What is Information Literacy Anyway?

It has been said that information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations. As defined by the American Libraries Association (ALA), information literacy is defines as the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand. The ALA has identified five standards for determining an "information literate" person. Each standard builds on and expands the previous one. The text below is from the ALAStandards: Step-by-Step document. It does a wonderful job of clearly articulating the intent of each standard.

Standard One seeks to focus on an information need, explore various options for meeting this need and requires a basic understanding of how information is generated, organized and disseminated. The student must be able to identify these questions:
What is it you want to know?
What kind of information do you need?
How much information do you need?

Standard Two builds on Standard One. It focuses on student's ability to access information in an effective and efficient manner, once they have clarified their need for information. It's probably the easiest to understand since it's all about getting at the information. The student must be able to answer these questions:
What is the best way to gather this information?
Am I using the best terms for this search?
Which search system or other resource will get me this information?

Standard Three is perhaps the most important as it stresses the need for all of us to evaluate information critically as we select and use it. This is especially important because of the amount and nature and formats of the information available. Students must develop abilities that critically analyze information. The student must be able to answer these questions:
Is this s credible source of information?
Is there another interpretation or point of view?
How does this new information change what I know?

Standard Four focuses on the various uses of information as we communicate with others. The student must be able to answer these questions:
What is the best method for presenting this information?
Will this image convey the message I want?
Are these quotes supportive of my ideas?

Finally, Standard Five outlines important aspects of legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of information. Besides focusing on the plagiarism issue, freedom of speech, privacy, intellectual property, fair use and other aspects fall into this category. The student must be able to answer these questions:
Can I make a copy of this material?
What are the issues surrounding censorship?
Are there college policies about information gathering, use or reproduction and dissemination?

So, that's information literacy in a nutshell. As librarians, we integrate these standards into our class instruction. But, I think that you will agree that they are relevant far beyond the walls of academia.

April Acquisitions List

Acquisitions List
Chadwick Library
Iowa Wesleyan College
April 2008

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REFERENCE, INDEX, ETC.

Education index. H.W. Wilson, 2007. (Index Z5813 .E23 v.57)

The world almanac and book of facts 2008. World Almanac Books, 2008. (Ref AY67.N5 W7 2008)

Current biography yearbook 2007. H.W. Wilson, 2007. (Ref CT100 .C8 2007)

Statistical abstract of the United States 2008. U.S. Census Bureau, 2007. (Ref HA202 .U5 2008)

The United States government manual 2007-2008. Office of the Federal Register, 2007. (Ref JK421 .A3 2007-2008)

Physicians’ desk reference 2008. Thomson Healthcare, 2007. (Ref RS75 .P5 2008)

Powers, Bethel Ann. Dictionary of nursing theory and research. Springer, 2006. (Ref RT81.5 .P69 2006)

*Consumer Reports buying guide 2008. Consumers Union, 2007. (Ref TX335.A1 B7 2008)

GENERAL INTEREST

*Statistical match of the March 1996 Current Population Survey and the 1995 National Health Interview Survey. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2008. (RA407.3 .A302 no.144)

*Linkage of the National Health Interview Survey to air quality data. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2008. (RA407.3 .A302 no.145)

*Summary health statistics for U.S. children : National Health Interview Survey, 2006. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2007. (RA407.3 .A310 no.234)

*Summary health statistics for U.S. adults : National Health Interview Survey, 2006. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2007. (RA407.3 .A310 no.235)

*Summary health statistics for the U.S. population : National Health Interview Survey, 2006. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2008. (RA407.3 .A310 no.236)

*Electronic medical record use by office-based physicians and their practices : United States, 2006. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2007. (RA407.3 .U57c no.393)

*Health characteristics of the Asian adult population : United States, 2004-2006. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2008. (RA407.3 .U57c no.394)

NURSING

Glannon, Walter. Bioethics and the brain. Oxford University Press, 2007. (RC343 .G53 2007)

Pediatric clinics of North America. Saunders, 2007. (RJ23 .P4 v.54 no.4)

Pediatric clinics of North America. Saunders, 2007. (RJ23 .P4 v.54 no.5)

Pediatric clinics of North America. Saunders, 2007. (RJ23 .P4 v.54 no.6)

Pediatric clinics of North America. Saunders, 2008. (RJ23 .P4 v.55 no.1)

Nursing clinics of North America. Saunders, 2007. (RT1 .N77 v.42 no.3)

Nursing clinics of North America. Saunders, 2007. (RT1 .N77 v.42 no.4)

Nursing clinics of North America. Saunders, 2008. (RT1 .N77 v.43 no.1)

