Becky Sproat and Rachel Goon for Tacoma Community College Library
June 9, 2005

 

Action Plan (Draft)

The Instructional Program Mission is two-fold:

To provide students with the opportunity, instruction, and resources to:

• Recognize educational, job-related, or personal information needs, and obtain appropriate resources to fulfill them;
• Use information in an ethical and personally or socially transformational manner;
• Persistently and creatively pursue knowledge
  

To collaborate with non-library faculty and staff to:

• Incorporate the teaching of information competencies and skills across the curriculum in an articulated model;
• Create a common campus language for discussing information literacy;
• Promote the importance of information literacy for students’ immediate curricular activities, their development as lifelong learners, and to the success of a democratic society

 

Program Goals
(based on ACRL’s Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy
that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline)

1a. Maintain a student-centered mission and program goals consistent with the library mission, college mission, college academic priorities, and current professional practice in order to provide continuity, integration, viability, and guiding principles for program development and resources [Mission, Goals, and Objectives]

1b. Library and individual library staff activities are intentionally and thoughtfully focused on achieving program goals [Mission, Goals, and Objectives]

Indicators: What will this look like?

• Librarians and other stakeholders engage in regular review of mission and goals
• Mission is visible on all significant library products
• Mission is published, and marketed
• Staff time is spent primarily on high-impact activities

Assessment: How will we measure this?

• Keep a calendar of regular meetings and discussion topics
• Check library products for inclusion of mission statement
• Keep track of marketing efforts
• Keep track of individual activities on a daily basis

Criteria: How will we know we’ve met our goals?

• Library Advisory Committee meets once per quarter
• An inventory of library products indicates that 90% of significant items are branded
• Activity log will show that 80% of staff time is spent engaged in activities that have been identified as high-priority and high-impact

Action Items:

• Finish draft of Program Plan (June-Sept. 2005)
• Create Program Learning Outcomes (June – Sept. 2005)
• Draft a branding statement (June – Sept. 2005)
• Create Library Advisory Committee (June – Dec. 2005)
• Discontinue addition of stand-alone credit courses, except as moonlight contracts (June 2005 – May 2007)
• Investigate efficacy of Evergreen Bridge classes in relation to Program Goals (Sept – Dec. 2005)
• Examine all librarian activities and investigate eliminating or reallocating some, through Tamera, to other staff members (June 2005 – May 2006)

2. Engage stakeholders in a regular planning and assessment process in order to sustain a shared vision and procure adequate support [Planning, Administration, and Instructional Support]

Indicators: What will this look like?

• Library advisory committee meets frequently to provide input for planning and assessment
• Library’s biennial program review form accurately reflects program goals and objectives
• Assessment data (qualitative and/or quantitative) is used to procure resource support and fund highest priority activities

Assessment: How will we measure this?

• Keep a calendar of regular meetings and discussion topics
• Evaluate biennial program review on an annual basis for inclusion of assessment data and accurate reflection of program goals and objectives

Criteria: How will we know we’ve met our goals?

• Library advisory committee meets once per quarter
• Librarians meet once per year to evaluate biennial program review
• Library receives sufficient funding to support its instructional program goals

Action items:

• Create Library Advisory Committee (June – Dec. 2005)
• Commit to more frequent librarian meetings, and identify resources to facilitate the necessary time (June – Sept. 2005)
• Include *this* document in appropriate campus publications and assessment documents (June – Sept. 2005)
  

3a. Implement current best practices in pedagogy in order to facilitate deep student learning of information literacy [Articulation with curriculum and pedagogy]

3b. Collaborate with each other, non-library faculty and staff, and others engaged in related work, in order to articulate information literacy within the college’s curriculum and activities [Articulation with curriculum and pedagogy]

 

Indicators: What will this look like?

• Librarians read broadly on the topics of pedagogy and info literacy best practices, attend continuing education activities, and participate in discussion at monthly meetings, and at other faculty gatherings
• Librarians observe each other’s classes and other non-library faculty’s classes
• Librarians use best practices at reference desk, in one-shots, in credit courses, and in tutorials and handouts
• Librarians meet regularly with non-library faculty to facilitate the inclusion of information literacy learning in discipline-specific classes
• Redundancy of library-taught information literacy concepts will be kept to a minimum
• Students will have increased opportunity to develop higher-order information literacy in 100+ -level discipline-specific classes
• All sections of HD101 contain a library-taught information literacy component that prepares students for higher-order information literacy learning in subsequent classes
• Information Literacy Modules (ILMs) will be available to all members of the college campus via the Student Portal, and will be required, as appropriate, as prerequisites for discipline-specific library one-shot classes at the 100 + level (except for HD101), or as deemed appropriate as stand-alone modules to be used by discipline faculty, without direct library involvement
• Information literacy is a facet of campus activities (such as visiting speakers and the student newspaper)

Assessment: How will we measure this?

• Library will keep a database of meetings, topics, and ideas generated
• Librarians will keep formal logs of class observations that indicate strengths (that the observer might incorporate) and weaknesses (that the observee might address)
• Individual instruction components are evaluated on a regular basis for inclusion of best practices
• Librarians keep a log of information literacy curriculum development and articulation interactions with faculty (classes, collection development discussions, curriculum planning, etc.)
• Formal and informal surveys of students to measure decrease in instruction redundancy, and increase in higher-order info lit thinking
  

Criteria: How will we know we’ve met our goals?

