The institution ensures that users have access to regular and timely instruction in the use of the library and other learning/information resources.

_X_Compliance                      ___Partial Compliance                       ___Non-Compliance

Narrative

The mission of St. Petersburg College includes a goal for students to demonstrate both information literacy and computer literacy as part of the College’s general education requirement.

Students must pass the Basic Computer and Information Literacy test or take one or a series of the courses described below to develop those competencies.  The requirement is part of all program plans listed in the SPC Catalog.  A description of the requirement is prominently displayed on the Library Online Web site:

                  Excerpt from College Catalog

To help develop these required competencies, the Library partnered with the Business Technologies program to create several courses that are offered in both traditional face-to-face and online formats.  In addition, this group designed an online test that students may take to demonstrate mastery of these competencies without taking courses.  They also developed tutorials to help prepare students to take both the competency exam and the courses.

Three one-hour credit courses are currently offered:

• CTS 1101 -- Basic Computer and Information Literacy
• LIS 1002 – Introduction to Electronic Research
• LIS 2004 – Introduction to the Internet as a Research Tool

The library has also developed an honors version of LIS 1002 – Advanced Electronic Research Strategies for Honors College students. 

The objectives of the CTS 11101, Basic Computer and Information Literacy, which is taught by both BT and library Faculty, include:

1. Demonstrating the ability to use a variety of electronic databases to locate information for a selected topic.
2. Demonstrating the ability to critically assess the value of Internet resources for specific information through demonstrating the ability to locate, evaluate and cite relevant research materials on the Internet.
3. Demonstrating knowledge of the legal and ethical use of intellectual property.

The final exam for this course, CTS 1101, is part of the College General Education assessment. Test data is analyzed each year and questions are revised, deleted or added as needed. As mentioned above, online tutorials are available to assist students in preparing to take the exam. The Committee responsible for CTS 1101 consists of Faculty from Business Technology and the Library and is chaired by the Director of Business Technology, the Library Director, and the Director of Testing.  The Committee has also sponsored pilot tests of the national Information and Computer Literacy Test (ICT) developed by the Educational Testing Service as they plan for continually improving assessment tools.

LIS 1002, Introduction to Electronic Research, fulfills one half of the required credit (information literacy) and may be taken with the computer courses listed in 2.b. above to meet the complete General Education requirement.  This course is taught by library Faculty each semester.

LIS 1002, Introduction to Electronic Research Course Description

      In addition to credit courses, instructional classes and workshops are provided on each campus and at each site for course-related assignments.  General library orientations and research technique classes are taught on a regular basis at each campus for students in classes as diverse as Basic Reading, Composition I, American National Government, Humanities or nursing.  These classes are taught in collaboration with program Faculty so that the information resources and concepts taught are specific to the course.  In 2004/5, 404 instructional classes were taught.  The Library also participates in the College’s developmental course, SLS 1101, College Success Skills.  Each section of the course includes a library component that was jointly developed by a librarian and SLS Faculty.  In 2005/06 397 faculty-requested library instructions were taught, reaching almost 6,000 students in face-to-face instruction.

      Instructional Services to Four-Year Programs

      The library has two full-time and one half-time librarians dedicated to serving the needs of the baccalaureate students and.  These program librarians focus on faculty and student library orientations and liaison work.  The BS program Nursing offers a sample of the liaison work that is done in the four-year programs:

• Faculty members are introduced to library services and library resources for the Nursing program through informational packets and ongoing discussion.
• Complete Online Library Research Orientations were developed and made available for every student in the program, via Library Online.  Additionally, traditional library instructions can be scheduled at the library for interested students.
• New students receive a letter of welcome and introduction to library services.  A follow-up email is sent which provides details and instructions for accessing resources.
• Information Literacy principles are identified for subject areas and will be incorporated into research lessons.  Among them:

• Students will be introduced to the concepts of authority, scope and consensus in scholarly journals and reports.
• Students will become familiar with the research tools and publications of their professional area.
• Students will learn to do effective searching utilizing tools such as Boolean operators, thesaurus functions (CINAHL headings), wildcard and other protocols.
• Students will learn critical thinking skills.

• Research handouts were developed for subject specific databases, such as Ovid, CINAHL, Health Source Nursing Academic, and MEDLINE.  These are made available online to every student in program.

Librarians also attend weekly program meetings and met regularly with Faculty for ongoing selection of books, periodicals, Web site additions and other materials to identify and provide services in support of programs.

Reference Desk services are provided by professional library staff at campus libraries at all times the campus libraries are open.  At locations such as the Downtown, Midtown and Epi centers which do not house libraries on-site, libraries instructional services are provided by outreach librarians from the St. Petersburg Gibbs campus on a weekly basis and by request.  Strong efforts are underway to educate students and Faculty at these sites about the availability of online and in-person library services and resources, including library research classes, tutorials and curriculum development.

In addition to the immediate help and instruction students can get during library hours from a staff librarian at each campus library, Library Online links to the State Library of Florida “Ask a Librarian” online reference service.  This service consists of two parts: Chat Reference (real time) and an email reference service. St. Petersburg College Library participates in the Statewide “Ask a Librarian” chat service whose hours are 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sun-Fri and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday.  Statewide chat is staffed by librarians from different parts of the State of Florida.  Patrons who prefer to send an email reference question to an SPC librarian can normally expect a reply within 24 hours or less.

