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Program Rationale

We cannot assume that students arrive at college with the ability to engage in deep exploration and inquiry simply because they are accustomed to digital technologies. In fact, the ever-changing environment of higher education and the complex, proliferating, and often uncertain information landscape present many challenges to student learning. To realize the full potential of a liberal arts education, it is crucial that students gain a fundamental understanding of the nature of information itself, how it is created, organized, and retrieved in digital and analog formats, and its social and cultural context and impact.

Research on Information Literacy

Our program is informed by evidence on how students conduct research in the digital age and how the academic library contributes to student learning and success.

Major findings:

• Students benefit from library instruction in their initial coursework
• Library use increases student success
• Collaborative academic programs and services involving the library enhance student learning
• Information literacy instruction strengthens general education outcomes
• Library research consultations boost student learning

Major findings:

• Majority of students feel research is more difficult than ever before
• Most students use a "limited compass" to navigate the complex information landscape
• Most students use familiar, risk-averse strategies to finding information
• Recent graduates feel unprepared to solve information problems in the workplace