Information Literacy Course Descriptions

At the Oboler Library on the Idaho State University campus, we have been teaching information-literacy courses.  Years ago librarians taught an information research course that fulfilled a requirement for education majors wanting a library science certificate for K-12 instruction.  That course was canceled in 2007 when the education professor responsible for that program retired. 

In the Fall 2011 semester I began teaching a one-credit information research course.  Now we are writing a proposal to begin offering a three-credit information research course.  If it gets approved in the fall semester, then it may be offered in Fall  2013.  We will submit a proposal for this three-credit course to fulfill a general education requirement--the information-literacy goal.  Recently, the General Education Requirements Committee completed the process of finalizing the Undergraduate General Education Requirements. This process took over two years.

"Holt Arena! The Mini-Dome."  by Jake Putnam.  This is an icon for Idaho State University.

Following are the course descriptions for the information research courses at ISU:

Catalog Descriptions

 

LLIB 1115/ACAD 1115: Introduction to Information Research, 3 credits

Learn to recognize when information is needed, then find, evaluate, and use it effectively and ethically.  Explore a variety of ways to find reliable sources worth using/documenting in support of academic projects.  Equivalent to ACAD 1115. F, S

3.000 Credit hours

3.000 Lecture hours

LLIB 1115/ACAD 1115: Information Research, 1 credit

Develop life-long strategies for recognizing when you need information, locating it, evaluating it, and using it effectively and ethically. Explore a variety of tools and formats in order to find sources worth using/citing in support of academic projects. Equivalent to ACAD 1115. F, S
1.000 Credit hours
1.000 Lecture hours

LIBR 121 Introduction to Information Research 2 credits.  Fundamentals of the research process using a variety of library resources, including catalogs, electronic databases, the reference collection, government documents, and the Internet.  Emphasis on the organization, retrieval and evaluation of information.  F, S, Su 

Undergraduate Catalog 2006-2007.  Pocatello, ID: Idaho State University, 2006. 

Other ISU course descriptions can be found in the ISU Undergraduate Catalogs. 

"Red Hill, Pocatello, Idaho."  by Jake Putnam.  Red Hill is a well-known landmark of Idaho State University and Pocatello.  The columns can be seen from Interstate 15 (I-15).

"ISU from the West Bench."  by Jake Putnam.  This photo captures many ISU buildings, including the Oboler Library.  It also shows the Rendezvous Building while it was under construction.

Library Outreach and Library Tours

Two months ago a student reporter named Layna Nelson requested a tour of the Eli M. Oboler Library.  She writes for the campus newspaper the Bengal.  I enjoy giving tours, but it seems that I could do better.  It seems that finding interesting statistics about the number of books, number of individuals accessing our databases, number of patrons entering the building, etc. might generate more interest.  Also, people like stories and attention-grabbing quotes, so digging up some useful things like that ought to liven things up on a tour.  Admittedly, the tours I give are maybe a bit dry, but they are laden with information.  What can I say?  I love the library.

Eli M. Oboler Library.  Idaho State University.
850 S. 9th Avenue
Pocatello, Idaho, USA 83209-8089

Today I finally learned that her article was published with the title "What's Inside: Oboler Library."  She wrote a great article.  She must have done a bit more digging to find the information at the beginning of the article, though it might not all be up-to-date.  As the Coordinator of Instruction, I feel responsible for outreach in the Library, so I am willing to offer tours of the Library, work with area schools, and try to get the word out regarding events we hold in the Library. 

Idaho State University Library.  Pocatello, ID

What kind of outreach are you involved with in your library?

To view more photos of Pocatello, including a few more of the Oboler Library, take a look at Vitit Kantabutra's site.

More Tutorials for Graduate Students

Last week I taught a graduate student workshop for some physical science and sports science graduate students.  After updating a PE for Grad Students site, I created a Jing tutorial, explaining what changes I had made that may be helpful for them.  Unfortunately, it exceeded my goal of less than three minutes (it is 3:47 long).

