Information Literacy
We live in an era with an enormous amount of information easily available to us. But that very ease disguises the complexity of how information is produced, by whom, and for what purposes. At Santa Clara, we understand that information literacy abilities are critically needed by our students to navigate this changing landscape as both scholars and engaged members of society.
78%
of seniors' research papers were judged as proficient or highly proficient in using sources and evidence. SCU seniors surpassed the benchmark set by four peer institutions (Multi-Campus Study, 2015).
Library Resources
- SCU Library offers targeted services and resources to support the information literacy growth and needs of students.
- Students can seek personalized help for research assignments right when they need it through the Ask-a-Librarian service and one-one-research appointments. In 2018-19, the Library provided 2,500 individual help sessions.
- Students can access high-quality information through 300 specialized, discipline-specific databases, accessible 24/7.
Faculty and Librarian Partnerships
- Librarians partner with faculty in the freshman-advanced writing sequence, capstone courses, research methods classes, LEAD program offerings, and immersion experiences, for example.
- In 2018, librarians taught 400 embedded class sessions, totaling more than 1800 hours of teaching preparation and delivery.
- The Library offers 700 tailored research guides in 55 subject areas, with specialist librarians assigned to lead in different discipline areas.
78%
of seniors report that their SCU education contributed very much or quite a bit to their knowledge, skills, and personal development in using information effectively (NSSE, 2017).
64%
of seniors frequently evaluate the quality or reliability of the information they receive; another 34% do so occasionally (HERI College Senior Survey, 2019).
Information Literacy Skills
- Faculty and librarians help students understand how information is produced and valued, engage them in selecting information purposively and critically, and guide them to use information accurately and ethically.
- Framing these skills in socially relevant and important contexts is a priority at SCU. Students explore issues in news production and algorithmic biases.
- SCU uses the Association of College & Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy as its teaching reference.