Librarians and Engineering Faculty: Partnership Opportunities in Information Literacy and Ethics Instruction Alice J Trussell Kansas State University Presented at: 25 th Annual IATUL Conference: Library Management in a Changing Environment Kraków, Poland May 31, 2004

Introduction—a quick survey Librarians have tradition of patron service Information literacy is essential Patrons are changing Where are accreditation standards headed? We can assist faculty in meeting accreditation standards Let’s examine converging factors

Librarians and Engineering Education Engineering education itself is changing –Accreditation standards changing –Closer relationships with partner corporations –Students from more variable background Librarians: traditional warehoused system –“Just in case” paradigm –Library instruction paper & object based –Parameters well defined

Librarians and Engineering Education –Con’t Electronic Access: expanded information gateways Patron expectations skyrocket Librarians organizing the world of information High potential for patron information confusion

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology: North America ABET 2000 Criterion #3 Engineering Programs must demonstrate that their graduates have… An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility Each program must include an assessment program

ABET 2000 Criterion # 4 Students must be prepared for engineering practice… Incorporate economic, manufacturability, ethical, et.al.

Role of the Engineering Librarian as collaborators Librarians have the necessary information utilization skills Librarian can be a neutral party for collaboration, partnering Librarian mediate electronic interface Emerging roles as content developers Instruction

Information Literacy …critical thinking skills Recognize when information is needed Locate, evaluate & use information effectively Understand the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and use the information ethically and legally (ACRL).

Today’s Student Millennial students are different (Newton) More general knowledge, but less experience in exploring a subject in depth Technical mastery not equal to critical thinking They don’t “know all that stuff” (Weiler). Values gap: cut and paste plagiarism The internet is “free” & “public” information Skills can be embedded into curricula

The Global Perspective Engineering and engineers becoming more mobile Accreditation and licensing standards now relevant to international employers ABET active in international “mutual recognition” agreements 1970’s= USA and Canada 1980’s=Washington Accords; 6 countries

Globally: the forecast? Reciprocal recognition sought Seeking “substantially equivalent” programs ABET has emerged as a leader ABET’s shifting emphasis to qualitative potentially impacts reciprocity of future agreements Reasonable forecast concludes more and more schools will require ethics training

Implementation Librarians have the skills Clearly label specifics as “ethics” issues Embed in the curriculum-not sporadic –Nerz, Weiner Must include assessment- ABET Engineering & Library faculty collaborate on cycle of assessment/improvement

THE END Alice J. Trussell Assistant Professor and Director Fiedler Engineering Library Kansas State University