ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ October 1999 / 723 CONFERENCE CIRCUIT Immersion ’99 Reports from the Institute for Information Literacy program by Chris G rugel and M adeline A. Copp A CRL’s Institute for Inform ation Literacy held its first im m ersion program , July 23-28, 1999, at Plattsburgh State Univers New York. This intensive four-and-a-half-day conference exploring the m any dim ensions o f in­ ity fo rm atio n literacy, at­ tracted wide interest and the num ber o f applicants (256) soon exceeded the num ber o f openings (90) available. P a r t ic i p a n ts c a m e from all ty p es o f a ca­ dem ic libraries, re p re ­ senting 34 states, Canada, S w e d e n , a n d P u e r t o Rico. C o n fe re n c e p a rtic i­ pants w ere divided into tw o s e p a r a t e tr a c k s : Track I w as designed for new librarians and librar­ ian s n e w to teac h in g , w hile Track II w as d e­ signed for ex p erien ced instruction librarians w ho w a n te d to fu rth e r d e ­ v elo p a n d integrate inform ation literacy p ro ­ gram s w ithin their institutions. This article shares reports from b o th Track 1 an d a Track II participants. Im m ersion 99 p a rticip a n ts ta k e a brea fro m th e ir studies a t a picnic w ith “ Honey th e W aitress” : (to p ro w fro m le ft to rig h t) M ic h e le M a c h , J a n e a n n e R o c k w e ll- Kincanon, ” Honey,” (b o tto m ro w fr o m le ft t o r ig h t ) J e n n ife r C a rm o d y , P ris c illa M c In to s h , K ris te n M ille r , a n d C hris Yurgelonis. Track I: D e fin in g in fo rm a tio n lite ra c y ofI am a reference librarian at Carthage Col­ lege, a small liberal arts college in Kenosha, W isconsin. I w a n te d to u n d e rsta n d th e c o n ­ cepts o f d ev elo p in g an in f o r m a t i o n li te r a c y program so I could in­ tr o d u c e th e m to m y colleagues at C arthage, an d to g eth er w e could c re a te a n in fo rm atio n literacy program . We s o o n l e a r n e d th a t d e fin in g in fo rm a ­ tio n literacy a n d d e te r­ m in in g th e m e th o d s to re a c h th e g o als o f in ­ fo r m a tio n lite r a c y is n o t a n e a sy p ro c e s s . T rying to a ctu a lly find k a n d a g re e o n a d e fin i­ tio n for info rm atio n lit­ eracy w as a h o t to p ic fo r d e b a te . If it w a s h a rd to a g re e o n d e fi­ n itio n s d u rin g a n in ­ t e n s i v e c o n f e r e n c e , th e n w h a t w o u ld it b e like to try a n d c o n ­ v in ce c o lle a g u e s b a c k at h o m e o f th e rel­ e v a n c e o f h a v in g an in fo rm atio n literacy program ? About the authors Chris Grugel is reference/media services librarian a t Carthage College, e-mail: c-grugel@carthage.edu; M adeline A. Copp is instructional services coordinator a t the N im itz Library a t the US. Naval Academy, e-mail: copp@nadn.navy.mil mailto:c-grugel@carthage.edu mailto:copp@nadn.navy.mil 724 / C&RL News ■ October 1999 Track I w as divided into tw o distinct a re ­ nas to h e lp us apply w h at w e w ere learning. T he first arena in tro d u ced th e concepts, his­ tory, a n d m eth o d s o f inform ation literacy. T his p rovided th e necessary g ro u n d in g to visualize an inform ation literacy program . T he seco n d arena involved smaller group dis­ cussions that fo cu sed o n th e c o n cep ts from th e form al sessions, a n d a llo w ed transfer­ e n c e into ideas that co u ld sh a p e a literacy p ro g ram at o u r schools. Th e se s s io n s N ationally recognized leaders c o n d u cte d the fo llo w in g sessions: “L earning T h e o ry ” by J o a n K a p lo w itz , “T e a c h i n g ” b y R a n d y H ensley, “A ssessm ent” by D ebra Gilchrist, “M anagem ent” b y E ugene E ngeldinger, “In­ form ation Literacy” by Mary Ja n e Petrow ski, a n d “L eadership” by K aren Williams. Several key p o in ts w ere reiterated. T he first c o n c e p t w as that stu d en ts m ust b e able to locate, evaluate, an d synthesize inform a­ tion w hile u n d e rsta n d in g th e inform ation­ seek in g p ro cess to b e c o m e lifelong learn ­ ers. Students m ust b e taught concepts, n o t just w h ich b u tto n s to push. This m ay b e b est su m m ed u p by using a q u o te b y Patricia