The Barber Library’s mission is to support student success on all COCC campuses by providing dynamic, high quality resources and services and student-centered learning environments; leading Information Literacy (IL) efforts at COCC; and offering rich educational and cultural experiences that benefit COCC and the broader community. IL is a core component of the Barber Library’s instructional mission; COCC’s Mission, Vision & Goals; and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’ (NWCCU) accreditation standards for institutional quality.
Information Literacy (IL) Definition
The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) defines IL as the following:
"Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning."
The Barber Library utilizes the above definition and the ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education to promote the importance of critical thinking in the IL process and to integrate IL skills into COCC's curriculum.
ACRL Framework
There are six frames identified by the ACRL that address concepts central to IL as well as a set of knowledge practices and dispositions that help students succeed in the evolving information world.
The six frames are:
- Authority is Constructed and Contextual
- Information Creation as a Process
- Information has Value
- Research as Inquiry
- Scholarship as Conversation
- Searching as Strategic Exploration
The Barber Library adapted this framework to structure this document and utilized the frames as criteria for assessing student progress toward IL.
Student Success
The Library's efforts to integrate IL skills into the student experience also ties to COCC's continuous emphasis on student success, reflected in COCC's Strategic Plan themes focusing on Transfer & Articulation, Workforce Development, Basic Skills, Lifelong Learning, and Institutional Sustainability. The College chose the five themes as they span student's experiences from the first year students to graduation and beyond. Information literacy is an essential skill that, when incorporated effectively into these themes, allows students and the COCC community to achieve these outcomes.
Purpose of this Document
The library's instructional mission and vision document informs the library's contribution to student success; identifies goals, objectives, and challenges, for IL integration into the curriculum; and guides efforts to assess the library's actions.
This document outlines existing practices and identifies future goals for growth. It is a living document intended to allow Barber Library's staff and faculty to engage with curriculum, instruction, and assessment, It is intended to be shared within the library as well as with other departments. This document will be reviewed annually and revised accordingly by the Barber Library team of librarians to reflect current practices, trends, and needs in IL instruction and assessment.
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