Information Literacy Stipends 2021

Three Information Literacy Stipends were awarded for 2021. Project descriptions and final reports where available are found below:


An information literacy stipend was awarded to Dr. Brian J. Snee, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media, for the course Communication Research Methods (COMM 240). In this course, students will demonstrate the ability to locate, critically read, and concisely summarize primary scholarship in communication and media studies by researching and writing a literature review. Equally important, at the start of the course students will be required to consider their approach to research. In collaboration with Professor Frank Conserette, students will be exposed to multiple research methods, including successfully searching the Library’s online databases. Then, in the Jesuit tradition of reflection, students will write a brief reflection paper that addresses definitions of research and the process by which students would now approach a research project.

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


Dr. Paul Sampson, Assistant Professor in the History Department, was awarded an information literacy stipend for use in the course History of Science and Society (HIST 250). For their final project, students are asked to use the Library’s resources to research and write an encyclopedia article about a famous scientific figure, event, or idea. To help students gain the skills to accomplish this, Professor George Aulisio visited the class and facilitated a discussion of how to identify a credible academic source. He also demonstrated several useful tools to help students find sources online and in the Library’s catalog and databases. Prof. Aulisio’s presentation had a strong impact on the students’ ability to identify and find credible sources during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and several students were able to successfully complete research on topics that are not well-covered in the historiography of science, including African American chemical pioneer Percy Lavon Julian and founder of Occupational Therapy Eleanor Clarke Slagle. With the help of the Library’s resources and Prof. Aulisio’s guidance, students became more thoughtful in how they consider scientific knowledge and more capable in their research.

Collaborating Librarian is George Aulisio, Professor.
Read Dr. Sampson’s final report.


Dr. Aiala Levy, Assistant Professor in the History Department, has been awarded a stipend to enhance the information literacy abilities of her students in Digital History (HIST 190). Throughout this course students hone their ability to assess the credibility of digital as well as non-digital sources and deepen their understanding of debates in the field of digital history. Dr. Levy will collaborate with Professor Donna Witek in multiple teaching sessions as students contemplate, practice, and engage in the research process. Students will apply what they learn in assignments in which they will search digital archives for primary sources and search library databases for secondary sources in the discipline of History. They will also organize and communicate what they learn about both history and the research process through oral, written, and digital projects, and through use of the citation management platform Zotero. Through this collaboration, students will practice designing and refining search strategies, persisting in the face of search challenges, and matching information creation processes to a research need, all through applied work using digital archives and scholarship.

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


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