K n ap p from Mary Ja n e P etrow ski’s “Infor­ m atio n Literacy” session th a t states, “C om ­ p e te n c e in th e u se o f the library is o n e o f th e liberal arts.” T he s e c o n d co n c e p t w as th at a su ccess­ ful inform ation literacy program m u st have faculty involvem ent. Faculty m ust b e able se e th e benefits an d results from a n infor­ m ation literacy p rogram . W orking closely w ith faculty to d e v elo p a n d assess p rogram s will h elp to p ro m o te th e co m m o n goal o f help in g stu d en ts succeed. W h at w e le a rn e d This w as an effective “hands-on” working con­ ference. O n e o f th e goals for th e conference w as that participants w o u ld create a personal portfolio o f projects an d ideas that could b e u sed to en h an ce their o w n program s. This portfolio o f related projects h e lp e d show the m any different pieces of inform ation literacy. This included w riting goals an d objectives for a teaching segm ent a n d th e n designing an assessm ent instrum ent to m easure that par­ ticular program . D e v e lo p in g criteria, u n d e rs ta n d in g th e d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n te rm in a l a n d affective o b jectiv es, w ritin g o u tc o m e s, a n d u n d e r ­ sta n d in g th e im p o rta n c e o f a ss e ssm e n t in ­ v o lv e d late n ig h ts in th e c o m p u te r lab fo r m an y o f us. In stru cto r fee d b a c k p la y e d a n im p o rtan t p a rt in o u r le a rn in g p ro c e s s. V erbal a n d w ritte n co m m en ts o n o u r assig n m en ts, o u r c la s sro o m se ssio n s, a n d o u r sm all g ro u p s p ro v id e d m aterial th at w o u ld h e lp us sh a p e w h a t w e w a n te d to a c c o m p lis h at o u r o w n sch o o ls. As e a c h se s sio n p ro g re s s e d , I felt th a t I h a d a b e tte r u n d e rs ta n d in g o f h o w to d e ­ v e lo p an e n co m p a ssin g inform ation literacy p ro g ra m . D efin itio n s w e re a ctu a lly sta rt­ ing to m a k e sen se. T h e clo sin g se s sio n a s k e d u s to a ssess th e Im m e rsio n ’99 p ro g ra m w h ile refle c t­ ing o n w h a t w e h a d w ritte n d o w n in th e o p e n in g se s sio n . W h at h a d w e learn ed ? T his p ro g ra m g av e m e an o p p o rtu n ity to sh a re id e a s w ith o th e rs, h e lp e d m e to u n ­ d e rs ta n d th e d iffe re n t se g m e n ts o f an in ­ fo rm a tio n literacy p ro g ra m , a n d ta u g h t m e p ractical a p p ro a c h e s to in tro d u c e in fo rm a­ tio n literacy c o n c e p ts to m y c o -w o rk ers. B ird s o f a f e a t h e r O ne o f the best parts o f the conference w as the o p en exchange of ideas an d the netw ork­ ing that h ap p en ed through roundtable discus­ sion groups, affectionately called “Birds o f a Feather,” w hich took place at the e n d o f the conference. T hese groups of six-to-eight m em ­ bers from both Tracks I and II w ere arranged by size an d type o f institution, for exam ple com m unity colleges w orked together as did large research universities. Discussions w ere at a practical level— how an information literacy program can b e cre­ ated, developed, an d im proved for specific cases an d schools. Finding o u t about other schools’ library instruction programs and which program s did or did not w ork effectively, gen­ erated helpful suggestions and support. It w as clear that th e dynamics of each cam pus w ould play an integral part in developing an infor­ m ation literacy program. Track I an d Track II participants shared ac­ tion plans and goals with their Birds of a Feather groups for w hat they intended to accom plish over the next year. C&RL News ■ October 1999 / 725 A fte r th e co n fe re n ce Even though it has only b een a short time since the conference, participants are using w hat they have learned to m ake changes in their ow n settings. I have received several e-mails from participants relating h o w the Im m ersion p ro ­ gram has influenced their workplace. Michelle Mach, th e Web librarian at Colo­ rad o State University at Ft. Collins, w rote, “Within a w eek o f my return, w e revised our standard com m ent form given at th e e n d of instruction sessions so that it asks m ore