ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ O ctober 1998 / 703 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s n e w s The Institute for Information Literacy Formal training is a critical need by Cerise O berm an T he Institute fo r In form ation Literacy (IIL),1formerly know n as the National In­ formation Literacy Institute, is dedicated to playing a leadership role in assisting individu­ als and institutions in integrating information literacy throughout the full spectrum o f the education process. The impetus for this ini­ tiative com es at a time when information lit­ eracy is being broadly recognized outside o f librarianship as a critical skill for students o f all ages. In recent years there is evidence that higher education in particular has begun to under­ stand the role o f information in our society and the need to prepare students to be infor­ mation literate. For instance, Middle States As­ sociation o f Colleges and Schools requires that institutions seeking accreditation “. . . describe and document the strategies and activities used to provide an effective program o f bibliographic instruction and information literacy.”2 A building block An array o f state university systems is incor­ porating information literacy com petencies into curriculum requirements.3 The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable Project, previously a project o f the American Associa­ tion o f Higher Education and n ow a separate non-profit organization, identifies information literacy as a building block for constructing a meaningful institutional vision for improving teaching and learning through techn ology.4 The time is right for the establishment o f the Institute for Information Literacy. Within librarianship, the dem and for in­ formation literacy programs and instruction librarians has grow n exponentially over the last 25 years. However, despite the in corpo­ ration o f instruction programs as a mainstream activity in academic libraries, there are still few signs that information literacy is recog­ nized as a core com ponent o f librarianship. Rather, the concepts o f information literacy and its p ed a g og y have largely been self- taught, nurtured by colleagues, or learned through attendance at a wide variety o f pro­ fessional conferences and programs. The relative absence o f formal opportuni­ ties for training and education in information literacy is particularly ironic at a time when the “teaching-library” seems to be finally emerging as a m odel that makes sense in our changing environment.’ Now, more than ever, with the interest o f higher education focused on information literacy, there is a need for educational opportunities for librarians, but also for educational administrators and fac­ ulty. Librarians and educators from primary schools to universities need to establish a regular and on-going dialogue about infor­ mation literacy. The recent publication o f the American Association o f School Librarians standards for information literacy" and the ACRL Instruction Section’s Model Statement o f Objectives, which are currently under revi­ sion," form a com m on ground. Add to this the public library sector, with its new atten­ tion to providing Internet instruction, and we About the author Cerise Oberman chairs ACRL's Institute fo r Information Literacy and is dean o f library and inform ation services a t Plattsburgh State University o f New York, e-mail: cerise.oberman@plattsburgh.edu mailto:cerise.oberman@plattsburgh.edu 7 0 4 / C&RL News ■ October 1998 Despite the incorporation of instruction programs as a main­ stream activity in academic librar­ ies, there are still few signs that information literacy is recognized as a core component of librarianship. have a broad coalition o f interest committed to information literacy. IIL's beginnings IIL was first proposed at the annual LOEX Conference in May 1997.8 The response was overwhelming. A month later, ACRL embraced the idea and established an advisory group9 to assist moving the institute from theory to reality. From the earliest discussions o f the institute there was a commitment to reach out and serve all types o f librarianship. The Advisory Group spon sored an Invitational Planning Day at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in 1998. Twenty-five individuals, including librar­ ians from academic, school and public ven­ ues, provosts and school system administra­ tors, library school faculty, practicing instruc­ tion librarians, and library directors gathered on January 9, 1998, in New Orleans to dis­ cuss and respond to five discussion issues: 1) the problems and challenges identified b y the IIL Advisory Group; 2) the concepts o f information literacy; 3) the ideas for an intensive immersion program; 4) the characteristics o f an IIL “graduate”; and 5) ideas for other types o f programs that IIL cou ld offer. The feedback from this day was used to shape the programmatic initiatives that IIL w ould undertake. Over the past year, the institute has taken shape. The most distinctive aspect is its com ­ mitment to be inclusive o f all o f librarianship; that is why the mission includes “the full spec­ trum o f the education process.” Its goals are broad-based, as well: • prepare librarians to b e co m e effecti teachers o f information literacy programs; ve • support librarians and other educators and administrators in playing leadership roles in the developm ent and implementation o f information literacy programs; • forge new relationships throughout the educational community to work toward infor­ mation literacy curriculum development; and • offer opportunities for growth and de­ velopm ent in the changing field o f informa­ tion literacy. Looking ahead IIL has identified four programmatic initia­ tives for the years 1998-2000: • Immersion Program ’99- This is IIL’s core program. The Immersion Program will provide four-and-a-half days o f intensive train­ ing and education for instruction librarians. It will offer tw o tracks: on e for new librarians and librarians new to teaching and the other for mid-career instruction librarians w h o will assume a leadership role in information lit­ eracy in their institutes. This first Immersion