ACRL Framework For Information Literacy Research Articles

Information Privilege: Considerations for Library and Information Science Curriculum Design

Embedded within the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and building on the broader concepts of privilege and oppression, information privilege (IP) might be a useful lens for centering library and information science (LIS) curricula on information-related aspects of social power. IP suggests that individuals' access to and utilization of information is connected to demographic factors like socioeconomic status, place of birth, and gender. Despite the relevance of this concept to LIS scholarship and teaching, LIS scholarly discussions on information privilege are limited. The limited existing literature mainly extends Booth’s foundational essay exploring IP through the lens of institutional affiliation, stopping short of fuller sociocultural considerations. This essay considers IP as an information-focused organizing perspective within LIS teaching and curriculum development. The authors conclude with suggestions for building discussions of IP into LIS curriculum and teaching.

The Power of Solidarity: The Effects of Professor–Librarian Collaboration on Students’ Self-Awareness of Skill Acquisition

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy revolutionized information literacy instruction. It asks librarians to instill in students the higher-level skills to navigate the information landscape. Literature establishes the value of shared faculty ownership of information literacy threshold concepts, but it also documents the potential pitfalls of faculty involvement (Franklin, 2013; Julien & Given, 2002; Lechtenberg & Donovan, 2022; Perez-Stable et al., 2020). This article explores one successful partnership, concluding that instructor—librarian collaboration forged around shared histories and structured by codeveloped objectives positively influences students’ receptivity to information literacy concepts. As demonstrated by surveys of those enrolled in the course, students’ self-awareness of their own mastery increased as they applied threshold skills learned in class. Although data do not allow us to correlate academic achievement to students’ survey responses, aggregate results in both academic work and survey responses suggest that these insights led to greater independence for many students.

The impact of cultural capital on searching as strategic exploration in incoming first-year students

Information literacy is important for students' academic and professional development as they begin to engage with the world as adults in college. However, students' information literacy may be influenced by the different forms of capital they possess, such as economic, social, and, potentially, their cultural capital. Cultural capital is a concept developed by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu which addresses the capital individuals possess within a society that exists beyond economic and social spheres. Much research exists exploring cultural capital and its impact on the educational outcomes of students, but it has yet to be explored in depth regarding libraries and, specifically, information literacy. This study addresses that research gap by analyzing the relationship between students' information literacy and their acquired cultural capital before they start their first semester of post-secondary education. The study explores multiple forms of cultural capital, including students' hobbies and activities, educational backgrounds, and the involvement of their parents in their education. Analysis of the distributed survey examined cultural capital through assessing students' reading habits and parental involvement as well as its influence on students' information literacy skills, specifically those related to the “Searching as Strategic Exploration” frame of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

Using Curriculum Mapping to Understand Information Literacy in Political Science Curricula

abstract: This study presents curriculum mapping of noncore course offerings in political science curricula by an early-career librarian. It combines syllabi study and curriculum mapping methods to analyze the language of student learning objectives (SLOs) from course syllabi and to integrate SLOs with threshold concepts from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the AAC&U Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. The methods produce two sample sets: one of core concept representation and the other of additional observances for syllabi improvements. Results analyze the frequency and percentage distributions of threshold concepts in SLOs. The author outlines strategies for engaging faculty in information literacy and suggests how librarians and faculty might inform information literacy teaching in the department.

Investigating and understanding library data services to support college student data literacy competencies: A conceptual framework

Guided by a conceptual framework based on the baseline data literacy competencies (DLCs) mapped to the ACRL information literacy framework and the extended technology acceptance model, this study uses an online survey to investigate the factors related to student users’ potential acceptance of library data services supporting DLCs in a master’s college environment. With quantitative and qualitative data analyses, the study builds three conceptual models to demonstrate how students’ study-related data engagement and backgrounds may influence their attitudes toward multi-aspect library data services, including general data services, an institutional data repository, if available, as a data resource, and institutional data repository-based services. The study’s findings support library data services’ cross-disciplinary, multidimensional, and multilevel nature, addressing the value of institutional data repositories and repository-based data services in comprehensively promoting data literacy competencies of all groups in all disciplines. The contribution of this study, beyond being among the first to look at library data services from a holistic perspective to support college students’ DLCs, includes a call for further explorations of student data engagement practice and verifying and generalizing the current study findings by investigating more students’ data services need in more college communities.

