Information Literacy, Instruction, and Requesting a Librarian

The list of outcomes for the Information Literacy program are as follows:

"The Library expects to provide assistance to students to become productive citizens who are information savvy, and self-directed finders and users of pertinent information throughout their lives. These students will assume control over their learning and “develop a metacognitive approach to learning, making them conscious of the explicit actions required for gathering, analyzing and using information.” ACRL, 2001

In line with the American Library Association Information Literacy Competency Standards, 2000, the students who take Information Literacy courses in the Library will be able to

• Define and articulate the need for information
• Identify a variety of types and formats of potential sources of information
• Consider the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed information
• Re-evaluate the nature and extent of the information needed
• Select the most appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval systems for accessing the needed information
• Construct and implement effectively-designed search strategies
• Retrieve information online or in person using a variety of methods
• Refine the search strategy if necessary
• Extract, record and manage the information and its sources
• Articulate and apply initial criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources
• Compare new knowledge with prior knowledge to determine the value added, contradictions, or other unique characteristics of the information
• Determine whether the initial query should be revised
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose, as an individual or as a member of a group
• Understand many of the ethical, legal and socio-economic issues surrounding information and information technology
• Acknowledge the use of information sources in communicating the product or performance"

• Analyze and evaluate oral and/or written expression by listening and reading critically for elements that reflect an awareness of situation, audience, purpose, and ----- points of view.
• Distill a primary purpose into a single, compelling statement and order and develop major points in a reasonable and convincing manner based on that purpose.
• Develop appropriate rhetorical patterns (i.e. narration, example, process, comparison/contrast, classification, cause/effect, definition, argumentation) and other special functions (i.e. analysis or research), while demonstrating writing and/or speaking skills from process to product.
• Manage and coordinate basic information gathered from multiple sources for the purposes of problem solving and decision-making.
• Recognize the use of evidence, analysis, and persuasive strategies, including basic distinctions among opinions, facts, and inferences

You can download the ACRL's book, "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education," in multiple languages at the ACRL website:

Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education | Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) (ala.org)

This ACRL Framework lists six frames:

(1) Authority is Constructed and Contextual,

(2) Information Creation as a Process,

(3) Information has Value,

(4) Research as Inquiry,

(5) Scholarship as Conversation,

(6) Searching as Strategic Exploration.

The learning outcomes of our Information Literacy Program focus on finding information, revising, searches, and using what you have learned to make decisions/write papers. These outcomes fit very well with the ACRL Framework.

Below you will see how the Information Literacy Program outcomes map onto the ACRL frames: