Information Literacy and Instructional Support

Why information literacy?

Information literate students can discover, organize, analyze, create, and share information in order to achieve their goals and to enhance their independent, lifelong learning habits. Students who develop information literacy will have an intellectual framework for critical analysis and reflection related to diverse information resources.

Read our entire Statement on Information Literacy here.

How do I incorporate information literacy into my assignments and courses?

Library Instruction

Information literacy instruction takes many forms but we think that it is best when tailored to a specific project or course goal. Working in partnership with the faculty, librarians help define assignments to enhance information literacy goals. Librarians also visit classes or embed in online spaces in order to recommend particular resources, demonstrate search strategies, discuss resource evaluation methods, provide instruction on how to incorporate research into one’s work properly, and more. An instruction session may span part of a class period, an entire class period, or multiple class periods to allow for scaffolded learning.

Information literacy instruction can be scheduled in a variety of ways:

Note: Please allow at least one week for class preparation.

Student Referrals

Teaching librarians are available to work one-on-one with students on a referral or drop-in basis. Contact the subject specialists listed above.

Assignment Ideas

The assignment ideas listed at Alternatives to the Research Paper may help you adapt your existing assignments or develop new assignments.

Contact the Teaching and Learning Librarian, Rachel Hamelers ([email protected] / 484-664-3601), or your Subject Specialist Librarian to discuss these and other assignment ideas.

Other Instructional Support

Librarians are available to assist with:

  • Integrating information literacy learning outcomes throughout your course and syllabus.
  • Developing course-specific online research guides so students have direct access to appropriate resources.
  • Teaching students about proper citation.
  • Developing information literacy-related modules for faculty Canvas sites.
  • Understanding and applying copyright in classroom work and individual scholarly communication.

Contact the Teaching and Learning Librarian, Rachel Hamelers ([email protected] / 484-664-3601), or your Subject Specialist Librarian to discuss other opportunities.

Reviewed 2021