open- ended, student-focused questions. “This w as a great idea that cam e from sev­ eral participants during the assessm ent ses­ sion— som e called it the tw o-m inute essay. We’re also w orking o n articulating som e in­ structional goals for th e library.” O ther conference participants cam e aw ay w ith a better understanding o f the com ponents o f information literacy. Mary Lou B aker Jones, w h o w orks at Wright State University, com ­ T ra ck II “In ten se.” “W orthw hile.” “U nique.” “Incred­ ibly energizing.” “V aluable.” T hese are only a few o f the term s m en tio n ed by Track II p a r­ ticipants w h o atte n d e d th e ACRL Institute for Inform ation Literacy Im m ersion P rogram .1 Th e p ro g ra m a n d p a rtic ip a n ts W e T rack II p articip an ts b e g a n o u r w o rk m onths before w e arrived in Plattsburgh by com pleting th e application process a n d then by creating case studies, w hich included d e ­ scriptions o f o u r institutions, analysis o f o u r u ser populations, descriptions o f o u r library environm ent, special connections to o th er of­ fices o n cam pus, a n d a p lan describing w h at goals w e w an ted to achieve by attending th e Im m ersion Program . This p rep aratio n h elp ed us m ake the m ost o f w h at tu rn ed o u t to b e a very short tim e at th e institute. We e x p erien ced four-and-a-half days o f stru ctu red sessions, sm all g ro u p discussions, informal discussions, thinking, analyzing, w rit­ ing, com m unicating, a n d d ev elo p in g action plans to tak e back to o u r institutions. T h e structured sessions b y the faculty in­ clu d ed discussions ab o u t p roblem definition a n d analysis, historical b ack g ro u n d o f infor­ m atio n literacy, distance education, assess­ m ent, teaching, an d cam pus leadership. m ented, “O ne area from th e experience stands out quite clearly for me: the value an d th e util­ ity o f assessm ent w ithin o u r process. “It seem s to m e that th e success a n d the viability o f any inform ation literacy program attem pt is going to hinge o n appropriate as­ sessm ent.” At Carthage, w e are in the beginning stages o f defining h o w an inform ation literacy p ro ­ gram w ould benefit our students, staff, and faculty. Presently, staff from the library, m edia services, a n d th e com puter center are w orking together to develop o u r program. O ur core m em bers are very excited about h o w w e can further integrate information literacy into the liberal arts. Finally, this conference has given th e par­ ticipants a learning com m unity to b ounce and trade ideas w ith over th e next year. A very active discussion list continues to ask ques­ tions an d explore ideas in shaping informa­ tion literacy program s.— Chris Grugel The faculty did a w o nderful job in leading th e discussions a n d explaining th e content so th at w e w ere able to ap p ly th e theory p re ­ sen ted in th ese sessions to o u r action plans. Plus, th e collective experience, w isdom , an d co m m o n sen se d em o n strated by th e partici­ pants du rin g th e structured sessions w ere in­ valuable additions to th e discussions. F a c u lty in th e lead In th e sessio n o n p ro b le m d e fin itio n an d analysis, E u g en e E n geldinger gave a very g o o d overview o f h o w to analyze issues of inform ation literacy at o u r cam puses. T he co n ten t p ro v id ed a useful review o f items included in o u r case studies; it also offered us a ch an ce to analyze o u r o w n p ro b lem ­ solving styles a n d to think a b o u t th o se styles as they relate to th e w orkings o f o u r institu­ tions a n d h o w w e com m unicate o n a daily basis w ith colleagues. Mary J a n e P etrow ski gave a w o n d erfu l historical overview o f inform ation literacy, noting th at ev en a stan d ard definition o f in­ form ation literacy is problem atic. “I k n o w it w h e n I see it!” an d “Inform ation literacy is just th e n ew est marketing [gimmick]” are com ­ m ents participants n o te d h earin g from fac­ ulty a n d librarians w h e n co n fro n ted w ith the task of defining information literacy. T he ACRL 726 / C&RL News ■ October 1999 eas draft standards is a good start in