Information Literacy & Instruction

What is information literacy?

Information literacy (IL): Teaching students the competencies they need to efficiently and effectively seek, navigate, find, evaluate, and use information.

The librarians at Angus L. Macdonald Library are committed to collaborating with faculty to ensure that students develop solid information literacy skills and strategies over the course of their studies and into the future.

Why is information literacy important?

Without information literacy:

• Students can be ill-equipped to do the work assigned to them
• Students become frustrated and turn to standbys like Google and Wikipedia

With information literacy:

• Students are more prepared for assignments and the world of research
• Students become familiar with scholarly resources
• Students learn academic integrity

What types of instruction does the library offer?

The library places the utmost importance on providing instruction that is current and relevant to students. In order to achieve this, we recommend that instruction be offered to students when they have an upcoming assignment. Your liaison librarian can collaborate with you to:

• Ensure that the information students receive is directly relatable to their assignments
• Assist you with integrating library resources and information literacy into assignments
• Discuss where information literacy instruction would be most useful to students at the departmental level

Sessions can take the following formats:

• In-class instruction, lecture
• Computer lab demonstration
• One-on-one or small group sessions with students

Please contact your Liaison Librarian to discuss your options.