Rutgers University Libraries Page 1 Learning Assessment Report, 2011/12 Introduction More than 20,000 Rutgers students participate in the 1,000 library instruction classes taught by library faculty each year. Over half of these classes are for undergraduate students. The Rutgers University Libraries support for student learning also includes reference desk services, email and chat reference, one-on-one research consultations, web tutorials, LibGuides developed for specific courses, online videos, a “How do I…?” web series, and a user focused website. Rutgers faculty can access a variety of instructional support services and materials from the Libraries website, including: consultation for developing library research components for classes or library workshops; lists of instruction coordinators and subject specialist librarians available for teaching; access to the RUL Instruction Repository (Sakai site) collection of reusable library handouts, tutorials, resources, customized class guides, etc.; samples of reusable library research assignments; and various other learning tools. The Libraries do not yet have a system wide learning assessment plan. This report shares an existing framework and outlines how we will develop our plan during the coming academic year. We are well- positioned to develop a plan because we have recently appointed a new associate university librarian for research and instructional services and completed a study of information literacy that featured interviews with teaching faculty partners. The university call for action, embodied by the requirement that we report, and the learning assessment work our academic colleagues are doing brings welcome attention to our Middle States recommendation for a university wide information literacy assessment plan. Learning Goals The libraries ascribe to the information literacy competency standards developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries, the premier division of the American Library Association for libraries serving higher education. 1 The standards are supported by a number of higher education organizations, including the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and discipline specific standards have been approved by a select number of professional associations. 2 The five ACRL standards specify that the information literate student: 1. Determines the nature and extent of the information needed. 2. Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently. 1 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (ACRL, 2000). Viewed 4/30/12,http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency#stan. 2 Discipline Specific Information Literacy Standards (ACRL, various). Viewed 5/22/12, http://www.ala.org/acrl/issues/infolit/resources/inaction/disciplines.
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Rutgers University Libraries Page 1
Learning Assessment Report, 2011/12
Introduction
More than 20,000 Rutgers students participate in the 1,000 library instruction classes taught by library
faculty each year. Over half of these classes are for undergraduate students. The Rutgers University
Libraries support for student learning also includes reference desk services, email and chat reference,
one-on-one research consultations, web tutorials, LibGuides developed for specific courses, online
videos, a “How do I…?” web series, and a user focused website. Rutgers faculty can access a variety of
instructional support services and materials from the Libraries website, including: consultation for
developing library research components for classes or library workshops; lists of instruction coordinators
and subject specialist librarians available for teaching; access to the RUL Instruction Repository (Sakai
site) collection of reusable library handouts, tutorials, resources, customized class guides, etc.; samples
of reusable library research assignments; and various other learning tools.
The Libraries do not yet have a system wide learning assessment plan. This report shares an existing
framework and outlines how we will develop our plan during the coming academic year. We are well-
positioned to develop a plan because we have recently appointed a new associate university librarian
for research and instructional services and completed a study of information literacy that featured
interviews with teaching faculty partners. The university call for action, embodied by the requirement
that we report, and the learning assessment work our academic colleagues are doing brings welcome
attention to our Middle States recommendation for a university wide information literacy assessment
plan.
Learning Goals
The libraries ascribe to the information literacy competency standards developed by the Association of
College and Research Libraries, the premier division of the American Library Association for libraries
serving higher education.1 The standards are supported by a number of higher education organizations,
including the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and discipline specific standards have
been approved by a select number of professional associations.2 The five ACRL standards specify that
the information literate student:
1. Determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
2. Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
1 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (ACRL, 2000). Viewed
4/30/12,http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency#stan. 2 Discipline Specific Information Literacy Standards (ACRL, various). Viewed 5/22/12,
Table 1. Rutgers University Libraries Information Literacy Goals and Outcome Expectations*
General Goal Department Goals and Objectives
Students will determine the nature and extent of the information needed.
Define and articulate the need for information.
Identify key concepts and terms that describe the information need.
Identify a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information.
Know how information is formally and informally produced, organized and disseminated.
Recognize that knowledge can be organized into disciplines that influence the way information is accessed.
Identify the value and differences of potential resources in a variety of formats (e.g., multimedia, database, website, data set, audio/visual, books).
Reevaluate the nature and extent of the information need.
Review the initial information need to clarify, revise, or refine the question.
Students will access needed information effectively and efficiently.
Select the most appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval systems for accessing the needed information.
Construct and implement effectively-designed search strategies.
Develop a research plan appropriate to the investigative method.
Identify keywords, synonyms and related terms for the information needed.
Select controlled vocabulary specific to the discipline or information retrieval source.
Construct a search strategy using appropriate commands for the information retrieval system selected (e.g., Boolean operators, truncations, and proximity for search engines; internal organizers such as indexes for books).
Retrieve information online or in person using a variety of methods.
Use specialized online or in person services available at the institution to retrieve information needed (e.g., interlibrary loan/document delivery, professional associations, institutional research offices, communication resources, experts and practitioners).
Refine the search strategy if necessary.
