Resources to Enhance/ Increase Information Literacy Skills in the Sciences among Students

Information literacy is recognized as a major survival skill for college students and can be referred to as the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analzye, and use information (Slebodnik, 2008). Likewise, science students, especially those in their freshmen year majoring in biology, chemistry, or the physical sciences must learn very early how to apply information literacy skills related to experimentation and research (Slebodnik, 2008). Slebodnik (2008)stresses that science students need to not only know how to find information related to their research, but that students must understand how to effectively evaluate resources. Therefore, information literacy is successfully acquired when students are able to identify an information need, procure the information, then evaluate information (Slebodnik, 2008).

From my observations, it appears that many first-year science students lack or are unable to apply information literacy skills to their assigments. For instance, after I host a few information literacy demonstrations/sessions on how to find research articles, some students still appear 'lost.' Yet, when I ask them if they have any questions or if they need me to re-clarify or review any topics they misunderstood concerning navigating the library webpage for resources, the majority of them will say that they "understand exactly which subject terms to use to find research articles or books." However, the microbiology ph.D. students or other graduates pursuing degrees in the sciences do not seem to experience information literacy problems as often as undergraduates in being able to access/find needed research materials. Dr. Christa Hardy, who's our Information Literacy Consultant for the library has created a separate subject guide (you may access it here: http://alasu.libguides.com/informationliteracy) with all types of very interesting video clips, reseach studies, assigment ideas, workshops and instructional aids, and faculty resources on information literacy.


The provided information literacy resources are useful for academic librarians teaching undergraduate and graduate sciences, along with liaisons working with faculty (Slebodnik, 2008).


Association of College & Research Libraries. (2011). Information literacy standards for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm


Contains standards of information literacy such as: Information Literacy Defined, Information Literacy and Information Technology, Information Literacy and Higher Education, Information Literacy and Pedagogy, Use of these Standards, Information Literacy Assessment, Performance Indicators and Outcomes, and Guidelines for Proficiencies for Instruction Libraries and Coordinators (ACRL, 2011).


Association of College & Research Libraries. (2011).Information literacy standards for science and engineering/technology. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/infolitscitech.cfm

Lists or outlines information literacy standards that should be specifically met or tailored to students majoring in the sciences, engineering, or technology (ACRL, 2011).

GEMS. (2010). Greener Educational Materials for Chemists. Retrieved from
http://greenchem.uoregon.edu/gems.html

Represents an interactive collection of chemistry education materials, which contain laboratory exercises, lecture materials, course syllabi, and multimedia sources all geared to making one's environment a less toxic or harmful to human health/well-being (GEMS, 2010).

Intute. (2010). Helping you find the best websites for study and research. Retrieved from http://www.intute.ac.uk/biologicalsciences/


Provides free or open access to resources in the biological sciences (Intute, 2010). Intute (2010)also offers free tutorials on the Internet to assist students with course-related research assignments, projects, or tests.


LINK.(2011). Library Instruction Knapsack. Retrieved from http://www.eln.bc.ca/link/

A toolkit that provides librarians and students with helpful resources regarding how to conduct literature searches and sharpen research skills (LINK, 2011).


MedEdPORTTAL. (2011). Medical Resources: Finding teaching materials, assessment tools, and faculty development resources. Retrieved from https://www.mededportal.org/

Contains teaching materials and assessment tools along with publications in order to promote effective didactic medical training among faculty to their students (MedEdPORTTAL, 2011).


MERLOT.(2011). Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

MERLOT (2011) comprises online peer-reviewed teaching materials/tools in the sciences and technology as well as other related subject areas.


PRIMO. (2011). Peer-reviewed instructional materials online. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/apps/primo/public/search.cfm


PRIMO (2011) allows faculty/researchers to promote and share peer-reviewed instructional materials concerning accessing and evaluating online information.


Purdue University Libraries. (2011). How to read a scientific paper. Retrieved from http://www.lib.purdue.edu/phys/inst/scipaper.html

This university offers a helpful tutorial to assist students on how to effectively read scientific papers (Purdue University Libraries, 2011).

S.O.S. for infomation literacy: A virtual factory for teaching information literacy skills. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.informationliteracy.org/

This multimedia web-based resource provides a variety of instructional tools including peer-reviewed lesson plans, handouts, presentations, and videos to enhance information literacy among grades K-16 (S.O.S., 2006).