George Kuh article for discussion in October

The article which the ACRL Student Retention Discussion Group has chosen for October is:
Kuh, G. and Gonyea, R.M. (2003) The Role of the Academic Library in Promoting Student Engagement in Learning. College and Research Libraries, 64(4), 256-282. http://crl.acrl.org/content/64/4/256.abstract
To join the discussion, go to http://connect.ala.org/node/189260
George Kuh is an influential figure in US Higher Education, and I think that this article is still worth reading (whether or not you decide to join in the debate!) The authors took data from the College Student Experiences Questionnaire and compared various sets of questions including the set of questions relating to library use, some key questions to do with satisfaction, and a set of questions which they selected as being a (sort of) match with ACRL standards.
The authors make some pertinent remarks about how important variables to do with previous academic achievement, ethnicity etc. are, when trying to link library use with academic success, something which some other studies gloss over.
The evidence does not support an easy correlation between academic excellence and library use, or library use and (the authors' measure of) information literacy. The final paragraph reads:
"The findings of this study indicate that it takes a whole campus to produce an information-literate college graduate. For this reason, librarians would do well to redouble their efforts to collaborate with faculty members, instructional development staff, and student affairs professionals in promoting the value of information literacy in various in-class and out-of-class activities and to provide students with as many opportunities as possible to evaluate the quality of the information they encounter, on and off the campus."
Photo by Sheila Webber: Autumn arriving, Sheffield, October 2012

Information Literacy petition

There is an online information literacy petition from Easybib - the implication is that it is for librarians in the USA, but it doesn't actually say that, so.... This is what it is about
"In celebration of Information Literacy Awareness Month, we have set up an online pledge for librarians to sign and show their commitment to teaching these imperative skills. For each signature acquired on the pledge, EasyBib will donate $1 to the American Library Association... If you are dedicated to teaching IL skills and would like to sign our pledge, please following this URL: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pledge-to-promote-information-literacy-awareness/ (You do not need to register for an account in order to sign.) The free service used for this campaign, iPetitions, may ask you after you have signed our pledge to provide an optional donation to them. If you see this, just close out of your browser window--your name has been recorded and you are in no way obligated to donate any money"
Photo by Sheila Webber: Autumn leaf (photoshopped) October 2012

This is Information Literacy month!

In the USA it is National Information Literacy Awareness Month. You can get the code to embed the badge on the right from here: http://www.librariesthriving.org/partnerships/2012-information-literacy-campaign If you are in the USA in one of the 13 states that has signed up to the National IL awareness Proclamation you can customise the badge to advertise that your state supports IL.
On Tuesday, 16 October 16, 2012, 10:30am – 12:00pm EST (that's starting at 3.30pm UK time, see http://tinyurl.com/9c3pmbj for times elsewhere), the National Forum for Information Literacy and Credo Reference/Libraries Thriving will host a webinar From School to Workforce: Information Literacy, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, "focusing on the 21st century skills that all learners will need to compete effectively in today’s dynamic global economy". Panelists include: Jennifer Homer, ABC – Vice President of Communications and Career Development for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD); William Badke, Associate Librarian, Trinity Western University, Canada; Lana W. Jackman, President, National Forum on Information Literacy. There is free registration: go to http://infolit.org/celebrating-national-information-literacy-awareness-month/

Digital Literacy Report: consultation

Consultation is open on the American Library Association's Digital Literacy Report, produced by their OITP Digital Literacy Task Force. This is an important area where it is obviously essential to stress the valuable role of libraries and librarians. You you not have to be an ALA member to comment, but you need to register with the ALA Connect system (free). Once you do that, and log in, a comment option appears at the bottom of the page. I haven't had time to look at it thoroughly, but my informal comment from a quick glance is that the definition of "digital literacy" seems too narrowly focused ("the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills") and although I can see why this happened in a library context, the digital literacy researchers I know stress the social aspect of digital literacy. I think it could be a good idea to acknowledge this, even if you go on to identify a spcial place for libraries/ librarians within that.
The report can be downloaded from. http://connect.ala.org/node/187923
Comments are open until October 19th. Thanks to Lyn Parker for alerting me to this report.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Autumn perspective, taken in Second Life, September 2012

2 short research papers: Social Media as Information Source, and; Developing an IL game

Kim, K., Yoo-Lee, E. and Sin, S. (2011) Social Media as Information Source: Undergraduates’ Use and Evaluation Behavior. In: Proceedings of the 74rd ASIST Annual Meeting Retrieved 18 September 2012 from http://asist.org/asist2011/proceedings/submissions/283_FINAL_SUBMISSION.pdf
An interesting short paper that reports on a survey of what sources students used, what they used them for and what evaluative strategies they used. For example Wikipedia was used for initially scoping a topic, and evaluated through looking at the links and sources, whereas Youtube was used for recreation and for instructions on how to do things, and was evaluated through the video quality and people's opinions.

Markey, K. and Leeder, C. (2011) The Effect of Scoring and Feedback Mechanisms
in an Online Educational Game. In: Proceedings of the 74rd ASIST Annual Meeting. Retrieved 18 September 2012 from http://asist.org/asist2011/proceedings/submissions/38_FINAL_SUBMISSION.docx

This describes the stages of piloting this information literacy game, and the changes that needed to be made as a result.

I discovered these 2 papers (and further interesting ones) as part of the October 2011 ASIST annual conference proceedings; http://asist.org/asist2011/proceedings/openpage.html.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Blackheath Farmers' Market, September 2012

The Busy Librarian’s Guide to Information Literacy in Science and Engineering

A new book published by ACRL: The Association of College and Research Libraries:
O'Clair, K. and Davidson, J. (Eds.) (2012) The Busy Librarian’s Guide to Information Literacy in Science and Engineering. ACRL. ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-8619-6
It "provides a practical guide for librarians responsible for science, engineering and/or technology information literacy instruction to understand and apply the ACRL Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology into curriculum design and ongoing instruction". You can get it in print, or as an e-book, or both together. Information is here: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3999
Photo by Sheila Webber: Ducklings, Blackheath pond, on Sunday (I'm a bit worried about them surviving this time of year!)

Pew Report: Future of Higher Education

In July, The Pew Internet/Elon University (USA) published results of a survey of about 1000 "nternet experts, researchers, observers and users". Most people thought there would be more reliance on technology (e.g. teleconferencing, more blended learning), and not everyone thought this was a good thing. “They are worried over the adoption of technology-mediated approaches that they fear will lack the personal, face-to-face touch they feel is necessary for effective education,”
Anderson, J., Boyles, J. and Rainie, L. (2012) The Future of Higher Education.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Future-of-Higher-Education.aspx
Photo by Sheila Webber: Albert Memorial, August 2012