Indiana University Libraries has offered information literacy grants since 2011 for instructors to collaborate with librarians for various IU courses.
Selected courses focus on guiding students to improve information literacy skills, such as creating citations, finding credible sources, and identifying misinformation.
In recent years, information and media literacy are increasingly popular topics as technology and social media exponentially advance. It is becoming harder to keep up with large intakes of information, and literacy rates are on the decline in the US.
This past semester, social psychology PhD candidate and instructor Elizabeth Ray collaborated with IU librarian Jennifer Muse to integrate information literacy into a psychological laboratory. They designed the course around a research project that gave students hands-on experience with managing media and expressing their findings toward a lay audience.
Ray said that the collaboration was not only a great way for students to gain stronger literacy skills but to also highlight the importance of libraries.
“This grant really allowed us to facilitate connections between the library and the students,” she said. “Not just what libraries can do for them, for this class, but all of the resources that they’ll be able to use moving forward.”
Muse noted the accessibility of IU Libraries for the entire Bloomington community, including a live chat feature that connects a user with a real librarian.
“Across the board, regardless of your connection with IU, you can always engage with a librarian,” she said.
Last year, federal grants were largely terminated for libraries before being reinstated last December. Despite the return of most grants, experts say it is possible for funding to be removed again in the future.
Ray is glad to have had the opportunity to highlight IU Libraries and show students that literacy skills are relevant beyond the classroom.
“It's so important for students be able to write that (American Psychological Association) paper or make that research poster, but it is a whole other skill for students to be able to translate that information for a general audience,” she said.