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*From the Middle States Reaccreditation (2008) self-study report, “Educational Change at Rutgers: An Institutional Self-Study” (http://middlestates.rutgers.edu/report_final.shtml), Section VI: Assessment of Student Learning (http://middlestates.rutgers.edu/pdf/sectionVI.pdf), pages 38-39.
Assess the quantity, quality, and relevance of the search result to determine whether alternative information retrieval systems or investigative methods should be utilized.
Identify gaps in the information retrieved and determine if the search strategy should be revised.
Repeat the search using the revised strategy as necessary.
Extract, record, and manage the information and its sources.
Differentiate among the types of sources cited and understand elements and correct syntax of a citation for a wide range of resources.
Record all pertinent citation information for future reference.
Students will evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into their knowledge base and value system.
Articulate and apply initial criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources.
Determine whether the initial query should be revised.
Determine if original information need has been satisfied or if additional information is needed.
Review search strategy and incorporate additional concepts as necessary.
Review information retrieval sources used and expand to include others as needed.
Students will, individually or as members of a group, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
[This standard is primarily the province of the teaching faculty. Librarians can assist with this effort, but not address it independently with existing programs.]
Students will understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and will access and use information ethically and legally.
Understand many of the ethical, legal and socio-economic issues surrounding information and information technology.
Demonstrate an understanding of intellectual property, copyright, and fair use of copyrighted material.
Acknowledge the use of information sources in communicating the product or performance.
Select an appropriate documentation style and use it consistently to cite sources.
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The Libraries goals and outcome expectations align with the hierarchy of mission statements and
learning goals at the university as follows:
Table 2. Alignment of Mission
University Libraries
As the sole comprehensive public research university in the state’s system of higher education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has the threefold mission of providing for the instructional needs of New Jersey’s citizens through its undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs; conducting the cutting-edge research that contributes to the medical, environmental, social and cultural well-being of the state, as well as aiding the economy and the state’s businesses and industries; and performing public service in support of the needs of the citizens of the state and its local, county, and state governments.
The Rutgers University Libraries support and enrich the instructional, research, and public service missions of the University through the stewardship of scholarly information and the delivery of information services.
Table 3. Alignment of Learning Goals
Rutgers University Libraries
Determine the nature and extent of the information needed
Access needed information effectively and efficiently
Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into their knowledge base and value system
Individually, or as members of a group, use information effectively to accomplish a specific task
Understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally
University Level
Students will develop their skills in gathering, accessing, analyzing, and interpreting information, in part through using the tools of modem computer technology
Decanal Level Example
SAS-NB
Evaluate and critically assess sources and use the conventions of attribution and citation correctly
Employ current technologies to access information, to conduct research, and to communicate findings
Analyze and critically assess information from traditional and emergent technologies
Department Level Examples
Art History, SAS-NB
Majors and Minors in Art History will be able to recognize and understand the fundamental interpretive methods engaged by art historians and employ the appropriate technologies for conducting research in the history of art, including print and electronic resources
Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SAS-NB
…Students at the upper level apply what they have learned to problems that require the evaluation of the scientific literature and the design of studies to test hypotheses
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Course Level Examples
Expository Writing 01:355:101 (SAS-NB)
Evaluate and critically assess sources and use the conventions of attribution and citation correctly
Analyze and synthesize information and ideas from multiple sources to generate new insights
English Composition 102, NCAS/UC-Newark
…Students are also asked to produce writing that draws effectively upon research o Evaluate the usefulness of secondary sources o Learn to evaluate Internet resources receptively but skeptically, alert to issues of
responsibility, authority, and documentation o Participate in a librarian’s tour of the Rutgers Library system, and produce at least one piece
of writing that draws upon Rutgers Library resources o Consider both the ethical and rhetorical dimensions of plagiarism o Learn to critically evaluate Internet resources
Composition 102, Writing Program at Rutgers-Camden
Construct an annotated bibliography of secondary sources
Evaluate secondary sources and differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources
Locate and use sources in the library independently
Included in Course Syllabi/Synopsis/Expanded Description
Some library faculty members include learning goals or objectives with their instruction materials.
Examples of learning goals included in course-specific LibGuides are:
English 102 (Newark)/ Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun: http://libguides.rutgers.edu/raisininthesun
tutorial, the group developing the activity will select appropriate measures. A call for outcomes and
responses will precede filing of the annual report to the Executive Council on Assessment.
Structure
The Libraries instruction program is led by the associate university librarian for research and
instructional services (aul/ris). Dr. Melissa Just was recently appointed to this position and will be
leading our information literacy initiatives.
Overall assessment initiatives are coordinated and supported by an office for planning and
organizational research consisting of an associate university librarian (aul/por) and a project
coordinator.
Other individuals and groups in the Libraries share an interest in learning assessment, including the user
services council, campus instruction coordinators, and the library faculty planning and coordinating
committee. In addition, individual library faculty members have instructional responsibilities in specific
disciplinary areas, collaborate on teaching large introductory courses, especially for the various writing
programs, and may conduct their own research.