gaining a mutual understand­ ing of the concept, but they need to be adaptable to many types of academic in­ stitutions to be truly useful. Jo an Kaplowitz led an energetic dis­ cussion on distance learning. Definition, Participants share id o n c e a g a in , p r o ­ vided a topic for reflection, and our conclu­ sions helped us realize that even campuses w ith a 100% residential population (like mine) can utilize ideas for distance leaning (for ex­ ample, distance learning techniques can be applied to those students and faculty w ho re­ search from their dorm room s or offices). W hy do w e do w hat w e do and is it w ork­ ing? D ebra Gilchrist delved into this topic during h e r p resentation o n assessm ent. A starting point o n th e road to assessing infor­ m ation literacy could be to ask ourselves the follow ing questions: 1) W hat do w e w ant the students to be able to do?, 2) W hat d o the students need to learn?, 3) H ow will w e know they’ve d o n e it well?, 4) W hat activity will bring about the learning?, and 5) H ow will the learning be demonstrated? Linda Fritz, one o f the participants, com m ented, “W hen w e started to deal w ith outcom es, I b egan to see a light at the e n d of the tu n n el.” Since “teaching” is a large part o f w hat w e do, Randy H ensley lead a dynam ic discus­ sion on librarians teaching in an academ ic setting. This session included tips and techniques Immersion ’00 ACRL’s Institute for Inform ation Literacy plans to hold Im m ersion ’00 at th e Uni­ versity o f W ashington August 4-9, 2000. It is intended for new librarians o r instruc­ tion librarians w anting to develop their individual instruction skills (Track I) as well as those w ho w ant to d evelop/advance an information literacy program for their institution (Track III. Attendees are selected through a competitive application process. Application instructions will be posted on the Web in October at http://w w w .ala.org/ acrl/nili/initiatives.html. on identifying your a re n a (c re a tin g partnerships with o th e r c a m p u s units), determining content an d ap ­ proach (especially w h e n w e teac h faculty), an d as­ sessment at the in­ stitutional level. One especially d u rin g Immersion ’9 9 . thought-provoking q u e s t i o n fro m this session w as the idea that if w e teach fac­ ulty, are w e p rep ared to let go and allow them to teach inform ation literacy? O ur last structured session w as led by Karen Williams, w ho gave an excellent p re ­ sentation on cam pus leadership. We discussed leadership characteristics, behaviors, attitudes, expectations, an d w hat w e can do to m ake a difference at o u r institutions. Sm all g ro u p s O u r small gro u p s m et tw ice daily to enable us to flesh o u t o u r action plans an d to re­ ceive co m m en ts, su g g estio n s, sym pathy, com m iseration, an d ideas from each other. O u r action plans included the following com ponents: 1) sum m ary o f our p roblem / concern, 2) explanation about w hy w e chose this problem , 3) sum m ary of p ro p o sed solu­ tion, 4) description o f stakeholders, 5) re­ sources, 6) description o f an im plem entation plan, an d 7) analysis and justification for our p ro p o sed solutions. Many participants will agree w ith Martin Raish w h en he com m ented that “For me, the m ost valuable aspect w as that I cam e away w ith an action plan docum ent in my hands. We actually wrote up som ething that w e could d o w h en w e got h om e.” L e t’s g e t to g e th e r During our last tw o days, w e had the oppor­ tunity to m eet with colleagues from similar in­ stitutions w ho w ere enrolled in Track I. These “Birds o f a Feather” groups w ere generally form ed by type and size o f library. I found these sessions to be especially beneficial and gave mem bers from the tw o tracks a chance to participate in uninterrupted interactions. (c o n tin u e d on p a g e 754) http://www.ala.org/ 728 / C&RL News ■ October 1999 754 / C&RL News ■ October 1999 ship betw een com puter literacy an d informa­ tion literacy an d th e roles of various stake­ h o ld ers (librarians, faculty, stu d en ts, te a c h ­ ing centers, a n d c o m p u te r c en te rs) in th e te a c h in g o f