The Care and Feeding of Information Literacy for Lifelong Health Carol Franck SUNYLA June 6, 2002

Facts of Life “Good” Information Literacy programs do not yet exist on most campuses Any change to the status quo is political Politics = People Ergo, cultivating people is critical to establishing a successful program

The Managed Care Plan What are your goals What is your time frame What procedures must you follow –Paperwork –People –committees Public Relations

Program Goals The ultimate vision Stakeholders Participation Time frame Implementation Assessment

Timing Planning time Procedural hoop-jumping time Training time Pilot time Full implementation

Procedures: Paperwork Doing your homework –What does it take to get a course approved? –Is it the same for experimental courses? –What does it take to get a program approved? –How does General Education work on your campus? –What avenues exist to require a course?

Procedures: Paperwork Who needs to sign what forms to make things happen? And in what order? Can you use existing courses/programs to advance your agenda? What seemingly minor details may have significant impacts? (i.e. the publishing timetable of the course schedule)

Procedures: People - librarians What role do librarians play on your campus? How connected/influential is the Library Director? How informed is the Library Director with what you are attempting to achieve? How well connected are other librarians to campus influential bodies (individuals or groups)

Procedures: People - you What groups do you sit on? Which decision makers do you have regular contact with? Who are the living glue among the faculty who hold campus committee structure together? How can you connect with them? What outside influences can you bring to bear?

Procedures: Committees Recognize that all committee work serves as people connectors. It’s not just what you do, it’s who you know. Consider all potentially relevant committees (Faculty Senate, General Education..., but also Teaching and Learning, Orientation,…) Prioritize a committee’s value to your goals Enlist the aid of the dominant stakeholders

Public Relations Tell more people more than they want to know and do so on a regular basis. Keep all critical stakeholders informed at key decision points Make as many people stakeholders as possible

Oh yeah…Students! The DOMINANT stakeholder the ultimate argument the least interested in your cause Be sure your program covers their needs

The Potsdam Experience Goal To build a coordinated and developmental program of Information Literacy which reaches all students at both a general introductory level and also within the context of their chosen disciplines.

The Potsdam Experience Objective One To provide instruction in basic Information Literacy skills/concepts that is flexible, assessable, and reduces duplication on the part of the student, and to do so early on in their college career.

The Potsdam Experience Objective Two To incorporate advanced and discipline specific Information Literacy skills/concepts within the required courses for each major with comparable assessment criteria across majors.

SUNY Potsdam - Background Standing on the shoulders of giants - Rebecca Thompson Strong General Education program Faculty senate strong and significant in campus governance/leadership Administrative and campus support for information literacy

SUNY Potsdam - Background Two campus-wide workshops on crafting a local definition of Information Literacy General Education chair participant in the ACRL Institute for Information Literacy Various committees on the First Year Experience at SUNY Potsdam Librarians VERY active across campus

SUNY Potsdam - Current Learning communities Chair of the First Year Experience subcommittee of the General Education committee BlackBoard campus Middle States focus on information literacy and assessment

SUNY Potsdam - Future BlackBoard tutorials cover basic skills/concepts Coordinated face-to-face sessions within learning communities and required courses. Use Middle States and SUNY requirements for assessment of disciplines/majors to incorporate advanced IL issues.

Contact Information This presentation can be found at: www2.potsdam.edu/franckcr/SUNYLA