aching online or at a distance. Contact your librarian to see what services are available to support you.
The library recently developed an information literacy toolkit which provides access to a variety of learning resources for incorporating information literacy into your teaching.
Individualized Research Consultations: Students and faculty are welcome to make an appointment with their librarian for individualized research consultations.
Drop-in Sessions: Throughout Terms 1 and 2, the library offers various drop-in research-related workshops for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Reference Services: The library's Ask Us service provides research assistance in-person, as well as via telephone, email, and chat/IM.
Library Materials: The library has various online resources that address many common research questions. The library’s Research Guides are rich resources providing research assistance in subject-specific areas as well as in general research areas. In addition, the library’s extensive collection of resources can be incorporated directly into your courses (e.g., direct persistent links to online resources, Course Reserves for print and online resources, etc.).
What is informing our practice?
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) recently released the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The framework revolves around six core information literacy concepts:
- Authority is Constructed and Contextual
- Information Creation as a Process
- Information Has Value
- Research as Inquiry
- Scholarship as Conversation
- Searching as Strategic Exploration
From this framework, the University Library drafted developmental, non-discipline specific, undergraduate student learning outcomes.
The University Library’s commitment to information literacy instruction also builds on the University of Saskatchewan’s vision to provide high-quality teaching and learning experiences, by aligning the library’s instructional programming with the learning goals set forth in the University’s Learning Charter.
What is the research saying?
While there are countless research studies on various aspects of information literacy, Project Information Literacy is a longitudinal, nationwide (U.S.) research project focused on “how college students find and use information -- their needs, strategies, practices, and workarounds -- for course work and solving information problems that arise in their everyday lives”. This article provides a summary of the findings from various research studies undertaken thus far.