O’Lynn, Chad E. (ed.). Men in nursing : history, challenges, and opportunities. Springer, 2007. (RT41 .M46 2007)

Nelson, Sioban (ed.). The complexities of care : nursing reconsidered. ILR Press, 2006. (RT82 .C655 2006)

EDUCATION

Noddings, Nel. Critical lessons : what our schools should teach. Cambridge University Press, 2007. (BF441 .N63 2007)

Urban, Wayne J. American education : a history. McGraw-Hill, 2004. (LA205 .U73 2004)

Hansen, David T. (ed). John Dewey and our educational prospect : a critical engagement with Dewey’s Democracy and Education. State University of New York Press, 2006. (LB875.D5 J627 2006)

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding by design : connecting content and kids. ASCD, 2006. (LB1027.3 .T66 2006)

Hirsch, E.D. The knowledge deficit : closing the shocking education gap for American children. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. (LB1050 .H567 2006)

O’Connor, Rollanda E. Teaching word recognition : effective strategies for students with learning difficulties. Guilford Press, 2007. (LB1050.45 .O26 2007)

Stahl, Steven A. Teaching word meanings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006. (LB1574.5 .S72 2006)

Graham, Steve (ed). Best practices in writing instruction. Guilford Press, 2007. (LB1576 .B487 2007)

Douglas, Rowena (ed). Linking science & literacy in the K-8 classroom. NSTA, 2006. (LB1585.3 .L556 2006)

Marzano, Robert J. Classroom assessment & grading that work. ASCD, 2006. (LB3051 .M4573 2006)

Shapiro, H.Svi. Losing heart : the moral and spiritual miseducation of America’s children. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006. (LC191.4 .S53 2006)

Nagin, Carl. Because writing matters : improving student writing in our schools. Jossey-Bass, 2006. (PE1405.U6 N38 2006)

Mickenberg, Julia L. Learning from the left : children’s literature, the Cold War, and radical politics in the United States. Oxford University Press, 2006. (PS228.P6 M53 2006)

Walter, Virginia A. War & peace : a guide to literature and new media : grades 4-8. Libraries Unlimited, 2007. (U21.2 .W3446 2007)

Gee, James Paul. What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. (GV1469.3 .G44 2007)

PSYCHOLOGY

Annual review of psychology. Annual Reviews, 2008. (BF30 .A56 v.59)

Fawley-O’Dea, Mary Gail. Perversion of power : sexual abuse in the Catholic church. Vanderbilt University Press, 2007. (BX1912.9 .F74 2007)

Laungani, Pittu D. Understanding cross-cultural psychology : Eastern and Western perspectives. Sage Publications, 2007. (GN502 .L38 2007)

Hall, Stephen S. Size matters : how height affects the health, happiness, and success of boys—and the men they become. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. (QP84 .H35 2006)

SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY

Hanson, F. Allan. The trouble with culture : how computers are calming the culture wars. State University of New York Press, 2007. (HM851 .H35 2007)

Hertz, Rosanna. Single by chance : mothers by choice : how women are choosing parenthood without marriage and creating the new American family. Oxford University Press, 2006. (HQ536 .H48 2006)

West, Elliott (ed). Small worlds : children & adolescents in America, 1850-1950. University Press of Kansas, 1992. (HQ792.U5 S575 1992)

Goodwin, Marjorie Harness. The hidden life of girls : games of stance, status, and exclusion. Wiley-Blackwell, 2006. (HQ1229 .G67 2006)

ART

Kemp, Martin. Seen/unseen : art, science, and intuition from Leonardo to the Hubble telescope. Oxford University Press, 2006. (N72.S3 K39 2006)

Jones, Carline A. (ed). Picturing science, producing art. Routledge, 1998. (N72.S3 P53 1998)

Smith, Pamela H. The body of the artisan : art and experience in the scientific revolution. University of Chicago Press, 2004. (N72.S3 S65 2004)

Rabkin, Nick (ed). Putting the arts in the picture : reframing education in the 21^st century. Columbia College Chicago, 2004. (N87 .P88 2004)

Grau, Oliver. Virtual art : from illusion to immersion. MIT Press, 2003. (N7436.5 .G7313 2003)

Kemp, Martin. The science of art : optical themes in Western art from Brunelleschi to Seurat. Yale University Press, 1990. (qND1475 .K46 1990)

Stafford, Barbara Maria. Artful science : enlightenment, entertainment, and the eclipse of visual education. MIT Press, 1994. (QP495 .S73 1994)

Bunnell, Peter C. Inside the photograph : writings on twentieth-century photography. Aperture, 2006. (TR185 .B86 2006)

