ED-MEDIA 1999 Proceedings Book - Association for the ...

SCALING INFORMATION LITERACY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA:
WEB-BASED APPROACHES
Barbara I. Dewey, University of Iowa Libraries, University of Iowa, U.S.A., barbara-dewey@uiowa.edu
This short paper discusses issues and strategies related to scaling information literary programs in the large
university setting. The University of Iowa Libraries’ multi-format approach in attempting to reach more of its
28,000 students will be described with a focus on web-based delivery systems developed in partnership with
Colleges and academic programs.
THE NEED:
• The information environment is too complex and changing too rapidly to expect students to acquire
information literacy without a planned, systematic, cumulative instructional program.
• Students must learn critical thinking and research skills as preparation for a lifetime of changing
information needs.
• Effective learning about information retrieval, use, and analysis is tied to a particular information need,
often discipline-specific.
• Students have different learning styles and acquire information in different ways. Any information literacy
program must accommodate these differences by using a variety of approaches that provide practice in
these skills.
• The most effective way to reach students is through collaboration between the Libraries and academic
departments and faculty in integrating information skills into the curriculum and evaluating outcomes
through a variety of means.
INFORMATION LITERACY LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• Identify and articulate needs that require information solutions;
• Identify appropriate information sources and execute search strategies appropriate for each resource;
• Interpret and analyze search results;
• Critically evaluate the information retrieved;
• Organize, synthesize, and apply the information;
• Understand the structure of the information environment and the process by which both scholarly and
popular information is produced and disseminated; and
• Understand the ethical issues related to access and use of information.
TIER ONE: A tiered approach that builds on knowledge acquired throughout the students’ career has been
developed including strengthening the current introductory research and information seeking components in two
products:
• Online Iowa – updating/enhancing library section of a general university CD-ROM orientation program
that provides a basic understanding of Main Library service points and examples of where to search for
information resources (http://www.uiowa.edu~online/).
• Library Explorer – strengthening the existing partnership where library staff provide instruction on how to
integrate the use of Library Explorer, a computer-based library instruction program with automated “quick
tests of knowledge”, other information sources, search strategies, and development of effective researchrelated
assignments for teaching assistants within their training program. Librarians are subsequently paired