At the spring 2005 Information Literacy Retreat, YUL librarians and archivists developed the following objectives for achieving IL goals by the summer of 2010:
Outreach and Promotion Objectives
Develop promotional plans and mechanisms to:
Encourage new faculty to take advantage of IL services
Foster student interest in instructional services
Encourage faculty teaching Foundations courses to include IL in critical skills covered
Summarize departmental library instruction activities in liaison librarians’ and archivists’ annual reports.
Develop list or database of faculty contacts who regularly use library instructional services in order to better identify our key partners and any programs which may be under- or over-served.
Present information on IL initiatives and curriculum integration at Senate and decanal levels, to develop support for IL among senior administration and faculty.
Share learning objects, assessment mechanisms and strategies developed by York librarians and archivists with the library community, through:
Submissions to information literacy repositories such as the Canadian Online Repository of Information Literacy Learning Objects (CORIL)
Presentations at conferences
Publications
How will we know we have achieved our objectives?
By the number of increased opportunities for collaboration on information literacy initiatives
Curriculum Integration Objectives
Integrate information literacy learning objectives into program learning objectives across several programs and faculties.
Develop curriculum maps or plans for programs/faculties
Develop mechanisms for evaluating curriculum integration projects.
Encourage new programs to incorporate information literacy learning objectives into their plans right from the outset, perhaps in conjunction with the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards (CCAS).
Develop a workshop or institute for faculty, teaching assistants, archivists and librarians on information literacy and curriculum integration, perhaps in conjunction with the Centre for Support of Teaching (CST).
Foster attention to information literacy learning objectives as part of assessment guidelines for Undergraduate Program Reviews and OCGS reviews.
How will we know we have achieved our objectives?
By the results of the evaluations of curriculum integration projects
Evaluation/Assessment Objectives
Develop a plan for assessment and program evaluation.
Develop a toolkit of assessment instruments to be used by librarians and archivists.
Study the impact of library instruction using for-credit courses on research and writing taught by librarians and/or archivists.
Conduct research on faculty's instructional needs/expectations and their opinions/ experiences of the value/success of library instruction initiatives.
Hold periodic focus groups with students to determine instructional needs/expectations.
Incorporate questions about research and information literacy skill acquisition into the Undergraduate Program Review self-study template.
Evaluate how information gathered from external campus-wide surveys could contribute to information literacy programming at York.
Review our Information Literacy Manifesto in 2007 to determine progress towards goals and to ensure flexibility.
Review assessment/evaluation methods developed early in the 5-year planning cycle to ensure effectiveness.
How will we know we have achieved our objectives?
We can perform research with librarians, archivists and faculty to determine their view on the effectiveness of the instruments and the overall plan for assessment and evaluation
Flexible Teaching Objectives
Integrate information literacy tools into some course websites.
Collaborate with other units such as Centre for Academic Writing, Foundations Computer Assistance Program or Centre for the Support of Teaching, to identify student groups with unique information literacy needs.
Develop workshops/tutorials to address groups with special needs in alternate formats.
Offer drop-in and course-specific instruction to meet the needs of specific user groups and/or to address issues of relevance to our community.
Experiment with delivering online, real-time instruction.
Develop more asynchronous learning objects and instruction.
Partner with a department to develop a course critical study of information literacy issues.
Develop workshops for faculty and teaching assistants to help them incorporate information literacy concepts and skills in their teaching.
Develop mechanisms for assessing non-traditional offerings and ensuring student learning.
How will we know we have achieved our objectives?
By the increased number and range of instruction modes/modules compared against 2005
By the results of our assessments
Professional Development Objectives
Conduct a survey of teaching librarians and archivists to assess professional development needs in relation to information literacy activities.
Develop standards for orienting new librarians and archivists to information literacy and instruction.
Encourage collaboration via opportunities for team teaching, shadowing, and modeling of instruction (especially across units).
Develop a teaching mentoring program.
Develop a systematic program to share subject/content expertise among librarians and archivists.
Ensure that technical support for the development of online teaching and learning tools/systems is on the Library and Computing Services agenda and that LCS is given lead time to plan for this support.
Invite speakers from outside the library to help us develop teaching expertise (e.g. CST, Faculty of Education, University teaching award winners).
Systematically support conference and/or workshop attendance for information literacy and teaching development.
Host professional development workshops and/or conferences for librarians to promulgate information literacy beyond the university.
Provide opportunities for graduate students in Canadian library and information studies programs through teaching forums and practice teaching and/or shadowing opportunities.
Explore the possibility of creating a post-degree intern/resident information literacy position for a new librarian to assist in developing teaching skills.
Identify and increase the library budget share dedicated to professional development activities for information literacy.
How will we know we have achieved our objectives?
By the number of collaborations, mentorships, incubatory opportunities created.
We would also hope to see overall scores on librarian teaching evaluations increase over the next 5 years.
