How can a dozen librarians promote information literacy (IL) in a three-college district with thousands of students? And how can we be sure that students have multiple opportunities to seek and use information in a variety of contexts? The Seattle Community College District librarians asked ourselves these questions at a regional ACRL Immersion in early summer 2005.

One key answer: Get more faculty involved! One way to do it: Take Immersion home. In September 2006 we offered a three-day faculty workshop to provide willing faculty partners with tools and motivation to join our IL cause. Thirty-three participants from both academic and workforce education programs registered for the program.

Why a local "immersion"? Because faculty need time to consider IL and develop curriculum that integrates it meaningfully. The local immersion also allowed the district librarians to collaborate on a major project, an endeavor we were eager to take on after the bonding experience of the ACRL Immersion. And, we hoped that our district wide approach would help us raise awareness and support for the project, perhaps even provide a model for other district efforts.

Planning began in fall 2005. To find funding for speakers, food, supplies, and-most importantly-participant stipends, we developed a brief proposal for various college and district wide administrators. Our proposal defined the major outcomes: (1) To promote faculty driven initiatives to incorporate IL outcomes in curriculum design; and (2) To encourage teaching that integrates IL outcomes with course content. We secured most of the needed funds from college and district sources after much leg-work and follow-up. The same LSTA grant that had funded the 2005 ACRL Immersion also provided funds for follow-up projects.

Librarians at each college recruited and registered participants. Although attendance was an initial concern, librarians succeeded in filling the program beyond capacity by sending multiple promotional emails and flyers and following up with personal contact-we literally walked the halls poking our heads into offices. This effort was made easier by our existing relationships with faculty; we have been engaging with them about information literacy for years. The faculty also had their own motivation: they saw the need to help their students become information literate in order to succeed in a world filled with too many information choices.

The three-day program offered engaging and playful activities designed to support the curriculum projects that faculty proposed when they registered. Faculty who completed projects within three weeks of the program-and 29 of them did-received a $200 stipend.

Day One: Defining Information Literacy
Yvonne Sanchez, a district trustee, kicked off the event with an inspiring keynote speech about the value of information literacy in the "real world." Sanchez had little background in IL, but we took her to lunch to talk about IL and she ran with it. We then focused on defining IL and brainstorming ideas about its meaning in different contexts. To finish the day, a one-hour library "boot camp" gave a refresher on basic library resources.

Day Two: Outcomes and Assessment
Building on the IL discussion from day one, Deb Gilchrist, Dean of Libraries and Media Services at Pierce College, presented an assessment model and worked with participants to develop outcomes and assessments for their IL curriculum projects.

Day Three: Putting it all Together
Faculty spent the morning working with librarians refining their projects. Later, they discussed IL articles that we had assigned on day one. Finally, faculty demonstrated their learning by creating and performing short skits. To close the event, Mike Eisenberg, Dean Emeritus and faculty of the UW iSchool, offered the framework of the Big Six IL model through his unique and energetic approach.

The Bottom Line
Planning this workshop was immensely time consuming but very rewarding. The librarians owe much to the expertise they observed at the ACRL Immersion, but the true heroes were the faculty who trusted us enough to commit three late summer days to information literacy. The stipends, a promise of relevant and interesting content, and our personal contacts with faculty helped fill the roster. Many hours of planning, good food, a concrete and manageable product, and great speakers helped make the event a success.

We have gained new allies on our campuses. They are implementing information literacy in their courses and many have committed to help us expand IL throughout the curriculum. Although we may not repeat this workshop right away, it has helped build critical mass for continuing to integrate information literacy outcomes in our college curriculum.