Allegany College of Maryland
Information Literacy Plan
One goal of the ACM’s Mission Statement is to instill in our students a philosophy of life-long learning. If this is to happen, the College must incorporate information literacy into its curriculum. An information literate individual understands the need for information, as well as how to find it, evaluate it, and use it effectively, ethically and legally. Allegany College of Maryland has adopted the definition and Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education developed by the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) and approved by the ACRL Board, Jan. 18, 2000. A committee has been formed to help monitor the implementation of this plan. This committee is comprised of faculty from a variety of disciplines as well as librarians representing both the Cumberland campus and the Pennsylvania campuses.
q Outline a program for incorporating information literacy into the College’s curriculum
q Produce information literacy competencies for the College community
q Create objectives and action plans to implement the objectives
q Evaluate the progress of the College community towards these competencies (assessment)
q Produce a web page with links to information literacy resources
Goal of the Plan:
The goal of the Information Literacy Plan is to assist students to become Lifelong Learners – a learner who knows how to learn. The ACM plan has a four-pronged approach, involving the students, administration, faculty, and librarians. Our information-literate students will possess the ability to recognize the need for information, then locate, evaluate, and use the information, ethically and legally. The plan will be implemented by utilizing a combination of classroom instruction and library instruction. An equally important aspect of this plan is to continue to educate the college community about the program, new information, changes, etc. Finally, assessment is an essential element of the Plan and will be continuous and ongoing.
At ACM, information literacy skills closely align to several competencies that are expected of graduates. These skills need to be integrated campus-wide.
Objectives of the Plan:
Allegany College of Maryland graduates will possess the following skills and abilities as they progress through the academic or career program they have chosen. These general skills move from a basic level to an advanced level and should be acquired by all students. At the various stages of their education, they will know how to
Entry level (Basic skills):
q Identify the information need
q Identify types of resources available
q Utilize the Library of Congress Classification System (call numbers) to locate materials and resources in the library
q Demonstrate the ability to search the online catalog and databases by using simple keyword searches
q Locate and retrieve periodical articles, both in the library and in online databases, on campus and remotely and use interlibrary loan, if necessary
q Identify different types of web pages
q Evaluate and select appropriate web pages
q Evaluate and select appropriate electronic or print resources and information
q Document references using standardized bibliographic styles
Advanced Level
q Design a research strategy
q Select, retrieve, and evaluate needed resources in the student’s field of study
q Interpret, synthesize, and use the information gathered to complete the required assignments
q Use a software application to evaluate writing level
To achieve the above-referenced objectives, the librarians and faculty will collaborate to
q Provide library instruction to all students in English 101 and Speech 101
q Provide advanced research instruction to upper level classes, as requested by individual faculty
q Provide guidance in the use of discipline-specific resources on an individual, group, or class basis
q Provide informal instruction at point-of-need
q Provide remote access to selective databases for campus and distance learning users.
q Provide instructional tutorials and other useful links on the library’s web site (addressing topics such as citation styles, plagiarism, and scholarly vs. popular journals)
q Assess instruction on an ongoing basis and revise as needed
q Incorporate rubrics and checklists as forms of assessment
The document “Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education: Standards, Performance Indicators and Outcomes” is available at http://ala.org/acrl/ilstandardlo.html
Draft 4, 12/10/04