What’s art got to do with politics? Show me the evidence

Faculty expect students to integrate appropriate sources for their assignments with a research component and rely on collaborations with library subject specialists to support student needs. Teaching students to build their information literacy skills by using the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education contributes to increasing their proficiency for college-level research. Aspects important to this endeavor are learning about academic literature, choosing topics and learning background information, and finding and evaluating sources. Students learn how to construct their own academic authority, how to insert themselves into the ongoing scholarly conversation, and that searching can be nonlinear and iterative. Collaboration with course faculty encourages students who tend to shy away from the library. Avoiding the library is not uncommon for students, who then struggle alone with elements of their assignment that require research help. Hence the classroom visibility of subject specialist work builds student awareness of the library and prompts them to be proactive when doing library research.

Metacognitive awareness for IL learning and growth: The development and validation of the Information Literacy Reflection Tool (ILRT)

This article describes the development and validation of the Information Literacy Reflection Tool (ILRT), a metacognitive self-assessment for use with undergraduate researchers. It was developed as a teaching and learning tool with the intent to help students recognize and engage the metacognitive domain as a step toward developing personal agency and self-regulation as lifelong, metaliterate learners. Throughout the scale development, three studies were conducted with nine expert reviewers and 44 community college students to consider content and face validity and 542 community college students as part of an item-reduction and construct validation effort. The resulting scale is most appropriately construed through a bifactor model and is made up of 57 items comprising a strong information literacy general factor and six specific factors modestly aligning with each of the threshold concepts outlined in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. As a part of the ongoing development of this instrument, work is needed to more fully assess reliability and validity.

The Polytechnic Predicament: An Exploratory Study in Tutor Perceptions of Information Literacy

The purpose of this exploratory case study is to consider from peer tutors’ perspective the relevance of information literacy (IL) in their roles as tutors, students and in their everyday lives. The research used a qualitative methodology, wherein nine participants shared thoughts and reflections in course discussion forums in response to six online modules, each outlining one the the six frames of the ACRL information literacy framework. The data-gathering phase of the study was bookended by focus groups that were also recorded. Analysis of these various discussions reveals that while tutors see the relevance of IL in their everyday lives, their responses in terms of their roles as tutors and students varies depending on the nature of their program. The need to budget research time efficiently in response to a heavy course load prevents some from pursuing information more broadly or deeply than strictly necessary. The paper considers implications of these insights for further inquiry into the library’s role in advancing IL development in a polytechnical environment.

Teaching undergraduates to develop concise and compelling scholarly communication through storytelling

PurposeThis article reviews current librarian instructional approaches for poster and oral presentation assignments and showcases a new approach using the Pixar Pitch outline.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adapted the Pixar Pitch framework to aid students in synthesizing complex information and improving their communication strategies.FindingsLibrarians are frequently involved in teaching strategic searching and topic development in instruction sessions for students preparing to communicate research through posters and presentations. Students need to understand how to communicate effectively and prepare information for various audiences, skills closely linked to several threshold concepts in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. However, this area remains less taught by librarians. This article presents one approach for librarians to become involved in this instruction.Originality/valueThere is currently minimal research on using the Pixar Pitch within higher education; most use appears in publications in the communications field.

Word (and/or/not) play

When searching for information in a catalog or database, a library user takes an active role by choosing search terms, selecting filters, and using advanced features. This process is rarely straightforward; depending on their needs and the availability of resources, a user may not find relevant results on the first try. When this happens, users must modify their search terms and strategies, observe the new results, and adapt accordingly. Successful searchers, therefore, are those who experiment, explore... and play. This article will put the concepts of play and playfulness in context with the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, particularly its sixth pillar, Searching as Strategic Exploration. This juxtaposition will identify whether and how play, playfulness, and playful research are appropriate approaches for achieving the flexibility and creativity called for in the Framework. Recommendations follow for applying play in practical library settings such as reference and instruction.

A Text Analysis of Four Levels of Librarian Involvement and Impact on Students in an Inquiry-Based Learning Course

Librarians at the University of Calgary collaborated with instructors on an inquiry-based learning course with varying involvement across four course sections. This study uses text analysis of student assignments to assess information literacy (IL) skill development across four levels of course participation: librarian as instructor-of-record, two levels of embeddedness, and a single ‘one-shot’ session. The methodology included the tracking of keywords generated using the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy and text analysis of student reflection assignments in an inquiry-based, research-focused first-year undergraduate course. The results suggest that the benefit to student IL skills is not related to amount of librarian instruction, but rather to the level of instructor buy-in with regard to library services and the importance of IL skills. We argue that the most impactful librarian involvement is as an IL course consultant rather than a full-time embedded librarian (which is surprising given the literature on the efficacy of embeddedness). Although further research is needed, the study results have significant implications for academic librarian instructional practices and collaborations on course content with faculty members.

