An Evaluation of an Upper-Division, General Education Information Literacy Program

Abstract

The Advanced Writing library instruction program at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is intended to teach junior-level students advanced information literacy and research skills. Student participation in the program is required in each of six junior-level English courses. Anecdotal feedback from librarians and students identified problems with the program; therefore, a qualitative evaluation of the program was conducted with the objective of identifying problems and possible solutions. The evaluation included a student survey and focus groups with students, librarians, and English faculty. In this paper, we describe the HBLL Advanced Writing (AW) instruction program, identify the problems with the current model, and convey recommendations from stakeholders for improvement. In addition, we share observations about the viability of such programs at other institutions.

Keywords

• information literacy; library instruction; upper-division; advanced writing; focus groups; assessment