Information Literacy & Pedagogy Toolkit for Librarians

The Information Literacy Program at St. Mary's College of Maryland focuses on developing students' ability to:

• Recognize the value of information
• Engage in inquiry
• Explore information resources
• Evaluate information
• Create and communicate knowledge

Through collaboration with faculty in other departments, librarians teach information literacy concepts and skills throughout the college curriculum. In doing so we help students understand the nature of the research process, the complexity of the information landscape, and the technical as well as critical thinking skills necessary to carry out independent research and evaluate information in all its forms.

The following student learning outcomes guide the SMCM Library's information literacy instruction program.

Recognizing the value of information

• Identify why, when, and how to cite information sources.
• Demonstrate proper use of paraphrasing, citations, footnotes, etc. in original work.
• Compare the various social, economic, political, and cultural factors that affect information creation, dissemination, access, and use.
• Make informed choices regarding their online actions in full awareness of issues related to privacy and the commercialization of personal information.

Engaging in inquiry

• Define an information need.
• Formulate research questions based on an examination of existing information.
• Determine an appropriate scope of inquiry.

​Exploring information sources

• Describe how information systems are organized in order to access relevant information
• Identify different information resources available to them.
• Develop effective search strategies to access information.

Evaluating information

• Describe different categories and types of information.
• Infer the audience, intent, and constructed authority of information.
• Select relevant information sources.
• Critique contributions to the scholarly conversation in a particular discipline or subject area.
• Assess the appropriateness of an information source to an area of inquiry.

Creating and communicating knowledge

• Produce their own contribution to a scholarly conversation with respect for the original ideas of others.
• Integrate existing knowledge and information into the development of new ideas.