For several years, I taught a course at the university level which took
students through the research process, introduced them to a university
library, and gave them the framework for knowing how to evaluate resources.
The course was for juniors and seniors in college, and every one of them
said that they wished they had taken such a course as freshmen. The
students who took my course were usually faced with the task of completing a
senior thesis. This was a daunting task for them when they felt inadequate
to complete their regular research papers. I think that even if we do our
jobs at the K-12 level, there needs to be something in an undergrad's
introduction to a university that will move them to that level of
research--not to mention helping them to just get over the shock of using
the Library of Congress system as opposed to the Dewey Decimal System.
Shirley Lukenbill, Librarian
Wooldridge Elementary, Austin (TX) ISD
and Lecturer, School of Information
University of Texas at Austin
sluken@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of SBrisco
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 9:16 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: [LM_NET] Information Literacy Article...again
If you thought that we were "alone" in our frustration and unsure just how
this professor could assume that college students already knew everything
when students started their research assignments.... never fear!
As I "lurk" on the Information Literacy Instruction listserv (which is
monitored primarily by university and college librarians.... who are banging
their heads against the wall as they try to instruct those students who
somehow missed the instructional process that would have allowed them to do
any research assignment using Google --- thus bypassing the library), I am
reading MANY university research librarians' responses to the article--- and
they agree with our evaluation of the situation.... (it's so nice to see the
"big librarians" saying the same things we say!).
Obviously, we are not wrong...and yes, the students DO come into the
university libraries without an idea of where to go for their research---
they don't know what a scholarly journal is, they can't limit their search
topics, they don't know how to locate journals with articles that contain
the information they need, and they haven't even started the writing
process....which is where the librarian "should be assisting"...according
the author.
Yes, there are people out there who echo our frustrations.... No, we are
not alone!
By the way, I think it's humorous that the list contains comment after
comment about the frustrations / examples of students NOT knowing how to do
research / use the library....and scattered throughout the list are job
openings for "information literacy librarians" being taken by universities
and colleges around the nation---obviously, there's still a need even at the
university level for instruction in this area!
Let's keep doing what we're doing....
~Shonda Brisco
TVS MS / US Librarian
Fort Worth, TX
sbrisco021@charter.net
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