Library Learning Outcomes
This collection of Library Learning Outcomes and Potential Objectives is based heavily on the ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy, the Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians, and modeled after those of several universities, including Hunter College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro University Libraries.
Outcome 1. Students acknowledge familiarity with library resources and services.
Potential Outcome 1 Objectives:
- Students demonstrate knowledge of the Library’s location on Alpine campus and on the internet (i.e., where to search);
- Students distinguish between the types of sources available from libraries and other places to access information (i.e., what to search);
- Students identify and recall how to get help from a librarian at SRSU;
- Students demonstrate an understanding of the value of library services translated to the real world.
Outcome 2. Through practice, students independently determine an information need and perform research effectively and efficiently to meet that need.
Potential Outcome 2 Objectives:
- Students successfully explain the requirements of an assignment in order to identify an initial question or problem to be researched;
- Students demonstrate that they know what sources are and how sources differ in their content and qualities.
Outcome 3. Through practice, students successfully describe different categories of information related to their research needs.
Potential Outcome 3 Objectives:
- Students identify and differentiate between different categories of information in order to define appropriate resources for specific assignments, including but not limited to:
- Physical versus digital sources;
- Popular versus peer-reviewed (academic) sources;
- Library-curated versus free internet sources;
- Reference sources;
- Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
Outcome 4. Through practice, students construct effective search strategies and utilize appropriate searching language to access information.
Potential Objective 4 Objectives:
- Students use an existing text or prior reading/knowledge to develop relevant search terms;
- Students demonstrate an understanding of the Library’s catalog offerings in order to use the best tool for their research;
- Students demonstrate an understanding of basic and advanced strategic searching on a variety of interfaces (meta-search engines, catalogs, subject-specific databases, free internet) to access relevant information;
- Students consciously and strategically read database records in order to glean relevant information about sources;
- Students effectively evaluate sources for relevance, credibility, and quality.
Outcome 5. Students ethically select and utilize relevant information sources based on defined situational contexts.
Potential Objective 5 Objectives:
- Students locate specific and relevant sources based on their field of study;
- Students demonstrate their recognition of personal bias and other evaluative factors in research;
- Students build acceptable works cited/annotated bibliography/reference sheets based on the requirements of the product [assignment];
- Students correctly and consistently use the citation style appropriate to a specific discipline in order to effectively manage the relevant sources used.