Monday, September 11, 2017

New open access items: Curiosity & science literacy; developing a for-credit course; infolit in practice

Two open access articles and a podcast!
- Yu, S.H. (2017). Just Curious: How Can Academic Libraries Incite Curiosity to Promote Science Literacy? Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 12(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.21083/partnership.v12i1.3954 "Abstract: Based on a Bright Young Minds webinar given on February 7, 2017, this paper shows the importance of nurturing curiosity in students as an integral part of information literacy (IL) and science literacy. There are obvious parallels between "Research as Inquiry," as described in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (2016) and scientific inquiry. In both cases, curiosity is the fuel that drives information gathering and the pursuit of new knowledge. This paper discusses three pedagogical strategies to help information literacy librarians incite curiosity in students and promote scientific literacy. Bright Young Minds is a webinar series hosted by the Ontario Library Association’s Education Institute. It provides a platform for MLIS students and recent graduates to share their research and to foster connections between academic schools and information professionals. The webinar and this subsequent article grew out of an MLIS project exploring the concept of curiosity and its application in promoting scientific literacy in academic libraries. I draw on my dual experiences as both a Chemistry graduate student and participant in IL sessions, and as a recent MLIS graduate and IL instructor."
- Raven, M. and Rodrigues, D. (2017). A Course of Our Own: Taking an Information Literacy Credit Course from Inception to Reality. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 12(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.21083/partnership.v12i1.3907 "Abstract: Since 2009 librarians at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia have been teaching a fully weighted (half-unit/three credit) course in information literacy (IL), LIBR2100: Introduction to Research in the Information Age. Course sections are capped at 30 students with classes offered on campus in a traditional classroom/lab environment, and via distance using multimode technology. Now firmly established in the University’s curriculum, required in three programs and an elective in all others, the course is in demand with growing wait-lists requiring that multiple sections be offered each term. While the literature supports the positive outcomes of IL credit courses for both the students enrolled and the librarians teaching, few universities or colleges currently offer such an opportunity. Based on our positive experience at the Mount, accomplished with a professional librarian compliment of only five, we strongly recommend other universities and colleges consider seriously their ability to offer their own IL course. This article reflects on the steps taken by librarians at Mount Saint Vincent University to get a credit course in IL on the books, how we managed course implementation, and negotiated the inevitable workload demands. While we also briefly discuss course objectives and curriculum, and their evolution over time, these are not our primary focus. Because the literature is largely silent on the mechanics of getting an IL course mainstreamed in a university or college curriculum, this article focuses on outlining the phases of credit course development and traces an IL course from conception to reality."
- The final item is a podcast: Information Literacy for the Win, an interview with Karen Viars and Seth Porter, Librarians in the Campus Engagement and Scholarly Outreach department in the Georgia Tech Library. This is part of the Lost in the Stacks podcast (episode 355, 25 August 2017: the interview portion starts at about 23 minutes) and the interviewees talk about their views on information literacy and what they do.
Photo by Sheila Webber: red rose of autumn, September 2017

No comments: