Information Literacy & Library Engagement: Action Research: Assessment in Action Project Outline

This project is part of the program “Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success” which is undertaken by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in partnership with the Association for Institutional Research and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The program, a cornerstone of ACRL's Value of Academic Libraries initiative, is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Armacost Library will use the AiA program to begin a longitudinal study of the impact of information literacy instruction on student achievement.  In 2010 the faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences approved a set of student learning outcomes that both explicitly and implicitly include information literacy.  Furthermore the College has entered an exploratory implementation phase of a revised General Education curriculum that includes information & media literacy as “embedded experiences.”  At the program level, information literacy is often a component of student learning outcomes especially in relation to capstone experiences. By tracking students from their first year through to graduation we expect to find that recursive information literacy instruction has a positive impact on student learning and achievement evidenced at specific milestones in their college career and ultimately in capstone papers, projects, or portfolios. Furthermore we are interested in learning more about contributing factors to the development of information literacy and library research skills as we track students.

University of Redlands Assessment in Action Team

• Shana Higgins, Interdisciplinary & Area Studies Librarian (AiA Librarian Team Leader)

• Les Canterbury, Natural Sciences Librarian

• Melissa Cardenas-Dow, (formerly) Behavioral Sciences Librarian

• Lua Gregory, Humanities & First Year Experience Librarian

• Janelle Julagay, Business Librarian

• Bill Kennedy, Humanities Librarian

• Sheila Lloyd, Associate Professor, English

• Wendy McEwen, Director of Institutional Research

• Paige Mann, Physical Sciences Librarian

• Sanjeet Mann, Arts Librarian

• Gabriela Sonntag, (formerly) Director of Armacost Library

• Scott Stevens, (formerly) Seiter Endowed Chair, Director of Writing

Institutional Context

Findings about library contributions from the assessment work of the first-year campus teams include:

1. Library instruction builds students confidence with the research process.
2. Library instruction contributes to retention and persistence, particularly for students in first-year experience courses and programs.
3. Library research and study spaces foster social and academic community among students.
4. Multiple library instruction sessions or activities in connection with a course are more effective than one-shot instruction sessions.
5. Collaborative instructional activities and services between the library and other campus units (e.g., writing center, study skills, and tutoring services) promote student learning and success. 

From the Executive Summary of the first year of ACRL Assessment In Action program.