How any hours are required to obtain and information literacy minor?
15 total credit hours (9 required credits)
Required Courses:
| CM101 Computer Concepts/Applications | (3 hours) |
| IL170 Library Research Strategies | (1 hour) |
| IL171 Internet Research Strategies | (1 hour) |
| IL172 Advanced Research Strategies | (1 hour) |
Electives (Choose 3):
| IL300 Information Literacy for Scholars | (3 hours) |
| IL301 Google & Beyond | (3 hours) |
| IL311 Information Literacy for the Health Professional | (3 hours) |
| IL321 Information Organization and Access | (3 hours) |
| IL351 Information, Culture, and People | (3 hours) |
| IL398 Readings | (3 hours) |
| IL399 Research | (3 hours) |
The United States National Forum on Information Literacy defines information literacy as “… the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.”
What Is the Information Literacy Minor?
The Information Literacy Minor at Washburn University is an online program open to all baccalaureate students in all majors and degree programs. The program contains both theoretical and experiential components for a total of 15-credit hours. The primary objective of the program is to teach students Information Literacy and prepare them to take an active role in lifelong learning in the Knowledge Economy into which they will graduate and live their professional lives. The IL Minor directly supports the Washburn University Student Learning Outcome of Information Literacy and Technology.
Students completing the Information Literacy Minor will be able to meet all of the Association of College and Research Library’s (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.
As defined by the ACRL standards, the information literate student will be able to:
1. Determine the nature and extent of the information needed
2. Access needed information effectively and efficiently.
3. Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into their own knowledge base.
4. Individually or as a member of a group, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
5. Understand many of the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses the information ethically and legally.
IL 170 Library Research Strategies (1)
Designed to both introduce and improve basic library research skills using the print and automated information retrieval resources of the University Library. Additional in-depth analysis of database sources, the ability to construct search strategies, and evaluation of materials are covered. Likewise, search methods in a variety of subject disciplines are explored.
IL 171: Internet Research Strategies (1)
Designed to both introduce and improve research strategies for finding scholarly information on the Internet, including resources in the Invisible Web that cannot be accessed with standard search engines such as Google. Students will learn to formulate and modify an effective research strategy, investigate the theory behind the research process, and critically evaluate electronic resources based on appropriate criteria. Prerequisite: IL170
IL 172: Advanced Research Strategies (1)