Process
This current learning assessment plan proposal was developed at a meeting of the aul/por and campus
instruction coordinators and has been reviewed by the aul/ris and the user services council. It will be
shared with all library faculty members by email and posted to our internal website.
Library faculty who teach will participate in development and implementation of the assessment plan.
Oversight and assistance will be provided by the user services council and the associate university
librarians for research and instructional services and planning and organizational research. Groundwork
has already been done by an information literacy planning task force charged by the planning and
coordinating committee. The task force report3 summarizes our current effort and next steps, which
include assessment.
The Tools/Measures
Librarians develop library instruction sessions in collaboration with teaching faculty, and student success
is incorporated into overall coursework and measured by grades assigned by and other tools/measures
selected by teaching faculty. As a result, library faculty members have not adopted a uniform approach
to learning assessment. We propose adoption of the following elements of a learning assessment plan,
to begin during the 2013 academic year:
Because Middle States has recognized that the integrated approach for information literacy is
desirable,4 librarians will present faculty with our information literacy learning goals when
3 Information Literacy Planning Task Force Report (Rutgers University Libraries, 2010). Viewed June 4, 2012.
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/staff/groups/fac_coordinating_com/reports/info_lit_planning.pdf. 4 “…information literacy should be integrated into the general education core and students’ major fields of study,
and its relationships across the curriculum should be transparent to the student,” Developing Research &
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collaborating on teaching sessions and regularly request that they incorporate the learning goals
into their teaching and include a relevant measure in their assessment.
Librarians will use our information literacy learning goals to develop statements of learning
expectations for their overall teaching areas or for individual classes, as appropriate, and share
them with teaching faculty and students.
Occasionally students complete a library research assignment that the librarian is able to grade,
or at least review, and librarians will regularly seek this opportunity. Samples are provided on
this web page: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_instruct/samples.shtml. Direct
measures may include citation analysis.
Librarians will regularly and formally ask teaching faculty for feedback.
The Libraries will also review results from SERU, especially those questions having to do with
library research skills; regularly review quantitative and qualitative data from the Libraries
online Customer Satisfaction Survey; and may conduct targeted email surveys of teaching
faculty, interviews, or focus groups.
The Libraries will consider again the possibility of administering the ETS iSkills™ Assessment or
the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS). Based on past experience,
however, we are not at all hopeful that a sufficient number of survey participants would take
part without a university mandate. The final report about our 2005 participation in Project SAILS
is available on the Libraries website:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/staff/pub_serv/reports/SAILS_final_report.pdf. The
primary finding was that “The average student at Rutgers University performed on all
standards at about the same level as the average student from all institutions combined.”5
This version of the instrument we used was Phase III of the IMLS-funded development
project.
A better approach to a standardized review with benchmarking would be university
implementation of the information literacy module under development for the National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The module will be beta tested in 2013 and become
available as an optional module in 2014. Using the module biennially would be extremely
beneficial to the Libraries and the students we teach as well as teaching faculty setting
program or course goals and standards.
Communication Skills: Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum (MSCHE, 2003), p. 18. Viewed 4/9/12,
Standards articulated by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) are the foundation for
our learning goals. We are fortunate that the ACRL standards align with those set by Middle States.
Table 4. Standards Comparison
Middle States ACRL
Determine the nature and extent of needed information
Determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
Access information effectively and efficiently Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently
Evaluate critically the sources and content of information
Evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system
Incorporate selected information in the learner’s knowledge base and value system
Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
Uses information effectively, individually or as a member of a group, to accomplish a specific purpose
Understand the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and information technology
Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally
Observe laws, regulations, and institutional policies related to the access and use of information
Benchmarking with other institutions will be possible using the information literacy module being
developed for the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), as described in the preceding section.
Internal benchmarks will flow naturally from our Department Goals and Objectives (see Table 1), and rubrics will be set in the 2012/13 academic year. We will begin our deliberations with Information Literacy Progression Standards for Use in New Jersey College and Universities,6 developed collaboratively by leading statewide library associations and endorsed by the NJ State College Council of Academic Vice Presidents and provosts at the senior public colleges and universities. We will also consider the Information Literacy VALUE Rubric,7 developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and review rubrics from other institutions available from the IMLS-funded RAILS (Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) project.8
For classroom teaching, our success in this area will depend on close collaboration with teaching faculty.
While we are committed to integrating information literacy into the overall curriculum, we will also
determine how we can establish measures for other modes of information literacy delivery, such as our
tutorials.
6 Progression Standards for Information Literacy (NJLA, VALE, CJRLC, 2009). Viewed 4/30/12,
http://njla.pbworks.com/w/page/12189896/Progression%20Standards%20for%20Information%20Literacy. 7 Information Literacy VALUE Rubric (AAC&U, 2009?). Viewed 6/1/12,
http://assessment.aas.duke.edu/documents/InformationLiteracy.pdf. 8 RAILS: Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills. Viewed 6/4/2012. http://railsontrack.info/.