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PRECONFERENCE  
WORKSHOPS

Game of Pros
Forging Alliances for Effective Information 
Literacy
James Humble, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary 
Martha Adkins, University of San Diego 
Paul Myhre, Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion 
Jay Wise, Indiana Wesleyan University

ABSTR ACT This pre-conference workshop examined how we, as 
librarians, collaborate with campus stakeholders to incorporate effec-
tive information literacy outreach into programs and courses, espe-
cially of the distance-learning kind. All three presenters explored how to 
cultivate relationships with faculty, market library instruction effectively, 
schedule for both student and instructor availability, and ensure that 
students are prepared for our courseloads before the classes are held. 

In this pre-conference workshop, three presenters discussed differ-
ent aspects of the question: how do we, as librarians, collaborate with 
campus constituencies to incorporate effective information liter-
acy outreach into programs and courses? Each of the three present-
ers spoke from personal experience, but filtered their experiences 
through one of the themes below:

 1.  The Distance Between Us: Teaching Non-Traditional 
Students Information Literacy



2  ATL A 2017 PROCEEDINGS

Discerning the effect that information literacy classes have on 
students is hard enough when we’re standing in front of them. 
But when we’re teaching non-traditional students, particu-
larly ones who aren’t present on campus often or at all, we must 
integrate our efforts at information literacy with the practice 
of distance librarianship. In this light, we discuss embedding 
librarians, leveraging technology to assist students’ learning 
and research, and partnering with faculty and administrators to 
serve students more effectively.

 2.  Information Literacy as a Collaborative Effort: Working with 
Administrators, Faculty, and IT
How do we work with our colleagues on the faculty or in IT to 
develop the instructional tools our students interact with? This 
is especially important when we are developing curriculum for 
long-distance learning. Along with cultivating faculty relation-
ships, librarians must effectively market themselves to attract 
students and make the technical demands of distance learning 
as simple for the students as possible.

 3.  It’s a Matter of Space and Time: Where, and How, and When 
Information Literacy Happens
Instructor charisma, involving coursework, and faculty promo-
tion aside, a bibliographic instruction session will only be a 
success to the extent that its time, place, and/or delivery are 
agreeable to the students. The scheduling and location of an 
in-person session can affect student participation; so can 
how much they already know or are made aware of the subject 
beforehand. In this portion of the workshop, we considered such 
topics as: figuring out the best time of the day/week to maximize 
attendance, ensuring that students are prepared for our work-
load before the class starts, and crafting digital content deliv-
ery methods to meet the needs of both traditional students and 
distance learners.

After each presentation, the arranger of the workshop opened up a 
discussion with the attendees, asking them for concrete proposals 
that they might implement in their own libraries based on the expe-
riences shared by the presenters. 


