Great Expectations: Results from a Faculty Survey of Students' Information Literacy Proficiency

Abstract

In the fall of 2012, our library surveyed teaching faculty to gauge their expectations around students’ use of information. We asked instructors what they thought was important for students to know in each year of study, how proficient they felt students were in performing tasks associated with research, how they expected students to acquire that proficiency, and how they assessed students’ skills. The survey also polled faculty on the types of resources they felt were important for each year of study. The results of the study are informing the development of the library’s strategic plan and the inclusion of information literacy outcomes in program reviews and assessments. The good news is that faculty perceived that students’ information skills developed over time. Other patterns in the data suggest areas for improvement, both in raising awareness of some information resources and in developing instruction around key skills. Few faculty placed much importance on students’ use of subject encyclopedias, the mainstay of many reference collections. Faculty also felt that students, particularly in first and second year, were not skilled in determining what information they needed, a step we may often skip in the struggle to include yet more resources in our instruction. The data also suggest where the library might intervene to address areas where faculty consider that students lack proficiency.

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