Information Literacy Grants

In the past three years, fifteen competitive Information Literacy Grants have been awarded by Charles Kratz, Dean of the Library and Information Fluency. Librarians and faculty have collaborated to integrate the ACRL Information Literacy Standards into their courses. Each grant proposal has been different, and it has been interesting to see which faculty chose what standard to integrate into their courses and how librarians, consulting with the faculty, were able to come up with innovative ways to present those ideas. Some examples have included the use of a tutorial, problem based learning, and demonstrating the resources available to students after graduation.

 

From the Librarian's points of view, it was a unique opportunity to work closer with faculty. Following are some quotes from some of the Librarians who have worked with faculty on the Information Literacy Grants:

 

"Let's us get an idea of what faculty are doing in their classes and allows us to help their students become better library users." -- Betsey Moylan, Reference Coordinator

 

"Working on the information literacy stipends has been a very productive exercise in thinking about teaching information literacy and research skills in content classes. The trick is to delve deeper into the subject matter in collaboration with the professor to make the instruction relevant and meaningful in the long term. A side benefit of the collaboration is forged relationships in departments and with faculty." -- Clara Hudson, Evening Reference Librarian

 

"I am currently working with Rita Cottrell, Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy, to incorporate the Information Literacy Standards of the Association of College & Research Libraries and the research requirements of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education into OT 493: Research Methods in Occupational Therapy. The information literacy activities and assignments will be integrated into the curriculum so that students should be better able to translate theory into practice." -- Bonnie Oldham, Distance Learning Library Services Coordinator/Evening Public Services Librarian

 

"Students seem to better appreciate research skills when there is a direct line to all assignments. Repeated visits to the classroom gave me an opportunity to reinforce skills." -- Bonnie Strohl, Associate Director

 

During the fall 2007 semester the fourth annual grants will be open for faculty. It is time to start thinking about applying for the stipend and the librarian with whom you would like to consult. The following librarians are available for collaboration:

 

Margaret Craft
Katie Duke
Clara Hudson
Betsey Moylan
Michael Knies
Kevin Norris
Bonnie Oldham
Bonnie Strohl

 

Previous grant reports can be viewed at the following web site:http://www.scranton.edu/academics/wml/infolit/stipends/index.shtml