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Information Literacy Task Force Information Literacy: Process and Progress at IUP A primary resource for this webpage has been the poster presentation of two members of the Library faculty, Susan Drummond and Walt Laude, at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference (SITE), in Atlanta, March 2004, "Information Literacy: Process and Progress at Indiana University of Pennsylvania." Year 1 – Learning The Provost, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the IUP Libraries sponsored an Information Literacy Think Tank. Librarians Blaine Knupp and Susan Drummond presented a half-day workshop entitled “Information Literacy at IUP: Educating the Cut and Paste Generation.” Over 50 faculty and administrators representing all colleges on campus attended. The workshop was prompted by a meeting of representatives from the IUP Libraries, the Chair of the Liberal Studies Committee, and the Director of the Teaching Excellence Center to discuss an article by Lorie Roth on the topic. Year 2 - Planning As a result of the think tank, the Provost appointed
an Information Literacy Task Force with funding to: On October 4, 2001, members of the Reflective Practice Information Literacy Teaching Circle presented, “Who Wants to be Information Literate?” Approximately forty Reflective Practice faculty members of IUP attended. A web page and PowerPoint presentation about the importance of information literacy and the incorporation of it in the curriculum served as an introduction to an interactive game of IL standards and outcomes. In the spring of 2002, an IL survey was given to required Liberal Studies lower level and upper level classes to gather baseline information. Lower level students averaged over 50% while upper level ones averaged over 60% of questions correct. This survey showed improvement of IL skills between freshman and senior levels, however, the mean score was agreed to be less than desirable. The Task Force sponsored mini-grants for faculty members through an RFP process, requiring the collaboration of each applicant with a librarian. Ten mini-grants were awarded between $500 and $1,000 each. Some grants supported conference attendance while others provided collaborative learning opportunities between librarians and department faculty. One grant provided workshops for faculty to learn how to incorporate IL into their syllabi. Twenty-eight faculty members attended these workshops. Poster presentations by the mini-grant recipients were held at IL sponsored workshops. Year 3 – Developing The Information Literacy Task Force, Center for Teaching Excellence, and Liberal Studies Committee sponsored the first of three workshops. Fifty-one attended this first one, called “Building a Better IUP graduate: Teaching Information Access.” All were taught by Carla List, a library faculty member from SUNY Plattsburgh. Attendees received the ACRL Standards, Middle States Standard #12 where information literacy is specifically addressed, and ten tips for incorporating IL into a course syllabus. IL Task Force recommended standards were submitted to the University Senate for its endorsement and support through both the Library and Educational Services Committee and the University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum committee (UWUCC). At the close of the academic year, the standards for IL proposed by the taskforce to the Liberal Studies Committee, the UWUCC, and the Library and Educational Services Committee were approved by the Senate. This was a significant achievement for the university. The presence of these campus standards combined with the new focus upon IL in the Middle States standards promote the incorporation of these skills into courses and programs across IUP’s curriculum. At the end of the Spring 2003 semester, a second round of IL mini-grants was awarded to 6 academic departments. Year 4 – Implementing The IL Task Force, the IUP Libraries, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Liberal Studies Committee sponsored a second workshop, “Building a Better IUP Graduate II: Teaching Information Access” on October 25, 2003. Mini-grant recipients displayed posters of their final reports. IUP’s Middle States self study was begun. As outlined in Standard 12, the General Education committee has incorporated IL into the self-study with recommendations for implementation. The Liberal Studies program also began a program review. IL will be addressed as part of all new programs. Within the IL Task Force, a template was adopted to recommend to faculty in identifying how IL skills may be incorporated into their courses and curricula, based upon the a model provided by Middle States in Developing Research & Communication Skills. A third round of mini-grants was carried out with awards to 6 more faculty members/departments. The academic year saw a continuation of faculty workshops and training, and the development of online IL tutorials. Four departmental workshops were conducted. IL Task Force members met with the Liberal Studies Committee to discuss progress toward their goals. Year 5 – Institutionalizing The IL Task Force, the Provost, and Center for Teaching Excellence sponsored a third workshop on April 27, 2005, entitled, "Making the Invisible Visible: Identifying and Incorporating Information Literacy Concepts and Components in Your Courses." It focused on training participants to train others on how to incorporate information literacy standards into their syllabi and course curriculum. Departmental workshops continued. The third round of mini-grants was completed and recipients presented posters at the workshop and the annual dinner held by the Center for Teaching Excellence for Reflective Practice Groups. Department curriculum committees were surveyed to establish the status of information literacy on the campus. The chair of each committee was asked to use the template adopted by the Task Force to describe their courses and programs. Of 39 departments surveyed, 13 completed the form. Of these, 11 departments were offering courses in information literacy but most did not have a curriculum plan to address the development of IL skills in their majors. The survey will serve as a benchmark for the Liberal Studies Committee to identify the status of IL within academic departments in the future. The IL Task Force participated in the SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) pilot project, funded by a federal grant led by Kent State University. At the close of 2004-2005, the work of the Task Force was completed and its responsibilities transferred to the Liberal Studies Committee. Interest has been expressed in creating a Center for Information Literacy on the campus in order to continue to support faculty incorporation of IL into their courses. As Liberal Studies carries forward changes in its own program, IL is planned to be added to the criteria for curriculum proposals going to the University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. Faculty will be encouraged to include an IL component in their course syllabi. An IL tutorial will be added to the Library webpage. IL is being incorporated by the Library faculty into their own training programs and the campus instructional programs of which the IUP Libraries is a part. It is now an integral component of the College Undergraduate Success Program (CUSP) required for incoming freshman who register for this popular credit-course introducing students to university life. In Spring 2005, the IUP Libraries offered for the first time a newly approved 2-credit elective with Liberal Studies credit, Information Access in the Digital Age. At IUP, the assignment of the Information Literacy
Task Force is complete but the development and integration of information
literacy across the curriculum is a continuing endeavor. Information Literacy Task Force Members, 2001 - 2005 Bernie Ankney, Journalism
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Correspondence regarding this site should be sent to its maintainer, Rena Fowler, mailto:rfowler@iup.edu.
Last modified: 7/8/05.
Please see IUP's statement regarding pages that do not officially represent the university.