Program will target academic librarians, but is op en to anyone. Participation will be limited to 80; ten ACRL scholarships will b e available. A faculty o f nationally recognized librarians and scholars is d ev elopin g the curriculum and will be teaching the program.10 It is scheduled for July 23-28, 1999, at Plattsburgh State Univer­ sity o f New York. (Application information is a v a ila b le via the IIL W eb site: h t t p :// www.ala.org/acrl/nili/nilihp.html.) Long term, the IIL Immersion Program will b e offered at different locations minimally on ce a year. O nce the IIL Immersion Pro­ gram National Faculty is expanded, it is ex ­ pected that the Immersion Program will be available u pon request from local or state professional organizations, consortia o f librar­ ies, etc. The intention is that the Immersion Program will b e responsive, mobile, and cost effective for all librarians interested in par­ ticipating. • Institutional Strategies: Best Practices and Assessment. This program is directed at assisting individual institutions in developing strategies for creating and implementing ef­ fective information literacy programs. IIL is seeking grant funds to: 1) identify criteria for assessing information literacy programs, 2) identify m odel programs that illustrate these criteria, and 3) disseminate information about http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/nilihp.html C&RL News ■ O ctober 1998 / 705 the criteria and models to the profession and higher education broadly. • Community Partnerships. Broaden­ ing the dia log u e o n inform ation literacy across the entire educational spectrum is criti­ cal. This initiative will bring together librar­ ians from K -12, higher education, and pu b­ lic special libraries to discuss community- based information literacy programs. This ini­ tiative will begin to take shape with a discus­ sion session planned for ALA Midwinter 1999- • Web Site. IIL has a W eb site. It pres­ ently provides basic information o n the in­ stitute, a brief history, and its mission and goals. The Web site will grow and d ev elop over time to provide electronic links to a wide variety o f information literacy issues including best practices, assessment, and links to other information literacy resources. It will also serve as the main vehicle for announcing IIL pro­ grams: http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/nilihp.html. IIL is in its infancy. The general direction has been set, but as the institute develops it will require substantive input and advice from the very individuals it hopes to serve: instruc­ tion librarians from all sectors o f the educa­ tional experience, administrators from higher education, school, and public libraries, and faculty. The time is right for the establish­ ment o f the Institute for Information Literacy. Notes 1. The National Information Literacy Insti­ tute has been renamed the Institute for Infor­ mation Literacy to distinguish the Institute from the National Forum o n Information Lit­ eracy. The National Forum has a different but equally important mission: it is a coalition o f education associations outside o f librarianship that focuses national attention on the impor­ tance o f information literacy to individuals, the eco n o m y , and an inform ed citizenry. Patricia Breivik, dean o f Wayne State Univer­ sity Libraries, has been the moving force b e­ hind the National Forum. 2. Middle States Association o f College and S ch ools), Characteristics o f Excellence in Higher Education: Standards fo r Accredita­ tion. Philadelphia: Middle States Association o f Colleges and Schools, 1994. 3. Cerise Oberman, Bonnie Gratch Lindauer, and Betsy Wilson, “Integrating Information Literacy into the Curriculum,” C&RL News 59(May 1998): 347-352. 4. For information on the Teaching, Learn­ ing and T echn ology Roundtable Project see Steven W. Gilbert, “Teaching, Learning, and T e c h n o lo g y — The N eed for Cam pusw ide Planning and Faculty Support Services,” Change (M a rch /A p ril 1995): 4 7 -5 2 and Steven W. Gilbert and Anita L. Antico, Levers fo r Change Workbook, version 1.0. Ameri­ can Association for Higher Education, 1966. 5. For discussion o f the “teaching-library” see A. E. Guskin, Carla J. Stoffle, and Joseph A. Boisse, “The Academ ic Library as a Teach­ ing Library: A Role for the 1980’s.” Library Trends 28 (1979): 281-296 and Richard H. Werking, “The Library and the College: Some Programs o f Library Instruction.” ERIC Docu­ ment ED127 9 1 7 ,1976. 6. See the American Association o f School Librarians, “Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning,” 1998. 7. See ACRL/Instruction Section W eb Site Model Statement o f Objectives; D e b b ie Tenofsky, chair, w w w .lib.utexas.ecu/is/com - mittee/minutes/mso 1.1988.html. 8 Cerise Oberman, “W hy We Need a Na­ tional Information Literacy Institute,” Pro­ ceedings o f the 25th Annual National LOEX Library Instruction Conference, May 8-10, 1997, ed. Linda Shirato (forthcom ing). 9. The ACRL Institute for Information Lit­ eracy Advisory G roup’s members are Cerise Oberman, chair (Plattsburgh State University o f New York), Lou Albert, vice-chancellor o f Education Services (San-Jose Evergreen Com­ munity College District), Lori Arp (Univer­ sity o f Boulder), Esther Grassian (University o f California at Los Angeles), Thomas Kirk (Earlham C ollege), Loanne Snavely, Instruc­ tion Section representative (Pennsylvania State University), Julie Todaro (Austin Com ­ m u n ity C o l l e g e / R i o G r a n d e ), M itch Stepanovich, Library Instruction Round Table representative (University o f Texas at Aus­ tin), Betsy W ilson (University o f Washing­ ton), Mary Ellen Davis (ACRL staff), and Shelley Phipps and Karen Williams, facilita­ tors (University o f Arizona). 10. The IIL Faculty are Mary Jane Petrowski, lead faculty member (Colgate University), Eu­ gene Engeldinger (Carthage College), Randy Hensley (University o f Hawaii), Debra Gilchrist (Pierce C ollege), Joan Kaplowitz (University o f California at Los Angeles), and Sharon Mader (Christian Brothers University). ■ http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/nilihp.html http://www.lib.utexas.ecu/is/com- 70 6 / C&RL News ■ October 1998