ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 78 / C&RL News ■ February 2004 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s news New ways to integrate inform ation literacy by Claudia Ruediger and Sally Neal H o w d o w e e x te n d th e lib ra iy ’s reach? We k n o w th a t w h e n stu d en ts are w o rk in g o n assignm ents a n d projects, m ore likely th a n n th e y w ill tu rn to th e ir p e e rs fo r help . S tudents su rv ey ed in a re c e n t stu d y re p o rte d tu rn in g to friends o r classmates 6 l percent o f the time w h e n th e y n e e d e d h e lp u sin g th e W eb.1 Let’s face it, librarians are n ot our students’ first pick! O ur cam­ p u se s are a h u b b u b o f stu d en t interaction, a lit­ eral social soup, yet librarians often stand o n the sidelines. By venturing out o f the library and jump­ ing into the soup, w e can tap into the daily lives of students a n d g ro w n e w w ays for th e m to get to k n o w us, the library, a n d the library’s resources. Campus liv in g units as n e tw o rks A cross cam p u s, d o w n th e ro ad , o r n e x t to th e library, there are vibrant cam pus com m unities li­ brarians seldom enter; these are the cam pus resi­ dence halls and living units. They are our students’ hom es. M any college students, particularly first- y ear students, live in cam pus housing. Students sp en d a lot o f time there sleeping, eating, socializ­ ing, W eb surfing, a n d yes, studying. In a sense, cam pus housing forms die basis for informal learn­ ing co m m u n ities a n d offers librarians a n o ften u n ta p p e d op p o rtu n ity to w eav e th e library a n d basic information literacy skills into students’ daily lives. o R esidence life program s often guide a cam ­ p u s’ total residential environm ent: from housing t,t o program m ing to community building. Enhanc­ ing acad em ic g ro w th is freq u en tly p a rt o f their m ission, so it is n o t u n u su al to find student-staff w h o live in the residence halls and living units and h av e so m e ty p e o f p e e r m en to r o r p e e r advisor responsibilities. These students might b e academic m entors in predominandy fist-year student dorms or students in charge o f program m ing o r com m u­ nity building for a particular floor, o r scholarship chairs in G reek housing. W hatever their exact role o r tide, these students are part o f the daily social milieu o f o u r students’ cam pus lives. T hey are in influential positions a n d are part o f a natural stu­ d en t netw ork librarians can tap. Using s tu d e n t n etw o rks: An e x a m p le program D u rin g th e su m m e r o f 2000, th e n librarians at D e P a u w U niversity (a M id w estern liberal arts school o f approxim ately 2,100 students), w e b e ­ g a n to investigate w ays to m o re fully integrate inform ation literacy opportunities into d ie daily lives a n d activities o f o u r students. W ith th e pro ­ liferation o f online resources a n d easy cam p u s­ w ide access to these resources, w e recognized that m a n y stu d en ts still cam e to th e library, b u t in a virtu al c o n tex t. We w a n te d stu d e n ts to k n o w About the authors Claudia R u e d ig e r is c o o rd in a to r o f lib ra ry in s tru c tio n a t S ou th e a st M isso uri State U niversity's K e n t Library, e-m ail: cruediger@ semo.edu a n d Sally Neal is a m e m b e r o f th e science, e n g in ee rin g a n d technology, a n d nursing team a t the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis University Library, e-mail: sarneal@iupui.edu © 2004 Claudia Ruedigerand Sally Neal Tapping into student netw orks mailto:cruediger@semo.edu mailto:sarneal@iupui.edu C&RL News ■ February 2004 / 