If you missed the first installment last week, you may want to start here: Peep Team Information Literacy Training: Part One (School Library)

When last we met up with our Peep Team, they had been very successful in their work with research and in using their information literacy skills. This week they have been asked to follow up on that, and to do some research in an academic library.

They visit the library at St. Cloud State University, and are confident they will find all the answers they need here!

Step One: Identify Information Needs

This week they are in search of information about large cats. They need more scholarly material this time, so they know that being in an academic library is the right place to find what they need. But they are immediately confronted by an enormous range of possibilities. They nervously started at the first station they found, but this is not getting them to the information they need.

Now what should they do???

They take some time to read the signs all around them, and to take stock of their surroundings.

Step Two: Locate and Retrieve Appropriate Sources of Information

Yes! Good work Peep Team!

When in doubt, find someone to ask. Libraries have teams of people who are ready to help you find information, no matter what you are looking for, or how hard your question might seem. St. Cloud State’s library has handy phones located around the library, available for users to ask quick questions as they search, to avoid going too far off their search.

Whew!

They found one book, but were not sure was exactly what they needed. And they knew they needed more material for their report, so they decided to go in search of more help to keep building up their resources.

Step Three: Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically

Oh no, Peep Team!! You were doing so well!! Rules exist for a reason in a library!!

Here the team flagrantly flouts the rules requiring everyone to stay to the right when traversing the staircase. These stairs get a lot of traffic up and down, and staying safe is important for everyone.

(Spoiler alert: Not everyone stays safe.)

Come on, team. Get back to work!!

Okay, they are back on track and doing the right thing: meeting with a librarian to get help. St. Cloud State, like all libraries, has people at the Reference Desk who can help to bring in a variety of useful resources for their research.  You can tell that this is valuable, because the peeps are literally frozen in place as they hang on every word from the librarian.

This kind of personal attention and assistance is where a library really helps to make a library’s service valuable. Making these connections to the needs of their patrons is so important.

Using the information they learned from their work with the librarian at the Reference Desk, they returned to the stacks and they found a great resource! Look at that big, scary cat! The team is using a technique of “close reading” to analyze the text. (This is a little too close – generally we do not recommend standing on the books as a preservation issue. But we do recognize the challenges that come with being too short to easily grab large books.)

Step Four: Synthesize the information retrieved

As they started putting their work together, they found holes in their work – as everyone does. So they decided to find more material to ensure they were able to discuss all the material across their topic. Some of their material was in the closed stacks, so you can see how they were carefully walking down the aisle to find their material and avoid any problems on their way to retrieving their books.

Oh no! That level of care did NOT last! You can see that another patron pushed a button to compress the shelves, and the Peep Team started running. They ran and jumped for their travel bag – and most of them made it. Sadly, Alison tripped and was squished between the shelves. Yes, the nightmare of every library staffer who works in closed stacks came true for Allison: smashed in between the shelves and the closed on her.

(Don’t panic anyone. Allison is a Peep. She’s fine.)

Step Five: Present newly acquired knowledge so others can use it

And now the Peep Team is working together in a cubical at the library to assemble their presentation to their class. They were all so happy to see the resources the library had available to make their presentation easier to do. Putting it all together is crucial, and providing the tools to make it work was so helpful to the Peep Team!

Step Six: Translate these abilities and concepts to new projects and disciplines.

Rupert was so invigorated by Allison’s near-death experience in the closed stacks, that he translated that concept into a new ability to risk his life trying new death-defying ways. Libraries do NOT encourage that behavior.

However, the Peep Team also learned so much about tracking down new ideas and new skills for conquering Information Literacy skills. They are ready to take these skills to all new  places and to learn all new things.

Stay tuned next week when the Peep Team ventures out on yet another exciting Information Literacy Skills Adventure, this time in a public library!!

Do you want to learn more about Information Literacy? We want to talk about it! Join us for Summer Library Boot Camp on Tuesday June 26! “When people ask what we do in libraries, talking about Information Literacy will always be the right answer! In this session we will chat about the basics of Information Literacy, then talk about strategies for training different age groups and community groups. Identifying fake news is not a challenge; let’s help the communities we serve to understand the information that is both accurate and best for their personal needs!”

And here is some great info from Wesleyan University’s library: “Information literacy is a crucial skill in the pursuit of knowledge.  It involves recognizing when information is needed and being able to efficiently locate, accurately evaluate, effectively use, and clearly communicate information in various formats.  It refers to the ability to navigate the rapidly growing information environment, which encompasses an increasing number of information suppliers as well as the amount supplied, and includes bodies of professional literature, popular media, libraries, the Internet, and much more.  Increasingly, information is available in unfiltered formats, raising questions about its authenticity, validity, and reliability.  This abundance of information is of little help to those who have not learned how to use it effectively.

“To become lifelong learners, we need to know not just how to learn, but how to teach ourselves.  We must acquire the skills necessary to be independent, self-directed learners.  An information literate person should be able to: 

• Identify information needs and determine the extent of information needed.  Clearly and concisely define the question to be answered, and realize that the question may evolve.

• Locate and retrieve appropriate sources of information.
  • Understand the structure of information: how is it produced, disseminated, organized, cataloged, stored, and retrieved, and how these factors vary by discipline.  For example, how do scholars or professionals keep up to date in and contribute to their field.
  • Use indexes and other search tools effectively and efficiently to find specific resources (e.g., select appropriate tools, formulate search strategies, use appropriate search techniques, evaluate results)
• Evaluate information and its sources critically.
  • Understand different types of sources and formats, and how to use them.
  • Evaluate the relevance and reliability of the information retrieved.
• Synthesize the information retrieved, integrate it into one’s current knowledge base, and successfully apply it to the original information need.
• Present this newly acquired knowledge so that others can use it.
  • Determine the audience’s needs and the best presentation format; know the standards and criteria for presenting information in the relevant subject/field/discipline.
  • Properly cite sources: direct the audience to sources of further information and acknowledge one’s sources.
• Translate these abilities and concepts to new projects and disciplines.