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Faculty and Staff Resources

This guide assists faculty and staff with resources offered by the Macdonald-Kelce Library.

Bibliographic Instruction

Do you want your students to be savvy users of the university library? Schedule a library presentation with a librarian. Students will learn how to navigate the library and use its resources effectively. 

Sessions typically last between 40 minutes to an hour and can be tailored to the needs of the particular class. Library presentations range between brief introductory overviews, to more in-depth strategies, tips, and techniques useful to upper-division and graduate students.

*Unfortunately, due to our limited number of librarians, we cannot teach to AWR101, HON100, or UTAMPA101 classes. Please refer to the online sources available at the Introduction to Library Research guide.*

To schedule a presentation please contact your library liaison. We also offer research consultations for faculty, students, for individuals, and for groups. We can visit your classroom, and there is a room reserved in the library for presentations (limit 28 people). We also provide presentations (and consultations) online and for hybrid classes.

Please schedule your presentation at least a week ahead of time (and preferably before the beginning of the semester).

To get a sense of topics we might cover see the Introduction to Library Research. Please let your liaison know anything you might like them to emphasize or cover in their presentation. 

If you are teaching an AWR201 course, you may contact either David Davisson, Information Literacy Librarian, or Leslie Vega, Reference & Instruction Librarian. 

Uncertain who to contact? Contact David Davisson.

Information Literacy

What is Information Literacy?

A simple definition is given in the final report of the ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy:

"Information Literacy is the ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate and use effectively the information needed."

A couple of other components in the definition:

  • Add selected information to one’s knowledge base
  • Use information to accomplish a specific purpose
  • Be fully aware of the social, economic and ethical issues concerning the access and use of information

In the context of higher education more specific goals are:

  • Understanding the organization of an academic library, especially the Library at the Institute of Higher learning you attend. Be aware of specific collections and services offered by your Library.
  • Identify individuals and groups within this organization that can help you in answering questions and provide you with proper direction.
  • Develop a basic vocabulary about doing research in a University Library. For example know what an abstract is, a bibliography, an index, citations, a catalog, elements of databases, etc.

For more information, see the Information Literacy Framework Guide.

Why do we need it?

Information Literacy is important because we are in an era of ever increasing amounts of information being published and presented. In all walks of life we are constantly asking questions whether we are writing a doctoral dissertation or buying a new home. Building our information skills will aid us in achieving success no matter your occupation.

Along with this we are in an era of rapid technological change. An individual has to be able to construct a method of acquiring the best information in the most efficient manner in order to accomplish research goals, stay informed, promote success in careers and obtain the best vantage point for success in all aspects of life. In a University the need for IL will help to insure a satisfactory completion of assignments in pursuit of the college degree. Outside of the academic sphere, consider the benefits for students as citizens. IL builds critical thinking abilities and helps the individual become a lifelong learner.

Information Literacy Videos

The Berkman Center

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society's Official channel on YouTube. You'll find a collection of some of our best work produced over ten years of cyber research.

The Berkman Center Youth and Media 

Led by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, the Youth and Media project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University encompasses an array of research, advocacy, and development initiatives around youth and technology. By understanding young people’s interactions with digital media such as the Internet, cell phones and video games, we seek to address the issues their practices raise, learn how to harness the opportunities their digital fluency presents, and shape our regulatory and educational frameworks in a way that advances the public interest.

Project Information Literacy 

Project Information Literacy is a national study about early adults and their information-seeking behaviors, competencies, and the challenges they face when conducting research in the digital age.

Michael Eisenberg - Project Information Literacy 

Project Information Literacy (PIL) is ongoing research project, based in the University of Washington's Information School. The project seeks to understand how early adults conceptualize and operationalize research activities for course work and ""everyday life"" use and especially how they resolve issues of credibility, authority, relevance, and currency in the digital age.

Information Literacy Websites

National Forum on Information Literacy 

The National Forum on Information Literacy was created in 1989 as a response to the recommendations of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. These education, library, and business leaders stated that no other change in American society has offered greater challenges than the emergence of the Information Age. Today, the National Forum on Information Literacy is a robust collaborative of 93 + national and international organizations working together, on various levels, to mainstream this critical, 21st century educational and workforce development concept throughout every segment of society.

Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)

These resources will help you understand and apply the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education to enhance teaching, learning, and research in the higher education community. Up to date discussions, future plans, innovations are featured on the ACRL Insider.

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education 

These standards were reviewed by the ACRL Standards Committee and approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) on January 18, 2000. These standards were also endorsed by the American Association for Higher Education (October 1999) and the Council of Independent Colleges (February 2004). 

Standards Toolkit 

The Standards Toolkit is a set of tools, web pages and other resources that will help you to use the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. You can find the official complete text of the Standards, which includes a full introduction and appendix, here. As context for the use of the standards in academic instruction programs, read the ACRL Instruction Section's " Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries." For grounding in how to approach and understand the "outcomes" defined in the Standards, read "Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians", the companion statement to the Competency Standards.

IFLA - information Literacy Section 

The primary purpose of the Information Literacy Section is to foster international cooperation in the development of information literacy education in all types of libraries and information institutions.

Project Information Literacy 

Project Information Literacy is a national study about early adults and their information-seeking behaviors, competencies, and the challenges they face when conducting research in the digital age.

Macdonald-Kelce Library - The University of Tampa - 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. - Tampa, FL 33606 - 813 257-3056 - library@ut.edu - Accessibility