79 th e re w e re real librarians th ey co u ld call on, a n d w e w a n te d to give th e m an op p o rtu n ity to g et to k n o w us. We initially th o u g h t, if stu d en ts co u ld get to k n o w us personally, th en they w o u ld m ore lik e ly fe e l c o m fo rta b le calling o n u s— th e e x ­ p e rts— in tim e o f n e e d . R einforcing th a t th e li­ brary offered th em m an y helpful services a n d re­ so u rc e s w a s obviously a n o th e r goal. O u r initial id ea w a s sim ply to offer w o rk sh o p s a n d drop-in sessions in th e residence halls, w h e re th e v e n u e w o u ld b e m o re informal a n d co nvenient for stu­ dents. R e sid e n c e Life staffs, w e le a rn e d , a re c o n ­ sta n tly lo o k in g for w ay s to e n h a n c e a c a d e m ic p ro g ra m m in g in cam p u s housing. As w e talk ed a n d e x c h a n g e d id e a s w ith o u r o w n c a m p u s staff, th e d ir e c to r o f h o u s in g a n d r e s id e n c e life a n d th e assistant d irector o f R esidence Life, w e n o tic e d a n a d d e d b e n e fit. T w o u n its th a t ra re ly in te ra c t, th e lib rary a n d r e s id e n c e life, w e re g e ttin g to k n o w e a c h o th e r a n d le a rn in g m o re a b o u t e a c h o th er’s resources a n d services. Residence Life w as also able to help us gain som e in sig h t a b o u t o u r stu dents, su c h as acq u irin g a b e tte r u n d e rsta n d in g o f their study habits. W ith th eir assistance, w e crafted a p ro g ram g e a re d to the n uances o f o u r o w n on-campus students. Resi­ d e n c e Life p itch ed in an d gave u s so m e real nuts a n d b o lts h e lp , s u c h as d o in g pu b licity fo r o u r program m ing. This saved us time a n d capitalized o n th eir stu d e n t savvy. T h ey w e re b e tte r ab le to target publicity, know ing w here to hang flyers and w h e n to s e n d o u t e-mail distributions. Residence Life, w e discovered, is a w o n d erfu l library cam ­ p u s partner, w ith w h o m librarians share som e key com plem entary interests. W e d e c id e d to focus o u r atte n tio n o n first- y e a r students. To su p p o rt this n e w program m ing id e a , R e sid e n c e Life p a ir e d u s w ith th e ir A ca­ d em ic P e e r Assistant P rogram (APA). A cadem ic P e e r Assistants (APAs) are “.. .upper-class student leaders w h o live in the residence halls an d seive as acad em ic resources a n d m entors to first-year stu­ d e n ts.”2 T heir role w as to create a supportive liv­ ing a n d learning community in the residence halls. APAs b e c a m e a n in teg ral p a rt o f o u r o u tre a c h programming, providing publicity, attending w ork­ sh o p s, a n d m o st im portantly, sew in g as train ed p e e rs a b le to assist fellow students w ith basic li­ brary a n d research information n eeds at th e point o f n e e d , w h e th e r it b e m idnight o r 8 a.m. Sunday morning. D u rin g APA train in g w e e k p rio r to th e fall se m e ste r, w e m e t w ith th e APAs a n d p ro v id e d th e m ad d itio n al h a n d s-o n training in th e u s e o f the library’s W eb site an d resources, so they w ould b e better p re p a re d to serve as a resource to o th er students. These training sessions also provided the APAs tim e to g e t to k n o w us. A dditionally, w e h a d ju st c re a te d a virtual lib rary to u r g e a re d to concerns a n d n e e d s o f first-year students, a n d the APAs w e re also in tro d u c e d to th a t tool. T h e vir­ tual to u r b ec a m e a valuable resource APAs could u se a n d suggest to fellow students. O n c e th e fall s e m e s te r g o t u n d e rw a y , w e o ffe re d in fo rm a l d r o p - in s e s s io n s in th e re s i­ d e n c e h a lls ’ c o m p u te r labs. T h e g o a l o f th e s e s e s s io n s w a s to in tr o d u c e s tu d e n ts to lib ra r­ ia n s, th e lib ra ry as a p h y s ic a l s p a c e , a n d th e m e c h a n ic s o f accessin g a h a n d fu l o f c o re elec­ tro n ic r e s o u rc e s . T h e to o l u s e d in th e s e s e s ­ s io n s w a s th e v irtu a l lib ra ry to u r. T h u s, b o th lib r a r ia n s a n d th e APAs u s e d th e s a m e to o l, reinforcing its u sefu ln ess a n d relev an ce to first- y e a r s tu d e n ts . T h e d r o p - in s e s s io n s w e r e o f­ fe re d a t v a rio u s tim es o f th e d a y a n d e v e n in g . T h ro u g h o u t th e acad em ic year, w e k e p t in co n ­ ta c t w ith b o t h t h e R e s id e n c e Life d ir e c to r s a n d th e APAs via p e rs o n a l c o n ta c t a n d e-m ail. T h is o n g o in g c o n ta c t o f f e r e d th e APAs s u p ­ p o rt a n d g a v e u s fe e d b a c k . W h ile th e d ro p -in se ssio n s e n d e d u p n o t b e in g as w e ll-a tte n d e d as w e h a d h o p e d , th e re la tio n sh ip fo rg e d w ith th e APAs p ro v e d to b e a w o rth w h ile en d eav o r, alb eit short-lived. B o th a u th o rs a c c e p te d p o si­ tio n s a t o th e r in s titu tio n s a n d th e p ro je c t w a s n o t c a rrie d b e y o n d its first year. W h e n w e left, Strengths of the initiative • G oing to th e students. • T raining a co re g ro u p o f stu d en ts w h o c a n th e n direct their peers. • A llow ing a g ro u p o f stu d e n ts to g e t to k n o w librarians o n a m o re p erso n al level so they can pro m o te u s informally to peers. • Students c a n leam from each o th er a n d b e library ambassadors. • Peer assistance. • Giving students instruction a n d tools to help each other. • Students have a n accessible p e e r contact w ith in their o w n co m m u n ity to tu rn to c o n ­ cerning library questions. • S tu d e n ts a s c o n d u i t s f o r a ttitu d e s , ideas, a n d inform ation a b o u t th e library a n d librarians. 80 / C&RL News ■ February 2004 w e lo o k e d a t w ay s to b rin g this p ro g ra m to o u r n e w institutions a n d c o n tin u e to im p ro v e u p o n the concept. A d a p tin g th e p ro g ra m T h e p ro g ram w e d e v elo p ed at D eP au w is ad ap t­ a b le to o th e r institutions. At o n e o f o u r p re s e n t institutions, S outheast M issouri State University, a g ro u p o f stu d en ts sim ilar to APAs called Com ­ m u n ity A dvisors (CAs) w a s easily identified. At Southeast, a cam p u s o f approxim ately 9,000 stu­ dents, CAs serve a very supportive role. A nd like m a n y o th e r institutions, m o st first-year stu d en ts at S outheast live o n cam pus. T he CAs are undergraduate students w h o live o n each residence hall floor a n d act as resources, facilitate stu d en t developm ent, a n d provide p ro ­ gram m ing “. . . for stu d en t education a n d interac­ tion.”3 Again this is a g ro u p o f influential students w h o are part o f the daily social sp h ere of students living in th e re s id e n c e halls. R e sid e n c e Life at Southeast w e lc o m e d interaction w ith the library. At ap p ro x im ately 75 students, th e size o f th e CA g ro u p m a k e s d e v e lo p in g a p ro g ra m a b it m o re challenging, b u t it w as still fairly easy to arrange a brief training a n d discussion session w ith th e CAs during their training w e e k in th e su m m er o f 2002 a n d to k e e p in contact w ith th em th ro u g h o u t the sc h o o l year. As w ith th e APAs at D e P a u w , th e CAs w e re also in tro d u ced to a n onlin e tool— the K ent Library W alking T our—th a t th e y co u ld u se a n d refer