Integrating Information Literacy into the Curriculum
Oberlin College Library's Faculty Workshop

ALA Poster Session V-5.

Monday, June 30, 1997 — San Francisco Moscone Convention Center

Prepared by:

Cynthia Comer, Head of Reference

Paula Contreras, Reference Librarian

Haipeng Li, Reference Librarian

Megan Mitchell, Reference Librarian

Alison Ricker, Science Librarian

The following outline was prepared as a planning document for a workshop designed to assist faculty interested in incorporating new information technology and information literacy concepts into the curriculum. The workshop, a series of nine sessions that could be taken in toto or selectively, was conceived and developed by an ad hoc group of librarians and faculty. We worked together in the fall of 1996, in response to discussions that took place following the distribution to all teaching faculty of the General Faculty Library Committee's report Information Literacy and the Oberlin Education.

Oberlin College Library
Faculty Workshop on Information Literacy

Session 1: Overview of information sources and search strategies

Wednesday, January 8, 1997
Ray English, Director of Libraries
In designing a search strategy, one needs to take into account the various types of reference works and other information sources. Some of these are useful for orientation and background information; others provide detailed information or evidence. A given index or other search tool may be invaluable for finding certain types of sources but be useless for others. We will discuss what sources are available, how libraries and publishers exercise bibliographic control over published and unpublished material, the development of search strategies, and the evaluation of information sources. This is a prerequisite for all other sessions.

Session 2: Standard reference sources

Friday, January 10, 1997
Megan Mitchell, Reference Librarian
This session considers some traditional sources such as specialized encyclopedias, review articles, critical reviews, bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts. It emphasizes the diverse types of sources that can greatly aid one's search for information in fields with which one is unfamiliar.. Assumed preparation: Session 1.

Session 3: How catalogs and databases are organized

Monday, January 13, 1997
John Sluk, Head of Monographs
Kathy Abromeit, Public Services Librarian,Conservatory Library
The development of library catalogs set the basic framework for modern database construction by establishing rules for describing bibliographic materials in a thorough, consistent manner. This session will focus on the structure and controlled vocabulary of machine readable cataloging records, with an emphasis on subject headings. Understanding these concepts is essential for effectively retrieving information from large electronic databases. The transferability of this knowledge across disciplines and databases will be stressed. Assumed preparation: Session 1.

Session 4: Effective database searching

Wednesday, January 15, 1997
Cynthia Comer, Head of Reference; Paula Contreras, Reference Librarian
This session builds on the previous one by providing an overview of advanced techniques for searching databases. The application of set theory and Boolean logic to forming search statements will be covered in depth. Tips and techniques for finding relevant citations will also be included. This session should be attended by anyone who plans to attend sessions 5 or 6. OBIS and selected CD-ROM indexes will be used as working examples. Assumed preparation: Session 3.

Session 5: Electronic indexes

Friday, January 17, 1997
Alison Ricker, Science Librarian; Haipeng Li, Reference Librarian
FirstSearch, other electronic bibliographic tools, and the CD-ROM network will be described and demonstrated. Pointers for improving search statements in order to obtain more relevant results will be given. Assumed preparation: Session 4.

Session 6: Lexis/Nexis and other full-text databases

Monday, January 20, 1997
Haipeng Li, Reference Librarian; Cynthia Comer, Head of Reference
Lexis/Nexis is a full-text database that contains legal, governmental business, and medical information, and also a large number of domestic and international news sources. It contains a wealth of information, but naive searches can result in so many hits that the researcher can waste hours wading through irrelevant information. This session will discuss both the contents of the database and appropriate search techniques. Other full-text resources will also be discussed. Assumed preparation: Session 4.

Session 7: Tools for searching the Web

Wednesday, January 22, 1997
Paula Contreras, Reference Librarian; Alison Ricker, Science Librarian
How does one find useful information on the World Wide Web? What are the main categories (for the present) of information on the Web and of tools for finding that information? How does one cope with tools and information sources that are evolving rapidly? This is not a session on how to use Netscape. It assumes some prior experience and discusses effective techniques and tools for finding information on the Web. Assumed preparation: Session 1.

Session 8: Government documents

Friday, January 24, 1997
Megan Mitchell, Reference Librarian; Paula Contreras, Reference Librarian
The U.S. government is the largest publisher in the world, collecting data and issuing reports on an astonishing range of topics. The Oberlin College library is a selective depository for U.S. government documents, which gives the College community access to a massive amount of information that can be difficult to identify and locate. This session discusses the range of government documents available, the tools for identifying them, and how to find them in our library and on the Web. Assumed preparation: Session 1.

Session 9: Information literacy in the curriculum

Monday, January 27, 1997
Bob Geitz, Associate Professor of Computer Science, et al.
This session will be devoted to a discussion of possible ways to incorporate into the curriculum the types of material treated in the previous sessions.

Do not use or revise any of the material presented here or on our website without explicit approval from and acknowledgment to the Oberlin College Library. © Oberlin College Library, 1997

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