I love the ideas espoused in this article from George Mason University, The Learning Library in Context: Community, Integration, and Influence. While the college or university library is often described as the "heart of campus," the article describes how the arteries and veins of this heart can intertwine themselves with the entire campus and the academic curriculum.  The library "pumps blood" into the efforts to instill in students the critical thinking and lifelong learning skills that colleges and universities aim to help students develop.

Some pertinent quotes (emphases mine):

"Rather than an external "add on" to the educational experience, the library, as information resource and gateway, is a primary catalyst for cognitive, behavioral, and affective changes in students -- as they interact with information resources as directed by faculty, as they complete assignments and study with peers, [...] seeking connections and making meaning in more self-directed ways.  The learning library, rather than a repository of materials or a study hall, is therefore an agency of change in students' lives" (124).

"In the Vygotskian sense, the learning library is the constructivist laboratory for students to make their own meanings, but only by moving through a series of 'zones of proximal development' with research strategies and information sources and with the coaching and guidance of more knowledgeable others"(124).


"Because of the continually changing nature of information access[...] students need a conceptual foundation for research. This approach fosters the underlying processes, mainly critical thinking and problem solving, that allow them to adapt to new situations" (129).

Old IL Instruction Videos

These old videos are delightfully nostalgic:

http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-information-literacy-videos-online.html

Aside from the dated content, I find it especially astonishing that the videos are 10-20 minutes in length!!  Can you imagine a student today sitting for that long to watch these??  (And maybe they didn't even back then...)

Project Information Literacy

Just came across an excellent research project, Project Information Literacy, that is currently being conducted to fill in some of the gaps in our understandings of how young adult college students conduct research and engage with information technology and social media. Their latest report, Balancing Act: How College Students Manage Technology While in the Library During Crunch Time (Oct. 2011) is excellent.  It really gives an intimate snapshot of how today's students are using library spaces and resources, technology, social media and sources on the Web for academic as well as social purposes. Very eye-opening, and even encouraging. The report is long, but very readable, with lots of charts that make it easy to skim through the information, so I highly recommend taking the time to look at it. (Another nice feature: the authors have put their methodology information at the end of the report, so you can read the really interesting stuff first.)