fellow stu d en ts to 7A/7. Benefits T a p p in g in to a natu ral stu d e n t social sp a c e a n d netw ork, such as cam pus living units, can o p e n u p n e w w ay s for librarians to integrate inform ation literacy in to o u r s tu d e n ts ’ daily lives a n d activi­ ties. C reating a relatio n sh ip w ith a g ro u p o f stu­ dents w h o are e n g ag ed in m entoring roles in resi­ d e n c e halls is o f particular value. T hese students are w ell-p o sitio n ed to influence o th e r students, from h o w they view th e library to w h a t resources they u se w h e n w orking o n class assignm ents an d projects. T hey serve dual roles, as b o th a p e e r an d a leader, particularly in relatio n to first-year stu­ dents, a n d have access to fellow students in w ays lib ra ry in stru c tio n p ro g ra m s sim p ly d o no t. Partnering w ith o th er cam pus units, su ch as Resi­ d ence Life, can enhance library integration o n cam­ puses large a n d small. T hey can help us in num er­ ou s w ays to un derstand o u r students, enabling us to sh a p e program s a n d activities to su it th e w a y o u r s tu d e n ts live. Notes 1. OCLC O n lin e C o m p u te r Library C enter, Inc., “H o w A cad em ic Librarians C an In flu en ce S tu d e n ts ’ W e b -B a se d In fo rm a tio n C h o ic e s ,” OCLC White Paper on the Inform ation Habits o f Col­ lege S tu d e n ts (Ju n e 2002), w w w 5 .o c lc .o r g / d o w n lo a d s/c o m m u n ity /in fo rm a tio n h a b its .p d f (accessed January 2004). 2. “A cadem ic P e e r Assistants,” (D eP au w Uni­ versity, Residence Life, 2003), w w w .d e p a u w .e d u / student/housing/apa.asp (accessed January 2004). 3. “W elcom e to living o n cam pus! C o m m u ­ nity A dvisors,” (S outheast Missouri State U niver­ sity, Office o f Residence Life, 2003), www 4.sem o. e d u /re s life /N o rth _ C A .h tm (a c c e s s e d J a n u a r y 2004). ■ ( “B u ild in g f a c u l t y ...” c o n tin u e d f r o m p a g e 76) • Information w ork is becoming m ore and more com petitive. • Librarians a n d teachers m u st m ark et th e m ­ selves aggressively as information experts. • In fo rm a tio n is a c o m m o d ity a n d m u s t b e h a n d le d like a valuable product. • T eachers a n d trainers m u st b e c o n tin u o u s learners. • Effective teach in g uses learning o u tco m es a n d behavioral goals. • G o o d teaching is b ased o n student need. • In fo rm atio n skills m u st b e in te g ra te d into th e curriculum a n d taught incrementally. • T eachers a n d librarians m u st w o rk w ith ac­ crediting a n d education agencies a n d curriculum planners to ensure that inform ation skills becom e a req u ired c o m p o n e n t o f th e curriculum . Conclusion This is a brief sum m ary o f th e chan g in g p h ilo so ­ phy, w h ich will predom inate in academ ic a n d re­ search en v iro n m en ts o f th e future. T h e future is h a rd to d efin e a n d p la n n in g is difficult b e c a u se chan g es are occurring rapidly. A cadem ic a n d re ­ s e a rc h libraries w ill c o n tin u e to b e th e c e n te rs w ithin universities if th e y offer u p -to -d ate infor­ m atio n environm ents a n d efficient access to an y k in d o f information, address u ser needs, a n d take a le a d e rsh ip ro le in training th e university co m ­ m unity in efficient a n d effective infonnation h a n ­ dling. This is n o t th e tim e for academ ic librarians to b e tim id o r to w a it p a tie n tly fo r n e w d e v e lo p ­ m ents. O n th e contrary, it is th e tim e for th e m to becom e aggressive and dynamic participants in the ( c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 8 3 ) www5.oclc.org/ http://www.depauw.edu/