Collaborative Information Literacy Assessments: Strategies for Evaluating Teaching and Learning

Citation

Ellis‐Barrett, L. (2011), "Collaborative Information Literacy Assessments: Strategies for Evaluating Teaching and Learning", Library Review, Vol. 60 No. 2, pp. 163-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531111113113

Teaching and learning are fundamental to any educational setting and the dual activities of teachers and information providers are recognised as complementary and indeed mutually beneficial. Collaboration between these factions has, for many years, been seen as “a nice idea”; rather, it is a core activity crucial for improving the value of library services, personnel and instruction as well as ensuring that faculties gain the best possible benefit from an in‐house and valuable resource.

Impetus to work in collaboration may come from information providers in institutions with information literacy programmes. The strategies outlined in this volume reflect just this practice, all having been written by the teams who carried out information literacy programmes and courses. They cover a wider range of disciplines including business, political science, education, adult learning and the humanities. Each looks in detail at the comprehensive strategy formed in order to work collaboratively, from establishing what the students want to learn to measuring outcomes. The joint role of faculty and librarian becomes clear through the case studies and it is easy to see why it is a valuable one.

Beginning with business courses and progressing through social sciences and education – including the integration of the library, information literacy and adult learning – there are also chapters on the humanities. Whilst these are the focal areas of the case studies, the book aims to be an adaptable resource, accessible to information professionals and course providers alike. It considers work done at foundation, under‐graduate and post‐graduate levels alongside strategies used in the USA and the UK, in order to give a broad overview of best practice. Perhaps, most importantly, it assesses the success of each programme in order to help develop them for future use.

Each case study comes complete with relevant findings, graphs and tables showing the progress of students, rigorous assessment of the courses delivered and appendices where relevant. There are also bibliographies of further reading on particular subjects.

The information environment is becoming increasingly complex around the world and it is this which is driving the need to ensure students, researchers, academics and their faculties work with trained information professionals in order to ensure they are gaining the most accurate and useful materials as well as knowledge. Innovation is key to the success of such collaborations. Although a big challenge, the case studies provided in this book illustrate successful outcomes and enhanced study experiences for students. The variety of methods and pathways used and examined in this book show that there is a considerable flexibility to the approach, benefits can be considerable and one can hope that the remaining barriers to collaboration will begin to be broken down.

Firmly based on experience in the real world, this is a practical book packed with useful ideas and evidence of successful practice. It is a tool for encouraging collaboration and a resource of tried and tested methods. A must‐have for information professionals in higher education desiring to do the very best for their institution and above all their students.