On that site is a link to a tutorial a graduate student in the College of Education's Instructional Design program helped me create using Camtasia.  This tutorial is the first I have created using this powerful software.  Honestly, I only recorded the tutorial, and the graduate student edited the content.  Last week I uploaded it to TeacherTube with the title: Research Success for Graduate Students. Again, this tutorial is a bit lengthy.  It seems that students prefer short, brief tutorials, so who know how many will even look at it.  Hopefully, the conscientious graduate students will watch and benefit from viewing it.

Are screencasts worth doing?  Have you benefited from viewing screencasts?  Do you create screencasts yourself?  Please share what you do and why.

I still need to read the article "Do Screencasts Really Work?"  If you have read this article, please comment on it.  Do you agree?

Digital Atlas of Idaho: Idaho's Natural History Online

Allow me to highlight a neat resource focused on the natural history of Idaho.  Digital Atlas of Idaho: Idaho's Natural History Online--Find maps, histories, and information about geologic features, archeological digs, canal systems, precipitation patterns, and amphibians of Idaho climatology.  Take a look at it.  There's a lot to explore.

The Idaho Museum of Natural History, which is located on the Idaho State University campus in Pocatello, Idaho, USA, has created this helpful resource.  One of the strong programs at ISU is its geology and geosciences program.  The area is rich in geological variety, considering that the hot spot that make the Yellowstone geysers a reality used to reside under eastern Idaho.  In fact, lava flows of only 2,000 years ago can be seen all across the Snake River Valley.

Information Literacy: Valuable for Both Lower- and Upper-division Undergraduates

Here's a message I shared on the Information-literacy and instruction listserv.  Thought it might be good to share on my blog:

Information literacy should not be placed solely in the lower-division, undergraduate courses.  They should be integrated into the upper-division courses, where students should be learning about the resources, evaluation methods, and legal uses of information specific to their field of study.

One of my colleagues who recently served on the Curriculum Council succeeded in pitching the idea of information literacy.  In fact, with the recent campus move to update and improve our general education requirements, the committee added an information-literacy component to the list of desired student learning outcomes.  According to the GenEd Revision Committee, each Idaho State University student ought to "locate relevant sources and use them critically and responsibly."

Now we need to create a one-credit course to help students fulfill this objective.  We are working to collaborate with departments, so that appropriate courses already in the catalog may include information-literacy components.  Hopefully, we can teach the teachers and help them teach their students to become information literate in their fields.  In other words, we like the idea of courses in the major requiring information-literacy components.

We are also working to get a librarian on the correct committee that oversees the GenEd program to ensure that any courses designated as an IL course do indeed incorporate IL components.

If you have ideas on creating IL courses, becoming embedded in upper-division courses, and working with departments, please continue to share on this listserv.  I've been searching the archives.

For any who are interested, below are some links to our GenEd revisions and outcomes:

• Revised Objectives and Outcomes for General Education Literacy
• General Education Requirements

Thank you for letting me share what I consider a success, though it is just the beginning for us.

Oboler Library Room 212

Jardines in 2010 029,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

We have two instruction rooms in our Library. One has 26 computer workstations that allow for hands-on practice and live demonstration (we have Vision software that allows us to broadcast what we are doing at the instructor's station to all the other stations). It has a projector, screen, whiteboard, moveable blackboard, bulletin boards, handout cupboard, and ELMO. These have all been useful for instruction. This room (#212) gets used the most for instruction, because librarians like to let students practice and develop their searching and accessing skills.

Take a look in Flickr to see the photostream with more photos of our instruction rooms.

Oboler Library Room 266

Jardines in 2010 035,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

This instruction room (#266) has an instructor station, projector, screen, whiteboard, a big-screen TV, tables, and chairs that seat a little over 30 individuals. It's more of a lecture room, but we have also used it for teleconferences (College of DuPage). We do have a piece of art work or two in each classroom as well.

We like having two instruction rooms; it allows for more flexibility as far as library instruction and scheduling goes. It also doubles as a meeting room for librarians and for a presentation room when vendors come and want to show us their products.

Finding Dissertations & Theses

In the last two months I have been working on a tutorial that incorporates an audio component. The Instructional Technology Resource Center or ITRC helped me download Adobe Presenter software, which allows me to add audio to a PowerPoint Presentation. They allow faculty and staff on campus to publish these audio presentations to their servers.

