Information Literacy Strategic Plan

Preface
In its General Education Requirements, the Louisiana State Board of Regents (http://asa.regents.state.la.us/PP/Attachments/IV) has stated that, "Colleges/universities shall insure that each degree student has achieved basic computer and information literacy before graduation." Louisiana State University's own Planning Document (www.lsu.edu/new/UPCDRFT.html) states at Objective 6.7 that the university will "promote among students, faculty and staff mastery of information technology and high skill levels in information retrieval, assessment, interpretation, and application." Thus, Louisiana State University has committed itself to the cause of information literacy in principle.

Likewise, the LSU Libraries' Mission Statement (www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/actionagenda.html) includes an objective to provide proactive instruction for patrons (Objective 4.1) through a variety of media. According to the ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, "information literacy is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education." (www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm#ildef)

While the Libraries' current instructional efforts acknowledge these objectives and have moved toward achieving them, the Instruction Committee seeks to fortify and expand these efforts. Accordingly, the Instruction Committee offers this strategic plan as a guide to accomplishing campus-wide information literacy.

Mission
The mission of the Instruction Committee within the Reference Department of LSU Libraries is to provide all members of the LSU community with the skills to retrieve, evaluate, and use all formats of information effectively, efficiently, and ethically.

Implementation
The LSU Library Instruction Committee, composed of the Library's instructors, will be responsible for implementing this Strategic Plan. This responsibility will include reviewing the Information Literacy Strategic Plan goals, creating objectives annually for implementation of the Plan's goals, and delegation of each of these objectives to an individual member or a group composed of members of the Instruction Committee. Each such individual or group will report its progress on the objective with which it has been charged at Instruction Committee meetings. If the Instruction Committee determines that the objective has been completed, then the individual or group responsible for that objective can be released from its charge. The LSU Library Instruction Coordinator shall be responsible for the final draft of the annual Strategic Plan objectives.

The Instruction Committee members involved in implementing specific objectives will provide a brief annual report to the Committee on the progress toward their objective. These reports will be compiled to become an overall progress report by the Instruction Committee on the Strategic Plan goals for that year. This report should be attached to the Strategic Plan as a record of the Committee's activities for that year.

Goals

• Collaboration/Faculty
  1. Collaboration of Library instructors and liaisons with discipline faculty on assignments or syllabi (or in-class instruction, if appropriate).
     1. Syllabi analysis.
        • Review syllabi from ENGL 1001
     2. Review of department goals as related to information literacy (as a marketing tool).
        • Make some effort to have a progression of information literacy goals as major progresses (i.e. try to intensify information literacy goals beyond a basic level).
     3. Expand e-struction.
     4. Develop IL assignments for ENGL 1001
     5. Educate faculty on how library instructors can help them and encourage them to work with library instructors.
     6. One-shot instruction as requested by faculty.
     7. Create IL web page for faculty.
     8. Create unified goals for general one-shots.
     9. Create IL presentation for faculty
     10. Develop teaching tips or training classes for liaisons.
  
  
• Collaboration/Campus Programs
  2. Collaborate with other programs on campus to facilitate Information Literacy
     1. Communication across the Curriculum
     2. Honors College
     3. Residential Life Program
     4. Learning Communities
     5. Service Learning
  
  
• Systematizing
  3. Coordinate Information Literacy Program efforts to develop some progression of skills in students over the course of their college careers
     1. Develop information literacy requirement by making it a part of another course or program which is required by the University, e.g. ENGL 1001 and 1002, EDCI 1001.
     2. Review discipline department goals for areas to provide some progression in students' information literacy skills. (See 1.b.i. above.)
  
  
• Outreach
  4. Strive to increase the Library's presence and profile on campus.
     1. Have more librarians attend CELT teaching workshops.
     2. Create IL handouts for marketing.
  
  
• LIS 1001
  5. Consider the value of LIS 1001 to the university.
     1. Create an assignment clearinghouse for instructors.
     2. Increase the amount of online sections of LIS 1001.
     3. Continue and improve upon current techniques for assessment of LIS 1001 program.
  
  
• Tutorials
  6. Continue and expand the employment of online tutorials.
     1. LSU-created tutorials
        1. Implement assessment/interactivity within the tutorials.
        2. Create more specialized tutorials.
     2. Modified TILT tutorial.
  
  
• Assessment
  7. Determine student and faculty information literacy needs and the effectiveness of the overall LSU Library Instruction program.
     1. Needs testing via faculty and student surveys
     2. Explore standardized tests for assessing information literacy skills, e.g. ETS ICT test, NSSE.
     3. Devise other methods of overall program assessment, e.g. exit test for graduating seniors.
  
  

Plan Assessment
Once every year, the Instruction Committee should review the entire Information Literacy Strategic Plan to determine if changes in the plan should be made. This should include all aspects of the plan, including whether additions or changes should be made to the Preface, whether the plan implementation mechanism should be changed, and whether goals need to be removed, changed, or augmented.

Respectfully submitted August 31, 2005
Revised December 7, 2005
by: Alice Daugherty, Mitch Fontenot, and Paul Hrycaj

Comments | LSU Libraries | Louisiana State University | Library Instruction Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Tel (225) 578-5652 | Fax (225) 578-9432 Copyright © 1998-2008 LSU Libraries URL: http://www.lib.lsu.edu/instruction/IL-StrategicPlan.html Last Updated: Wednesday, 16-Jan-2008 11:08:38 CST