Leibovitz, Annie. A photographer’s life : 1990-2005. Random House, 2006. (qTR680 .L377 2006)

Hill, John T. Walker Evans : lyric documentary. Steidl, 2006. (TR820.5 .E895 2006)

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
ACCOUNTING & ECONOMICS

*Buxton, Julia. The political economy of narcotics : production, consumption and global markets. Zed Books/Fernwood, 2006. (HV5801 .B85 2006)

COMMUNICATION

Free speech yearbook 2005. National Communication Association. (K6 .R44 2005)

ENGLISH & LITERATURE

Shakespeare survey. Cambridge University Press, 2007. (PR2888 .C33 v.60)

Lyrical Iowa 2007. Iowa Poetry Association, 2007. (PS571.I8 I58 2007)

HISTORY & POLITICAL SCIENCE

*van Genugten, Willem. The United Nations of the future : globalization with a human face. KIT Publishers, 2006. (JZ4995 .U55 2006)

*Rotberg, Robert I. (ed). Building a new Afghanistan. Brookings Institution Press, 2007. (DS371.4 .B83 2007)

MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER SCIENCE

Byers, William. How mathematicians think : using ambiguity, contradiction, and paradox to create mathematics. Princeton University Press, 2007. (BF456.N7 B94 2007)

Ekeland, Ivar. The best of all possible worlds : mathematics and destiny. University of Chicago Press, 2007. (Q172 .E36 2007)

Smed, Jouni. Algorithms and networking for computer games. Wiley, 2006. (QA76.76.C672 S62 2006)

Henshaw, John M. Does measurement measure up? : how numbers reveal and conceal the truth. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. (QA465 .H46 2006)

Langville, Amy N. Googles Page Rank and beyond : the science of search engine rankings. Princeton University Press, 2006. (TK5105.885.G66 L36 2006)

RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY

*Nasr, Vali. The Shia revival : how conflicts within Islam will shape the future. W.W. Norton, 2007. (BP194.185 .N37 2007)

deSilva, David A. Introducing the Apocrypha : message, context, and significance. Baker Academic, 2004. (BS1700 .D44 2004)

Harrington, Daniel J. Invitation to the Apocrypha. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999. (BS1700 .H37 1999)

Metzger, Bruce M. An introduction to the Apocrypha. Oxford University Press, 1977. (BS1700 .M4 1977)

Wake, William. Acts of Paul and Thecla. Kessinger Publishing, 2005. (BS2880.P4 B66 2005)

SCIENCE—GENERAL

Russey, William E. How to write a successful science thesis : the concise guide for students. Wiley-VCH, 2006. (LB2369 .R86 2006)

Maugeri, Leonardo. The age of oil : the mythology, history, and future of the world’s most controversial resource. Praeger Publishers, 2006. (TN870 .M339 2006)

Kruger, Paul. Alternative energy resources : the quest for sustainable energy. Wiley, 2006. (TJ808 .K78 2006)

SCIENCE—BIOLOGY

Weisman, Alan. The world without us. Thomas Dunne Books, 2007. (GF75 .W455 2007)

Koslow, Tony. The silent deep : the discovery, ecology and conservation of the deep sea. University of Chicago Press, 2007. (QH541.5.D35 K67 2007)

Linden, David J. The accidental mind. Belknap Press, 2007. (QP376 .L577 2007)

SCIENCE—CHEMISTRY

Greenberg, Arthur. The art of chemistry : myths, medicines, and materials. Wiley-Interscience, 2003. (qQD11 .G735 2003)

Greenberg, Arthur. A chemical history tour : picturing chemistry from alchemy to modern molecular science. Wiley-Interscience, 2000. (qQD11 .G74 2000)

Scerri, Eric R. The periodic table : its story and its significance. Oxford University Press, 2007. (QD467 .S345 2007)

YOUTH LITERATURE

Cobblestone : The many faces of George Washington : farmer, commander, parent, president. Carus Publishing Co., 2007. (Youth Lit MAG C63 v.28:8)

Cobblestone : Our Constitution : the road to a more perfect union. Carus Publishing Co., 2007. (Youth Lit MAG C63 v.28:9)

Cobblestone : Into the West. Carus Publishing Co., 2008. (Youth Lit MAG C63 v.29:1)

Cobblestone : Art and the Civil War. Carus Publishing Co., 2008. (Youth Lit MAG C63 v.29:2)

Cobblestone : Tough times : surviving the Great Depression. Carus Publishing Co., 2008. (Youth Lit MAG C63 v.29:3)

AUDIO-VISUAL

Gore, Al. An inconvenient truth : the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Paramount, 2006. (A-V DVD QC981.8.G56 I53 2006)