Information Literacy Programs: Successes and Challenges

Library Journal

This volume, published simultaneously as the Journal of Library Administration (Vol. 36, Nos. 1/2), features 12 papers, most written by academic instruction librarians, addressing issues related to library instruction and information literacy programs. Over half the papers are specifically devoted to information literacy, as distinguished from library instruction. Five themes pervade the papers here: collaboration with colleagues, teaching faculty, campus administrators, and students to develop and promote effective information literacy programs; the integration of information literacy instruction throughout the curriculum; the importance of standards, especially Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (www.ala.org/acrl/ilintro.html) and standards set by various accrediting bodies; the need for assessment to determine if programs are producing the desired learning outcomes; and the importance of using active learning to engage and involve students. This collection includes both theoretical and practical pieces and lots of suggestions for improving instruction and moving toward an integrated information literacy program. A few essays could have benefited from more thorough editing to improve readability. For academic and professional collections.-Janet A. Crum, Oregon Health & Science Univ. Lib., Portland Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.