Our Commitment to Information Literacy
Credo Reference and the Information Literacy Evolution
Credo Reference’s mission is to “promote information literacy and research effectiveness.” The evolution of its product over the last 10+ years has changed from a Reference Database when it was launched to a Reference eBook Platform with discovery and connectivity tools to other e-resources. (See also Credo's History).
Living into its mission, Credo Reference is now further focusing on information literacy by enhancing its new platform and developing information literacy tools and services. Credo Reference sees information literacy as a key goal of
“Students don’t realize how poorly they are searching”
Common barriers to undergraduate success in research projects are: information overwhelm and the need for context and citable/trustworthy information, according to the 2011 ALA publication: College Libraries and Student Culture: What we Now Know and the Project Information Literacy Progress Report from the University of Washington's Information School. The same ALA publication shows that students who graduated from university ten years ago indicate that "locating information needed to help make decisions or solve problems" is one of the most valuable skills acquired during their undergraduate education. A number of undergraduate initiatives address information literacy at many institutions, including freshmen seminars, university writing programs, critical thinking courses. While each of these initiatives addresses important needs for undergraduate learning, none are capable of scaling to address the broadest possible campus constituency. How can libraries deliver information literacy instruction without acquiring major new resources, without adding courses to an already-crowded curriculum, and while operating within the existing academic, physical, and programmatic infrastructure?
Credo Reference’s information literacy tools and services are comprised of interactive, multimedia learning tools, including tutorials and assessment instruments that address specific elements of information literacy from discipline-based perspectives. Credo partners with institutions to develop an online learning resource that will be centrally managed within the library, but developed through collaboration between librarians and departmental faculty. The assessment of student learning from these materials will provide a roadmap for the next levels of information literacy instruction in the disciplines by tracking the following key factors to library/faculty information literacy success, as recommended by the ACRL Standards for Higher Education Information Literacy (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm)
Overall consensus between faculty and librarians in national studies (such as ERIAL) is that undergraduate students need assistance with the following information literacy skills, which Credo Reference provides tools and assessment for:
- Finding research tools beyond Google and Wikipedia
- Understanding the purpose of the library
- Navigating the library
- Assessing quality and reliability of information
- Discerning between different types of materials
- Conducting effective searches
- Narrowing topics
- Citing sources & avoiding plagiarism
Credo Reference’s information literacy tools and services allow for more effective point-of-need instruction for students by extending the structured learning for a course beyond the 50-minute session and the walls of the classroom. "Just in case, just in time, just for you" flexibility in delivering asynchronous information literacy instruction facilitates the targeting of specific assignments and may address all learning styles and preferences. Delivery of self-paced learning modules, created by Credo in consultation with librarians and faculty, creates an atmosphere that allows students to interact with course content when motivation is highest.
Developed in partnership with the library and teaching faculty, the information literacy tools and services permit the building of appropriate information-seeking challenges into assignments and course learning objectives and make it easier for faculty to include information literacy instruction in their courses without "sacrificing" precious class sessions. Effective use of the tools and services enables higher level information literacy instruction in subsequent course work, building the extended problem-solving skills suggested by the “Fluency with Information Technology” vision articulated by the National Research Council and the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Competencies for Higher Education. Library staff resources will be more effectively used in providing higher-level critical thinking skills instruction to students who have acquired baseline competencies and higher usage of all library e-resources will be encouraged through these classroom connections. Credo Reference’s information literacy tools and services are a must-have solution for library and literacy problems that have grown out of our company’s focus on assisting libraries and students.
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