Rationale

In an “information economy,” graduating students with information, digital and data literacy is more important and complex than ever. While to some extent libraries’ teaching efforts are the epitome of local agency, OLS has an important role to play in supporting activities that cultivate information and digital literacy for CUNY students– empowering our students and cultivating their autonomy while also respecting their diverse and rich experiences.

Five-Year Actions by Goal

Goal 1 (Integration):

• Position libraries to actively support the accreditation process, which includes information and digital literacies as core competencies.
• Facilitate an embedded, scaled approach to information literacy by integrating teaching materials in the learning management systems and other points of need.

Goal 2 (Innovation):

• Promote and value innovative modes of library-based teaching, like data analysis, teaching with archives, or design thinking in makerspaces.
• Develop an OER information literacy initiative to ensure that library teaching material is clearly branded and openly shared, resulting in a repository of open teaching material.

Goal 3 (Centralization):

• Support a more coordinated approach to information and technology literacy across the system, including best practices for assignment development and shared assessment tools tied to the Common Core and Pathways courses.
• Increase and scale engagement with CUNY-wide pedagogical initiatives (e.g. Innovative Pedagogy) that can connect libraries with engaged faculty on their campuses.

End States

We will know we are successful when:

• CUNY Libraries are integrated into the accreditation process and play a defined and valued role in supporting students in their information and digital literacy needs.
• CUNY Libraries share teaching materials and best practices openly and widely, and value all types of library-based teaching.
• Virtual and in-person library-based teaching activities increase across the CUNY system and student and faculty feedback regarding library instruction improves.
• OLS has partnered with entities across CUNY to provide programming and incentives to support innovative teaching and pedagogy across the University.