The Library Department’s Instruction Program supports the educational mission of Millersville University and the mission and values of the McNairy Library and Learning Forum. Critical thinking and information literacy are at the heart of our program, with information literacy being defined by the national Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 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."
The library department’s information literacy student learning outcomes prepare students to engage with research as academic practice, in general education and disciplinary contexts. Additionally, the outcomes acknowledge research as a critical aspect of lifelong learning, empowering students as researchers in any context.
Students CONNECT, EXPLORE, EVALUATE, and CREATE to transform the information they discover into new knowledge.
The outcomes are intended as program-level learning outcomes to guide the library department’s instruction program. They are intentionally broad in scope to allow flexibility for a variety of contexts. Library faculty are encouraged to integrate the outcomes into their instruction and adapt them as needed.
The outcomes were developed collaboratively by the library department while considering Millersville University students’ needs, university and library missions and values, the library department’s teaching practice, and professional documents such as the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy.
It is important to note that some learners face extra barriers to using library resources and services and some voices have been systematically excluded within the information ecosystem. As such, Library faculty advocate for active engagement with DEI in our teaching and learning.
Students will reflect on how interacting with the library and librarians leads to greater success in college.
This will be demonstrated by students who…
Describe how the people, resources, and services offered by the library can help with information seeking and use.
Locate their subject librarian contact information and provide examples of how librarians can connect them in deeper ways to the subject content.
Choose appropriate library resources/services to investigate their interests and to build new knowledge.
Develop a sense of belonging within the library, empowering them to engage with library resources, services, and spaces.
Students will describe how research is open-ended, on-going, and evolving.
This will be demonstrated by students who…
Utilize serendipitous techniques such as pre-searching or browsing to explore a topic of interest.
Differentiate between a topics approach and a question-oriented approach to searching.
Develop relevant questions to guide their inquiry.
Recognize that research involves listening to, acknowledging, and responding to multiple viewpoints and/or perspectives.
Develop a search strategy using multiple techniques and adapt that strategy as needed.
Deconstruct and reflect on the messy and iterative process of research and how it can improve their work
Students will recognize the complexity of evaluating information.
This will be demonstrated by students who…
Explain how the authority and value of a source is contextual (cultural, physical, social and historical).
Evaluate information using multiple parameters and flexible habits of mind (such as an “informed skeptical stance,” SIFT), including examining personal and external biases, privileges, and assumptions.
Apply different reading approaches to engage with a variety of sources.
Evaluate their influence as consumers and creators within a complex network of information systems, including challenges created by misinformation and disinformation.
Differentiate between information creation processes as well as the products that they create (e.g. source types, publishing models)
Describe how these different (sources) systems interact and intersect
Make informed and ethical decisions about information sharing.
Students will integrate information from a wide spectrum of sources to address their needs and the needs of wider audiences.
This will be demonstrated by students who…
Provide examples of how information has value.
Synthesize information effectively and responsibly through citation and ethically reflecting the intent of the original source(s).
Create and share new knowledge in an appropriate format given their informational need and audience.
Participate in “scholarship as conversation.”
Recognize the relationship between sources as part of a scholarly conversation on a topic.
Identify the gaps in research and articulate how their contribution connects.
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