“Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.”
– The Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education by the Association of College and Research Libraries
The librarians at Carleton College collaborate with faculty and the greater campus community to develop students’ research skills and strategies. We teach information literacy concepts in both classroom visits and research consultations. We foster research practices that will help students succeed in individual courses, their majors, and in their lives after Carleton.
Together Carleton and St. Olaf libraries have adopted a joint statement on information literacy:
Carleton and St. Olaf librarians provide leadership in information literacy, an essential foundation to the liberal arts. Information literacy underscores the importance of authoritative and credible information, equips students to adapt to an ever-changing information landscape, and instills the capacity for critical thinking and lifelong learning. These abilities are at the heart of our educational mission, and we work in partnership with faculty and staff to foster them on our campuses.
By working closely with faculty and the greater campus community, Reference and Instruction librarians aim to situate our information literacy program within the disciplines and other curricular and co-curricular structures that shape our students’ lives. We work with students from the Argument & Inquiry Seminar in their first term through their final year’s “comps” projects. We provide direct support to students and faculty through general reference, in-course instruction, and consultations. We also collaborate with faculty, departments, and the community as a whole to develop supportive learning environments.
We are guided in our work by two documents. The first is our own Information Literacy at Carleton: Six Critical Habits of Mind. The second is the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education from the Association of College and Research Library (ACRL). The latter is summarized for our community in our Handout on the Framework for Information Literacy.