• Database of library meetings will show that each librarian contributes 5 times per year to the library’s goal of maintaining currency in the topics of info lit and pedagogical best practices
• Each librarian is observed while teaching at least once a year, and observes another non-library faculty member at least once a year
• Rubric of evaluation observations indicates that librarians are employing at least two aspects of best practices in each observed activity
• Log indicates that each librarian has at least 2 meaningful exchanges with new (not the faculty we already know and love) non-library faculty, per quarter, on the topic of integrating information literacy components into discipline-related classes
• Surveys will show that students are exposed to the “same” content no more than twice within 6 quarters, and that their self-perceived grasp of complex information literacy concepts has increased
• Students will successfully complete X Information Literacy Modules by graduation

Action Plan:

• Investigate best practices for information literacy modules (June – Aug. 2005)
• Investigate state-wide initiative to collaborate on creation of information literacy modules (June – Dec. 2005)
• Create “Baseline Skills” Information Literacy Modules (June – Dec. 2005)
• Pilot “Baseline Skills” Information Literacy Modules (Jan – May 2006)
• Integrate ILMs into 100-level + one-shot classes (Sept. 2006 – May 2007)
• Develop HD 101 learning outcomes (June – Sept. 2005)
• Collaborate with HD 101 instructors to develop information literacy curriculum (June – Sept. 2005)
• Create various databases and logs, and decide on a schedule of assessment (June – Sept. 2005)
• Conduct study of ways in which faculty are already incorporating IL concepts in their classes, in order to better focus librarian efforts
  

4. Conduct a variety of outreach and collaborative activities in order to create enthusiasm and support for information literacy as a key component of academic success and lifelong learning [Outreach and Collaboration]

Indicators: What will this look like?

• Librarians serve on numerous campus committees
• There is common campus respect for and understanding of the role of IL in lifelong learning, and common language for discussing
• IL is one focus of campus continuing education activities
• There is an active and inter-disciplinary library advisory committee
• Non-library faculty will take for granted that the library is a partner in curriculum planning
• Improved SLO description tracking in the College Wide Student Learning Outcomes (CWSLOs) database will indicate an increase in the depth of IIT integration in the curriculum
  

Assessment: How will we measure this?

• Log of committee activities
• Log of continuing education activities
• Log of Library Advisory Committee meetings
• Librarians keep a log of information literacy curriculum development and articulation interactions with faculty (classes, collection development discussions, curriculum planning, etc.)
• Reports generated from CWSLO database
  

Action plan:

• Collaborate with HD 101 instructors to develop information literacy curriculum (June – Sept. 2005)
• Continue to serve on high-impact, high-visibility campus committees (ongoing)
• Work with the Continuing Education Coordinator to promote IL in continuing education activities across campus (Jan. 2007)
• Intentionally pursue relationships with faculty who are not current library partners (June 2005, ongoing)
• Encourage Instructional Assessment Steering Committee to improve the CWSLO database (March – June 2006)
  

5. Culture of assessment will be infused throughout the library instruction program planning process in order to continuously improve progress toward the previous goals [Assessment]

Indicators

• Assessment is taken for granted as an element of every significant activity.
• Results of assessment are discussed, disseminated to stakeholders, and acknowledged on a regular basis.
• The campus regards the library as a leader in best assessment practices
• Results of assessment are used to justify funding and inform the library’s decision-making process.

Assessment (How will we measure this?)

• List of shared assessment tools
• Meeting logs
• Campus forms
• Criteria (How will we know that we have succeeded?)
• List of assessment tools will be consulted for every major activity
• Meeting logs will show that results of assessments are discussed and acted on

Action Plan:

• Create assessment tools (logs, databases, forms, surveys), make them accessible, and make them easy to use. (June 2005 – Dec. 2005)
• Decide on a process for collecting, storing, and retrieving assessment data. (June 2005 – Dec. 2005)
• Create a rotating assessment liaison position in the library. (June – Sept. 2005)
• Create a practical and executable schedule of assessments (big picture)
  

6. [Added by Becky 09/06/05—first draft—need something to justify spending time on collection development] Provide access to a curriculum-centered, multiple format collection in order to expose students to a wide variety of resources and support success in completing resource-based assignments [Planning, Administration, and Instructional Support]

Indicators: What will this look like?

• Students will have seamless access to high quality information in a variety of formats for any given assignment
• Librarians will regularly spend time reviewing the collection and adding or deleting books, journals, databases, web sites, etc.
• Assessment data (qualitative and/or quantitative) is used to procure resource support and fund highest priority resources

Assessment: How will we measure this?

• Works cited pages for resource-based assignments
• Conspectus reports
• Use statistics for databases and web sites
• Surveys

Criteria: How will we know we’ve met our goals?

• Conspectus reports show strength and currency in appropriate subject areas
  Students and instructors report satisfaction with currency, depth, breadth and choice of formats
  Library receives sufficient funding to support its collection goals
  Web site statistics and other feedback show high use and high satisfaction with content

Action items:

• Study most current conspectus report and plan accordingly to improve collection
• Develop plan for consistent, deliberate addition of ebooks
• Develop plan for consistent, deliberate addition of web sites to catalog
• Shift web site to new campus template while increasing ease of use and improving
• Develop and publish web-based ILM’s
  

 

Questions or comments? contact Erica Coe, elcoe@u.washington.edu