Delaware Technical & Community College Libraries


Information Literacy




Faculty-Librarian Shared Responsibilities
Tutorials & Other Resources
Library Information Literacy Guidelines for Rubrics


What is Information Literacy?

Information literacy is defined as a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."1, 2
(American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Final Report.)
(Chicago: American Library Association, 1989.)

Middle States and Information Literacy

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, our accrediting body, has defined information literacy as an intellectual framework for identifying, finding, understanding, evaluating and using information.3 For faculty, it can serve as an outline for improving the various expectations for student learning at the institution, program and classroom levels.

Information Literacy at Delaware Tech

The librarians recently revised the Core Curriculum Competency (CCC) pertaining to information literacy. CCC Number 5 now states that students will be able to "apply appropriate information literacy skills to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively."
(Approved, Deans of Instruction, February 2004)

Information Literacy Components

Information literacy has six main components and goals, as described by Middle States and based on the Association of College and Research Libraries Standards, for students to achieve during their first year in college. These goals would be reasonable for a community college student.
(Please refer to the Faculty-Librarian Shared Responsibilities Table)

Faculty - Librarian Collaboration

Collaboration between faculty and librarians is essential to the student's development of information literacy skills. The most efficient way for this learning process to take place is through the integration of information literacy into the curriculum. Both the faculty and librarians share in the responsibility of student learning. The breakdown of responsibility for the components of information literacy is displayed in the Faculty-Librarian Shared Responsibilities Table.

The libraries may offer tours as well as hands-on instruction orientation sessions, so check with your campus library to see what might be available. Contact the following librarians at the various campuses to request instruction sessions.

  • Owens:
 Mary Sue Drugash 856-9033 X1604 mdrugash@dtcc.edu
  • Stanton:
 Aurelia Simon 454-3970 asimon4@dtcc.edu
  • Terry:
 Margaret R. Prouse 857-1060 mprouse@dtcc.edu
  • Wilmington:
 Karene Chester 573-5426 deloatch@dtcc.edu

Please be sure to mention whether you are interested in a general or course-related session. It is helpful if students come with a topic in mind but this is not necessary.


Notes:



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Last revised: 5/2008
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