Information Literacy in the First-Year Experience

The Information Literacy initiative at PCCC has been a resounding success. The stated objectives have been accomplished, a significant amount of data has been gathered, and perhaps most importantly, a precedent of standardized Information Literacy instruction has been established. While there is room for improvement, the responses of those involved - students, faculty, and presenters - have been almost unanimously positive, as evidenced by the quantitative and qualitative data.

In Spring of 2003, the Library began to assess student Information Literacy competencies. Five competency standards were selected for assessment, and data was collected from a sample of 104 Information Literacy Research Projects. A benchmark of 70% competency was set for the five standards, and the results were as follows.

Students are also required to complete an anonymous 10 question survey at the end of the instructional module. The questions are multiple choice with 3 options: negative, neutral, and positive responses. Space is included for optional comments. The majority of the questions are designed to measure students' opinions of the instructional module. However, other questions measure students' perceptions and preconceptions of the Library.

According to the Fall 2001 survey results, about a third (30%) of students surveyed knew "nothing" about the Library and its resources prior to receiving this instruction. About 60% answered that they knew "something" about the Library, while only 11% claimed they knew "a lot." After receiving Information Literacy instruction, about two thirds of students are "definitely" more likely to use the Library and its resources, and the same percentage rate the quality of the Library and its resources "very good." Two thirds also agreed the Information Literacy presenters were of "very good" effectiveness. About 95% of students learned at least "something" from the online and written assignments, and an overwhelming majority agreed that the number of class sessions and level of difficulty of the instructional were "just right."

The survey results have been fairly consistent from semester to semester.

Several recurring themes are evident from the student feedback. Students are surprised that the Library offers as many online resources as it does. Students comment on how they will use the LRC Web site as a portal for their research papers. Some students even comment on how this instruction will improve their lifelong learning potential. Presenter feedback indicated a need to revise the written Library Exercise, with more emphasis on topic exploration as opposed to the original "treasure-hunt" format.

During the first semesters of the Information Literacy component, students were required to take a brief online quiz (10 questions, 10 points each) in WebCT. While the quiz didn't measure any Information Literacy skills, it did encourage students to recognize the basic Library functions and policies introduced in the Virtual Tour of the Library. For the 310 students who completed the quiz in Fall 2001, the mean score was 90.1, the median score was 90, and the mode was 100.

Eventually it was decided that the technical issues involved with the quiz took significant time away from Information Literacy instruction. Questions about the Virtual Tour of the Library were added to the Library Exercise, and the Information Literacy Research Project was created.

Based on the feedback, steps have been taken to improve the instructional module, particularly the written Library Exercise, and the Information Literacy Research Project was also a result of this reflection. Data has been - and will continue to be - collected and evaluated consistently each semester. Follow-up measures that address Information Literacy competencies have been developed. The challenge now is to improve students' level of competency on selected Information Literacy standards.