Does Information Literacy Lead to Transferable Information Problem Solving Skills on the Job? Based upon a Presentation at the National University 2013 Academic Assembly: Re-Imagine Your Library Assignments

Abstract

For at least two decades academic librarians have offered instruction on the theoretical level, hoping to create effective “word” researchers. They seek to solve the perennial problem of how to find source work for the formal assignment. In the 1990s we introduced our patrons to online databases, and in the early 2000s we introduced the virtual librarian (no need for our questioners to travel), and then we had to ascertain how to make complex searching strategies understandable now that we had gained a contingent of academic e-mail customers. Fast forwarding to 2015, we now need to retreat from our theory and emphasize employability. We cannot depend upon social media to replace our service. We are literature specialists who are trained to locate credible and reliable academic information. But we are also expanding our service to consider patrons’ career intentions.This study considers a new iteration of library instruction, and seeks to follow a very specialized form of library literature in the areas of information literacy, and its applicability to graduates entering the workforce.