1. Rebecca Jackson Iowa State University June 17, 2005
Best Practices for Collaboration:  Guidelines from the Institute for Information Literacy
Rebecca Jackson
Iowa State University
June 17, 2005

2. Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline
Developed under the auspices of ACRL’s Information Literacy Institute
Approved by ACRL in 2003
Online at

3. These Guidelines:
Are intended for those who are “developing, assessing, and/or improving IL programs
Can be used in a variety of ways
Can be used as a framework for existing programs
Can also be used for benchmarking programs

4. They are not intended to be prescriptive but descriptive.

5. No one program is expected to exemplify all of these characteristics.

6. Ten categories: Mission Goals and Objectives Planning
Administrative and Institutional Support
Articulation with the Curriculum

7. Ten Categories, cont. Collaboration Pedagogy Staffing Outreach
Assessment/Evaluation

8. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Mission
A mission statement for an information literacy program:
clearly reflects the contributions of and expected benefits to all institutional constituencies.

9. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Goals and Objectives
Goals and objectives for an information literacy program:
accommodate input from various constituencies.
articulate the integration of information literacy across the curriculum.

10. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Planning
Planning for an information literacy program:
involves students, faculty, librarians, administrators, and other constituencies as appropriate to the institution
establishes formal and informal mechanisms for communication and ongoing dialog across the academic community.

11. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Administrative and Institutional Support
Administration within an institution:
recognizes and encourages collaboration among disciplinary faculty, librarians, and other program staff and among institutional units.

12. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Administrative and Institutional Support
Administration:
rewards achievement and participation in the information literacy program within the institution’s system

13. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Articulation with the Curriculum
Articulation with the curriculum for an information literacy program:
is formalized and widely disseminated.

14. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Articulation with the Curriculum
specifies programs and courses charged with implementation.

15. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Collaboration
Collaboration among disciplinary faculty, librarians, and other program staff in an information literacy program:
centers around enhanced student learning and the development of lifelong learning skills.

16. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Collaboration
results in a fusion of information literacy concepts and disciplinary content.
identifies opportunities for achieving information literacy outcomes through course content and other learning experiences.
takes place at the planning stage, delivery, assessment of student learning, and evaluation and refinement of the program.

17. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Pedagogy
Pedagogy for an information literacy program:
links information literacy to ongoing coursework and real-life experiences appropriate to program and course level.

18. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Staffing
Staff for an information literacy program:
include librarians, disciplinary faculty, administrators, program coordinators, graphic designers, teaching/learning specialists, and others as needed.
employ a collaborative approach to working with others.

19. Collaboration in the Characteristics: Within Assessment/Evalution
Assessment/evaluation of information literacy includes program performance and student outcomes and for program evaluation:
integrates with course and curriculum assessment as well as institutional evaluations and regional/professional accreditation initiatives.