations." - ACRL Framework

This frame focuses on students' ability to know and use the mechanisms established by professionals and scholars to share new knowledge and debate the merits of the information in solving problems, making decisions or generating new questions. The learning outcomes below fall into this category.

Students will:

• Locate a source of information from a citation in an existing resource to trace the historical chronology of scholarly discussion.
• Read an original source cited by other author(s) to determine the veracity of the reference.
• “Forward chain” a citation of an existing resource in order to trace the forward chronology of scholarly discussion.
• Students will analyze the literature to explore how ideas are evaluated within a scholarly conversation.
• Synthesize multiple sources into a literature review in order to demonstrate their ability to organize the literature.
• Identify parts of an argument: premise, evidence, and conclusion in order to appreciate well developed arguments.
• Create a well-developed argument in order to fully participate in a democratic society.
• Use a variety of resources in order to address the various perspectives on an issue.
• develop their understanding of unique contribution to the scholarly conversation by constructing their own original research question/problem.