By Heather Cook

Academic librarians are faced with the challenge of conveying to faculty the value of information literacy skills and the importance of integrating information literacy into the curriculum. Recently, the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges mandated information literacy be integrated across the General Education curriculum and be documented in the syllabi. The state’s new requirement presented an opportunity for librarians at Bergen Community College to advocate and promote information literacy within the college community.  We worked with the chair of the General Education Committee to review and revise over 180 syllabi based on the new requirement. This large endeavor was the Information Literacy Initiative project and presented an occasion for collaboration, the championing of information literacy, and learning valuable lessons.

History of the Project:

The Information Literacy Initiative project’s primary goal was to submit General Education syllabi that satisfied the new information literacy requirement to the state for approval and to revise the syllabi that failed to meet the requirement. To achieve this goal we divided the project into four objectives: to review the student learning objectives and assessments on each syllabi, assist faculty with revision of student learning objectives lacking an information literacy component, create a system to keep track of the project, and design an assessment of information literacy across the General Education curriculum.

The project began with an inventory of all General Education course syllabi. The student learning objectives and assessments of those student learning objectives were examined in each syllabus. We looked for evidence of information literacy proficiencies in the student learning objectives and assessments by consulting the New Jersey Information Literacy Progression Standards. We divided the syllabi into three categories: syllabi with no evidence of information literacy, syllabi with some evidence of information literacy, and syllabi that had an adequate amount of information literacy and would pass the new state requirement. After compiling the data we began working with the syllabi that had some evidence of information literacy. We met with faculty to discuss incorporating the information literacy skills necessary for state approval. Currently, the project is still working with faculty to revise syllabi. We are making great strides and already have some syllabi approved by the state.

All of the data pertaining to the syllabi (course number, course name, etc.) and the evidence of information literacy was entered into a database using the Formsite.com platform. Formsite.com is a web-based form and survey tool. Formsite.com was chosen for its small learning curve and ability to easily export and produce meaningful data. Furthermore, the library was already successfully using it to schedule bibliographic instruction classes. The data manipulation available through Formsite was essential when working with faculty. We were able to add concrete documentation and provide examples of revised student learning objectives with information literacy components.

Lessons Learned:

Collaborating with faculty to revise student learning objectives and discussing how information literacy can be integrated into the syllabi was a substantial part of this project. When working with faculty during the revision process and speaking with administrators about the needs of the project a few lessons emerged:

·         Know your curriculum and faculty assignments. From our interactions with students at the reference desk we knew many faculty were already addressing information literacy in their classes, however it was not articulated on the syllabus. This knowledge made the revision process easy- focusing on documenting what was already being done instead of attempting to brainstorm new assignments.

·         Start with faculty you already have a relationship with and who express an interest in the project. Revising syllabi can be a daunting task. Working with someone with whom you have successfully collaborated in past projects will make the transition easier. As word of the project spreads, other faculty will follow.

·         Have examples of student learning objectives and wording that highlights information literacy prepared for faculty. It was useful to give examples of student learning objectives before and after revision to show exactly how the language of information literacy could be incorporated. The Formsite.com database was particularly useful in this aspect. We were able pull from an ever-growing collection of revised student learning objectives to use as examples.

·         Focus on faculty development. Writing student learning objectives and learning the language of information literacy are specialized skills that not all faculty will possess. We offered a workshop on how to revise student learning objectives that was well attended with eager faculty. Don’t forget to train the trainers. Members of the Information Literacy Initiative project attended the excellent workshop “Writing Performance Objectives & Developing Assessment for Instruction Librarians” presented by Lynee Richel and Heather Dalal before we started this project.

·         Let the college community know your progress. We presented at a faculty conference highlighting which departments had syllabi that conformed to the new information literacy standard and which departments needed revision. After discussing these results many departments were eager to participate and get their syllabi aligned with the new requirements.

·         State requirements provide instant support. The backing of state mandates helped garner support from the college administration. It also encouraged faculty to participate in syllabus revision. Some departments even appointed a specific individual to work with us in the revision process.

The Information Literacy Initiative project has made great progress towards the revision of General Education syllabi, but we still have more work ahead. As we progress forward with this project we will continue to meet with faculty to address information literacy needs in the syllabi and continue to submit revised syllabi to the state for approval. This summer we plan to develop an assessment of information literacy across the General Education curriculum. The success of this project will be used as a model for assessing other General Education goals in the future

Members of the Information Literacy Initiative project: Heather Cook, Librarian Lecturer, Joan Dalrymple Head of Access Services, Dr. Judith Davis, chair of the General Education Committee and Professor in the Division of Arts, Humanities and Wellness, and Annemarie Roscello, Research and Instruction Librarian.

Heather Cook is a Lecturer at the Sidney Silverman Library at Bergen Community College. She can be reached at hcook@bergen.edu.