TITLE: Teaching Information Literacy: 50 Standards-Based Exercises for College Students
AUTHOR: Joanna M. Burkhardt, Mary C. MacDonald, and Andree J. Rathemacher
STARTED: February 2, 2011
FINISHED: March 14, 2011
PAGES: 140
GENRE: Library Science
FIRST SENTENCE: [From the Preface] Since the first edition of this book was published, in 2003, the world has continued on its path toward digitization and electronic communication.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] This second edition covers 50 exercises (up from 35) and includes two new chapters—“What Is Information?” (chapter 2) and “Assessment” (chapter 11). For the most part, chapter progression mirrors the sequence of a typical information literacy course, starting with “Getting Ready for Research” and moving through “Books and Catalogs,” “Periodicals and Databases,” and “The Web and Scholarly Research.” For each exercise, the authors provide a goal, a description, and tips for conducting the exercise. They also cite applicable ACRL “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, Standards, Performance Indicators, and Outcomes.” Especially useful, chapter 10, “The Paper Trail Project,” details a 15-week information literacy assignment that includes a description, grading rubric (new to this edition), student time line, and a nine-page sample project (updated to “Sex Trafficking”). Highly useful for both beginning and advanced college and university instruction librarians. THOUGHTS: This book (more workout actually) got the brain hamsters spinning their wheels. The authors have created a guide book for those who teach information literacy to college students. While I think some of the exercises are too basic and/or hokey, most of the information in this book is incredibly valuable. Reading this book really made me want to get back in the classroom and teach a semester long course on information literacy. Too often, college students think they know enough to conduct research. This book provides a step-by-step framework to teaching important information skills. Additionally, I appreciate how the authors linked their exercises to the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards.
This book is definitely a niche read, but it does a fine job of explaining how and why we should teach information literacy in higher education.
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
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