The Information Literacy Program at AUB

What is Information Literacy
The concept "Information Literacy" was coined by the Association of College and Research Libraries of the American Library Association in the eighties, to denote a set of abilities requiring that individuals learn where information resides and to develop the skill to locate, evaluate and use it effectively.

What are the Information Literacy Standards
The ACRL has published standards by which that process can be implemented and evaluated. Briefly, these are:

1. The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
2. The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
3. The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
4. The information literate student applies new and prior information to the planning and creation of a particular product and performance.
5. The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.

Information Literacy at AUB
Information Literacy is one of the basic skills taught at the University, as part of the General Education Requirements.
The University Libraries, through the Information Services Department, have embraced these principles and are building a structured and sequential program through the departments and schools. The purpose of the program is to assist faculty in teaching students to develop the necessary skills for successful research.
Since its inception in 2002, the program has reached an average of 7500 students in 750 sessions annually, covering all major disciplines.

The program is composed of:

The Communication Skills Program: In collaboration with the instructors and to ensure that all entering students are introduced to the research process, sessions are offered teaching students in how to locate, evaluate and use the resources for assignments.

Course or Major-related Sessions: Course or subject-related sessions focusing on core research sources and electronic databases are offered upon faculty request to fit the needs of the course or the major discipline.

Orientation sessions: are provided to new students and faculty, in coordination with other campus constituencies.

Individual research assistance: is offered by the Information Services and Reference Departments for faculty research and for graduate students preparing theses.

Customized Web guides, pathfinders, online assignments and bibliographic lists: are created to suit a discipline or course and may be posted on a Moodle site in the Course Management System.

Special Faculty workshops: are organized to assist professors in integrating library resources in research assignments within courses.

All sessions are offered by professional librarians in the Information Services Department. They are run in a state of the art electronic classroom (Antoun Ghattas Karam Electronic Classroom). The room can accommodate 30 students.

For a session, contact the Information Services Department. Ext.2629, or email libinfo@aub.edu.lb