inform ation literacy. M uch dis­ cu ssio n fo c u se d o n th e p artn ersh ip s n e e d e d to m ak e inform ation literacy a p art o f th e curriculum . P articipants also d iscu ssed the n e e d for librarians to continue m arketing the issue o f inform ation literacy outside o f librari­ an sh ip th ro u g h a tte n d a n c e at h ig h e r e d u c a ­ tio n conferences. W hen asked to identify key conclusions at the en d o f the day, participants m entioned that: • librarians an d educators n e e d to develop tools o f collaboration in o rder to transform higher education; • the T hink Tank process should b e repli­ cated w ithin universities as a w ay to continue the conversation about information literacy and collaboration and bring it before a w ider audi­ ence; • librarians are still struggling for valida­ tion in o u r roles as educators, b o th within and outside o f ou r profession; and • technologies are secondary to the educa­ tion process; p eo p le drive transform ation not technology. Librarians a n d educational technologists n eed to m ove far b ey o n d their o w n jobs and think about w hat it is to educate an d to b e an educated person. Inform ation literacy needs to be a pervasive part of the learning environ­ ment. The evolution o f higher education d e ­ m ands the reconsideration o f all o f their roles. N otes 1. American Library Association, Association o f College and Research Libraries, Bibliographic Instruction Section, “Think Tank Recommenda­ tions for Bibliographic Instruction, ” College & Re­ search Libraries News 42 (1981): 394-98. 2. T he w orking papers for Think Tank II w ere subsequently revised an d published as The Evolving E ducational Mission o f the Library (Chicago: ACRL, 1992). 3. T ask force m em b ers w e re C harlotte Crockett, Keith Gresham (chair), Rebecca Jack- son, Allison Level, C indy P ierard, Laverne Sim oneaux, a n d Beth W oodard. ■ (Immersion (99 continued fro m page 726) A b re a k fro m o u r w o rk In addition to our strenuous academics, several terrific social activities w ere held. We had a lovely reception on Friday evening to kick off the pro­ gram and m eet our Immersion colleagues in an informal setting, and w e all enjoyed a wonderful “indoor” picnic at the Valcour Educational Con­ ference Center o n the shore of breathtaking Lake Champlain. To celebrate our last evening, many of us treated ourselves to a fabulous dinner cruise w ith delicious food, live music, dancing, an d a splendid sunset and brilliant full moon. In c o n clu sio n I ho p e that this w as the first o f m any similar In­ formation Literacy Immersion Programs. Being the first Immersion Program, there were of course some suggested changes. Beth Evans from CUNY, Brooklyn College, noted that she and her colleagues felt that a Track 1.5 w ould b e quite useful, and that more sessions mixing the two tracks could be very beneficial. Several Track II participants men­ tioned that because of the am ount of information given, discussed, and debated, another day would have b een valuable to give us more time for ab­ sorption and reflection. Immersion ’99 w as grueling, intense, and re­ m inded m e that I’m grateful not to b e a full-time student again living in the dorms and eating dorm food; it was also an absolutely wonderful experi­ ence. I agree w ith M artha Perry w h e n sh e com ­ m ented, “I w ould heartily encourage all instruc­ tion librarians to apply for adm ission to future IILs—you w on’t regret it!”— Madeline Cop p (Note: Many thanks to th e follow ing p eo p le for their c o m m e n ts : L in d a F ritz ( U n iv e r s it y o f S askatchew an), Jerilyn Veldof (U niversity of Minnesota), Martin Raish (Brigham Young Uni­ versity), Martha R. Perry (Bellarm ine College), Beth Evans (CUNY, Brooklyn College), an d all the other Track II participants I m et at Immersion 99. Note 1. Many thanks to the following people for their c o m m e n ts : L in d a F ritz ( U n iv e r s it y o f Saskatchewan), Jerilyn Veldof (University of Min­ nesota), Martin Raish (Brigham Young University), Martha R. Perry (Bellarmine College), Beth Evans (CUNY, Brooklyn College), and all the other Track II participants I m et at Immersion ’9 9 .■