Information Literacy Stipends 2017

Four Information Literacy Stipends were awarded for 2017. Project descriptions and final reports where available are found below:


Dr. Yamile Silva, Associate Professor of World Languages & Cultures and Latin American Studies, was awarded a stipend to enhance the information literacy skills of her students in Introduction to Hispanic Literature (SPAN 320). Over two sessions, the librarian will present resources with an emphasis on electronic databases. In the second session, students will access databases to research and develop an annotated bibliography in which they will critically evaluate the contributions of others and containing at least three articles from a database in MLA format. Students will be tasked with writing a research paper requiring them to organize their research, analyze Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and give credit to the original ideas of others through proper citation. Additionally, students will give an oral presentation on the contents of their research paper.

Collaborating Librarian is Kevin Norris, Assistant Professor.
Read Dr. Silva’s final report.


An information literacy stipend was awarded to Dr. Stacy Smulowitz, Assistant Professor in the Communication Department, for the course Advertising Decision Making (COMM 330). With the goal of enhancing students’ research analysis skills, the class will include information literacy instruction with a librarian to delineate which databases are most relevant to their research. Dr. Smulowitz has proposed using an assessment rubric with expected outcomes requiring students to show analysis skills by summarizing several scholarly articles including original insights. Students will also demonstrate an understanding of valuing intellectual property by citing in correct APA format. Students will use this body of knowledge to create a market-based advertising plans book and a 15-minute pitch.

Collaborating Librarian is Frank Conserette, Assistant Professor.
Read Dr. Smulowitz’s final report.


Students in Assistant Professor Dr. Julie A. Cerrito’s Counseling and Human Services course College and Career Readiness (COUN 537) are tasked with developing a college and career plan/pathway for a specific grade level (elementary, intermediate, or high school). To this end, students must analyze scholarly journals in the field of school counseling and explain career interventions employed in school settings as well as the efficacy of those interventions. Dr. Cerrito will collaborate with a librarian to instruct students on selecting the best tools for research in the counseling field and evaluating scholarly articles for use in providing a strong rationale for their chosen college and career interventions.

Collaborating Librarian is Kelly Banyas, Assistant Professor.
Read Dr. Cerrito’s final report.


Dr. Rebecca Spirito Dalgin, Associate Professor, was awarded an information literacy stipend for use in the Counseling and Human Services course Foundations of Rehabilitation (CHS 342). In conjunction with the librarian, Dr. Dalgin will redesign the final course assessment to include a focus on information literacy skills. Students will search scholarly literature to understand current evidence-based practices. This theoretical writing will be compared with the rehabilitative services at a real world site located in Northeast Pennsylvania. In their final assessment students should recognize and articulate barriers affecting individuals with disabilities and use their scholarly research to help develop strategies to overcome these barriers.

Collaborating Librarian is Donna Witek, Associate Professor.
Read Dr. Dalgin’s final report.


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