When asked what suggestions the faculty, students, and administrators had regarding immediate action to implement information literacy, most of the answers could be summed up in one of four categories: Assessing current skills, establishing a baseline competency for information literacy, obtaining and distributing funds to implement training, and finally, implementing a training program. It is clear that information literacy needs to be addressed at all levels, including undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, appropriate staff, such as departmental secretaries, and administrators. Assessing all of these individuals is the first immediate action step. Some suggestions about how to assess the students, faculty, staff and administrators include distributing a one-page inventory that graduate students must complete with their admission application, using an on-line survey/test that faculty and administrators could fill out, and assesing students during summer orientation. Another suggestion is to observe what current students know, and address the issues that are not clear with future students.
The next step is to establish a baseline that should be required for competence. Provide information about what students, faculty, staff and administrators should know on webpages and during orientation. Baseline measures and minimal competence should be included so that everyone knows what is expected of them. It should be emphasized that the information provided is valid and that the information is used ethically.
Once the baseline knowledge is assessed and competencies are established, training opportunities must be available. Funding should come from grants and other sources, and should be provided to the library and to departments so they can incorporate training with their curricula.
Training can be made available to students, faculty, staff, and administrators through various avenues. The SSHE task force could be asked to prepare common training materials to enhance information literacy, such as models or tutorials, that the faculty can access through the web. Offer "first Friday" workshops for faculty and administrators. Workshops can also be offered to undergraduate and graduate students. The most popular suggestion to help teach students about information literacy was to include it in their classes (like writing across the curriculum). Faculty could include information literacy strategies while presenting a writing assignment, or include it as an integral part of all writing intensive courses, or into an existing course that is required for all students at the university. It can also be made into an independent class, a web-based class, or an inter-session class for one credit.
The 1-2 year longer plan contained similar suggestions as the immediate recommendations, along with expansions. Think tank groups recommended that information literacy be linked to each department. The departments could communicate to establish information literacy into the curriculum for each major. A person could be hired to be in charge of managing information literacy on a university-wide basis, pulling departments into a program that incorporates information literacy, and identifying and expressing the needs of the students, faculty, staff, and administrators. A task force on information literacy could also be appointed to provide resources about information literacy. Finer details can be examined for assessing current knowledge about information literacy, and creating appropriate training to fulfill the competencies.
Long term goals (for 3 or more years) could continue to incorporate and build on the more immediate plans. Generic inter-session courses at any level(s) or 100 level courses at the library could be offered to everyone. Web-based modules could be created or expanded, departments could begin to offer interdisciplinary modules that incorporate information literacy directly into departmental majors, and a university-wide objective to include information literacy in every department can be established. Information literacy should be a part of the program throughout the degree process. It should follow a diffusion model beginning with entering freshman and continuing in several courses throughout the students' college careers, as the writing intensive courses model does.
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