Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies Faculty Awarded Nearly $250K IMLS Grant

July 2nd, 2019

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — Faculty in Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies are part of a team of academic library faculty who recently were selected to receive a $249,179 award through the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program via the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Along with librarians at the University of Arizona and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies faculty librarians will collaborate on the project with university classroom instructors to develop disciplinary-based, information literacy curricula.

The results of the project, “Academic Librarian Curriculum Developers: Building Capacity to Integrate Information Literacy across the University,” will be shared with academic library professionals, administrators, and information literacy thought leaders across the nation. Project team leaders include: Clarence Maybee, project lead, Purdue; Michael Flierl, co-project lead, Purdue; Maribeth Slebodnik, co-project lead, University of Arizona; and Catherine Fraser Riehle, co-project lead, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Preparing graduates to use digital information in their future work and lives requires teaching them to use information in disciplinary and professional learning contexts, the team leaders noted.

Maybee, associate professor and information literacy specialist at Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies, explained those involved in the project will apply a learning design model that underscores the role information plays in the learning process. The project will help academic library professionals collaborate with disciplinary instructors to integrate information literacy into courses and assess the outcomes of the resulting coursework.

“I am excited to receive this IMLS grant, as it allows us to expand the work we are doing at Purdue to integrate information literacy into courses to two other large research universities—University of Arizona, and University of Nebraska, Lincoln,” he added.

Dean of Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies Beth McNeil noted the award is an endorsement of the innovative information literacy work Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies faculty have been doing with such noteworthy programs as IMPACT (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Information).

“Our librarian faculty are on the cutting edge of integrating information literacy into 21st-century teaching and learning styles,” McNeil said. “This award will enable our faculty to continue their transformational work and collaborate, and expand it, with librarians and instructional faculty at two other noted research institutions. Results of this important project will enhance current students’ information literacy skills, which they can apply to make better informed decisions and use to tackle tough future challenges in both their professional and personal lives.”

For more information about Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies’ involvement in the grant project, contact Maybee at cmaybee@purdue.edu. Information about the IMLS grant award is available at www.imls.gov/grants/awarded/re-13-19-0021-19.