It really was not as difficult as I feared that it would be. I created a tutorial on finding dissertations and theses at Idaho State University: http://breeze1.isu.edu/dissertations. It begins with a brief overview of the the ProQuest database, Dissertations and Theses--A&I, which can really be a useful source for finding graduate studies on all kinds of subjects. Abstracts and full citations appear with other information, such as the names of committee members. They also provide options for purchasing a copy in various formats, beginning at $34.00. It is a good place to start when doing graduate research and discovering research that has already been done, so you do not duplicate your efforts.

Then I go through the steps of securing a dissertation via Interlibrary Loan. Colleagues in the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department like to emphasize that a thesis or dissertation is considered a book, and requestors need to remember this.

Not all institutions allow their theses and dissertations to be borrowed; however, researchers do have the opportunity to purchase a copy through the Dissertation Service. They just need to fill out a Purchase a Thesis/Dissertation Form. A photocopy of the book will be made and sent to the proper persons; their university account will be billed $29.00.

Finally, I conclude the tutorial with tips on how to found in-house theses and dissertations at ISU's Oboler Library. The Library's catalog still serves as a great tool (and probably the only tool) for browsing ISU's theses and dissertations online. Using keywords such as "thesis 'idaho state'" will allow anyone to browse all the theses and dissertations. It so happens that even for the dissertations the keyword "thesis" works, since the bibliographic record contains a note, saying it is a "Thesis" for a doctoral degree, or a doctoral thesis.

If grad students or faculty want to limit the results to a specific department, then they can just add the name of that department to the Keyword Boolean or Quick search: "thesis 'idaho state' anthropology." This will retrieve more results than a search on the subject heading. For example, "Dissertations, Academic--Idaho State University. Dept. of Political Science" will only retrieve 21 results, yet a Keyword Boolean search for "thesis and 'idaho state' and 'political science'" will yield 60 results. The subject headings are still relatively new, so if you also want the older titles written by former students I recommend this second search.

The tutorial, "How Can I Find Dissertations: Using ISU's Resources to Conduct More Exhaustive Research" lasts for twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds (12:32). Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

Oboler Library ca. 1975

Oboler Lib ca. 1975_2,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

Here's a photos of construction on the Eli M. Oboler Library about 1975. It was completed in 1977 and ready to be open for the Fall semester in August of that year.

Library Art

Library Art4,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

Works of art have been donated to the Oboler Library through the years. Some of the pieces, though, originate from the University's collection of art, including works from former graduate students. This work of art does not include a title, and the artist's signature in the lower right is not easily legible.

During the month of November works of art have been hanging in the Current Display area. Afterwards they will be sent back to other locations in the Library.

Book Sale Prices

Family in Poky 009,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

Here's a photo with the prices. It looks like hardbacks sold for $3.00 on the first day and $1.50 the second day. Paperbacks sold for $1 the first day and 50 cents the second day. I managed to find a children's book about the Nativity told entirely with pictures of Gothic sculptures from the outside of a cathedral in France.

Anyone can donate books to the Oboler Library. We also have a Book Swap rack where individuals may bring a book in exchange for one on the rack.

Library Book Sale

Family in Poky 010,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

Every other year the Oboler Library has a book sale. Usually, the books have been donated to the Library, and a bibliographer has determined that we already have a copy or we do not need that book for our collection. The money made from the book sale goes back into purchasing more books for our Library. We sold books for two days. The first hour or two was the busiest, as it seemed that local book sellers came to buy as much as they could. They knew what they wanted and would dump them into boxes. The first day each book was a dollar and then the second day they were fifty cents, if I remember correctly. It seems that the paperbacks were sold for less than the hardbacks.

Recently, the Library has begun a continuous book sale. A stand of books are always for sale near the Circulation Desk. I have heard that it is going rather well. I frequently see people looking at the books available.

Arrrrgh! Come to the Library!

Pirate2,
originally uploaded by Ref & Ins.

A year ago we had a theme of finding buried treasure at the Library, so I dressed up as a pirate for the white-tent event. We gave away brochures and pens. I did have to almost grab people to get their attention. Most students thought it was fun, and a few wanted to take pictures with me.

We rented the hat, boots, and shirt from a local rental place, but most of the paraphernalia came from Library colleagues. We bought the eye patch and the parrot from the rental place.