In August I was asked to uphold my end of a St. Mary’s Teaching & Learning Grant bargain. The money I received helped me attend the Critical Librarianship and Pedagogy Symposium in February 2016, and in return I would be expected to lead a Teaching & Learning Lunch about critical information literacy for faculty. The lunch took place in early November, but as I’ve mentioned, last fall–particularly late fall–was a mess of tenure & promotion angst. So I’m just getting around to posting now.
I’m doing so because I think discussions like these are worth having. They show our non-librarian colleagues that we think about and teach more than just how to use interlibrary loan and find articles. They encourage faculty to think more deeply about the ways in which critical information literacy has a place in their courses. They have the potential to help instructors shape lessons, assignments, and classes that encourage students to explore the socioeconomic, political, and cultural context of information creation, dissemination, and consumption. This teaching and learning lunch was, in my opinion, a successful one. It got my colleagues outside of the library thinking and talking about information literacy as more than just “information access.” It demonstrated that we–the librarian “we”–are thinking deeply about education and our curriculum, and it reiterated the place that critical information literacy has in a liberal arts college.
I may be repeating a version of this workshop/discussion for a larger faculty audience this spring, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share my outline and handouts. Note: I didn’t get to everything in the outline, but I am leaving it as is in case you have more time. If you adapt or use this outline and handouts in anyway, please let me know! I’d love to hear about the critical information literacy discussions you’re having with faculty at your institutions.
Teaching & Learning Lunch Documents:
I also shared the following examples of critical information literacy assignments and activities:
- Potter, Robin, and Alycia Sellie. “Zines in the Classroom: Critical Librarianship and Participatory Collections.” Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook: Lesson Plans. Ed. Nicole Pagowsky and Kelly McElroy. Vol. 2, Association of College and Research Libraries, 2016, pp. 117–124.
- Schlesselman-Tarango, Gina and Frances Suderman, “Critical Pedagogy and the Information Cycle: A Practical Application.” Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook: Lesson Plans. Ed. Nicole Pagowsky and Kelly McElroy. Vol. 2, Association of College and Research Libraries, 2016, pp. 59-69
- Process Cards by Kevin Seeber