Intentional librarian-student interactions during COVID-19

As part of a research study to examine first-year college students’ preparation for college-level research, students at six U.S. institutions of higher education were surveyed in the spring semester of 2021. The pandemic continued to affect the delivery of information literacy (IL) instruction and library services across the United States throughout the 2020–2021 academic year. When students completed this survey in April and May of 2021, the majority of instructional services were offered in synchronous and asynchronous remote formats. The students' engagement with librarians and librarian-created instructional resources were captured via the survey and analysed to determine whether students were able to leverage these interactions and materials despite the remote contexts. Students who did not interact with an academic librarian were less likely to use library resources, had more problems accessing information, and felt more overwhelmed by the quantity of resources and services offered by the library. Results show that intentional student-librarian interactions are a bridge to the acquisition and development of knowledge practices and dispositions of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The findings suggest considerations for moving forward when it comes to communicating with students and delivering IL support in academic libraries around the world as countries emerge from pandemic conditions.

Advancing data literacy: Mapping business data literacy competencies to the ACRL framework

The relationship between data literacy and business librarianship continues to grow in relevance as the conversation intensifies in higher education and the business world. Establishing shared vocabularies and mappings to foundational library professional documents is essential to moving the discourse forward. This article presents a mapping between seven baseline business data literacy competencies and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

Student learning and engagement in a DEI collection audit: Applying the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy

In Spring 2021, the University of the Pacific conducted a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) audit of the library’s book and scores collections with eight student interns. This article provides a summary of the project and how we used the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education’s knowledge practices and dispositions to design the internship experience.

Looking at information with the sociological eye: Introducing the sociology companion document

In January 2022, the ACRL Board of Directors approved the Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Sociology. A product of the ACRL Anthropology and Sociology Section’s Instruction and Information Literacy Committee, this document employs the sociological eye to frame knowledge production and use. In doing so, the Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Sociology—which, moving forward, will be referred to as the companion document—invites us to explore how inequities are reproduced (and challenged) through information processes often cast as neutral. The companion document therefore provides tools for educators to incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and social justice into their information literacy pedagogy.

Crowdsourced pedagogy: Editing Wikipedia and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

Although often used by students for academic research, Wikipedia has historically been ignored or shunned by librarians in the information literacy classroom. However, as one of the most popular websites worldwide, Wikipedia matters. Visitors frequent Wikipedia to get free access to information, reference articles for background information during current events, and as a starting point for further research. Librarians can implement Wikipedia as a crowdsourced pedagogical tool for teaching students the six information literacy threshold concepts in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Writing and editing Wikipedia articles showcases the research process, requiring students to understand how information is created, ask questions to identify information gaps, use strategic searching to find information, evaluate articles for authority and inclusivity, properly use and cite sources, and connect with other researchers. The editing process reinforces how to find, use, and critically evaluate resources. Editing Wikipedia also has benefits for users, since contributions make knowledge accessible, mirror scholarly literature for a general audience, and correct wrong or misleading information. Since Wikipedia is an open access resource students already know and use, editing activities can be easily adapted for in-person or remote instruction sessions.

One step at a time: Integrating the Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Social Work into an existing instruction program

One step at a time: Integrating the Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Social Work into an existing instruction program

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Lessons learned from teaching: Reinventing the librarian in credit-bearing courses

Delaware Valley University is a private university located about one hour north of Philadelphia in bucolic Bucks County. The librarians at its Krauskopf Memorial Library have faculty status, which allows us to serve on faculty committees and teach credit-bearing courses. Despite this, librarians have only taught the first-year experience course, which is otherwise taught primarily by staff. This course is heavily scripted and not owned by the faculty, unlike other courses. It does not offer opportunity for course development or for building relationships with teaching faculty, both of which are important for instruction librarians. Most of our instruction librarians only have experience teaching one-shot information literacy sessions and are rarely embedded into a course. Much of the literature on semester-long library classes focuses on information literacy skills. These courses are designed by librarians as an antidote to the one-shot. But what if the information literacy was incorporated into course development? Could students learn research skills in a way that supported the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and inspired students’ interests?