                        Excerpt from Library Online Web page

The Library Online also has interactive tutorials including advanced search techniques, evaluating online resources and online catalog search techniques.  The Web site includes librarian developed pathfinders, subject guides and vetted web links that pertain to specific disciplines.  The Library Online connects to such services as PRIMO, a Web site of selected online tutorials selected and supported by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction Section.

                             Information Literacy:  Online Tutorials

The library has added a Blog to its services to provide current information on library activities as well as tips and techniques for improving information literacy:

                                      SPC Library Blog, 2006

Instruction in the use of other learning/information resources

Learning Resource Centers.  At least six days of the week throughout the semester a significant amount of face-to-face tutoring is available in all Learning Support Centers and Information Commons to assist and teach students using course-specific or learning management software.  A typical schedule of tutoring support appears on the Clearwater Learning Support Center Web site:

Excerpt from Clearwater Learning Support Center Web page

Learning Management System support

St. Petersburg College uses a learning management system called ANGEL ("A New Global Environment for Online Learning") to deliver online and blended courses.  ANGEL combines course content with tools like email, discussion forums and interactive quizzes in an easy-to-learn, user-friendly interface.  Library Faculty who teach the LIS and CTS courses online must complete the ANGEL training module.

The College provides tutorials that address all aspects of working within ANGEL, from basic navigation to using various functions, including: submitting assignments, taking quizzes, posting messages to the discussion forum, and participating in live chats.  Tutorials also demonstrate how to customize the student’s own ANGEL home page.

For each tutorial, a student has three options:

• View the tutorial, with its text instructions, on the screen
• Print out a copy of the on-screen tutorial for later reference
• View an animated, narrated "movie" of the tutorial  
• In addition, students can find immediate help on using ANGEL, as well as other College software such as student email, Ask a Librarian Chat Service, MySPC College portal, Library Online, online registration, or Academic Systems math software, from the SPC Technical Help Desk through online or telephone help.  Help Desk Hours (EST/EDT) are Monday thru Saturday: 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Sunday: 1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Effectiveness of Learning/Information Services

The effectiveness of the instructional services provided by the Library is evaluated through General Education Assessments, the annual Enrolled Student Survey, and an internally-generated Library survey.

As one of the College’s general education goals, the effectiveness of the College’s preparation of students in the area of computer and information literacy is monitored by the Educational Oversight Committee by means of a General Education Assessment.  In addition, the Computer and Information Literacy course is reviewed every three years as are all credit courses, with the latest review in 2004.

The College Oversight Committee for Educational Support Services reviews the assessment data on the effectiveness of instruction on use of the Library and other learning/information resources outside of formal courses.  The Library, Tutorial Services, and Services to the Disabled form the College Oversight Committee for Educational Support Services.  The Oversight Committee is charged with providing learning support and assistance for students and this support is provided both in campus facilities and online.  Each component of the Oversight Committee sets annual goals regarding student achievement and services and each component surveys users annually (or more frequently) to assess and evaluate services.

The Oversight Committee uses a number of assessment tools including the institution-wide Enrolled Student Survey, which collects data on student satisfaction by service and by campus.  The Library also uses an annual survey of students and Faculty and has used the same survey instrument since 2000.  The survey is specific to campuses and includes opportunity for comments and suggestions and those comments and suggestions are used to develop goals for campus libraries.  Tutorial Services and OSSD each have developed surveys to assess their services in more detail than the Enrolled Student Survey.

On the 2006 annual Enrolled Student Survey, the Library received the second highest level of student satisfaction of any of the services provided by the college, 6.18 on a 7-point Likert scale.  Student satisfaction with the SPC libraries has steadily risen over the last four years:

A focus group of Program Directors that met in Fall 2005 commended the SPC libraries’ staff for the effort they make to ensure library resources and instruction meet the needs of all programs.  Two focus groups were held at the Seminole campus in Fall 2006 to survey Faculty and students on library needs and improvements at that library which is a joint use facility with the city of Seminole.  Work is underway to implement many of the recommendations including undertaking a collection analysis, adding additional book titles to better support the College curricula, convening a Faculty advisory task force and adding additional librarian hours for reference assistance and library instruction.

As a result of the College’s strong endorsement of Information Literacy skills for students, the SPC Library was selected along with Eckerd College to co-host the 2005 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) International Information Literacy Immersion Institute, a highly competitive program for academic librarians.  Two librarians from the College attended the first Institute in 1999 and were instrumental in beginning the library’s program to engage students and Faculty in information literacy.  Since 1999, two additional SPC librarians have been selected to participate in the Immersion program.  Outgoing Director of Libraries, Dr. Susan Anderson, was named the 2005 College and Junior Colleges Libraries Section Leadership award recipient.  This award is given each year by CJCLS, a section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, in recognition of achievement in advocacy of learning resources/library programs or services, or leadership in professional organizations that are associated with the mission of community, junior, or technical colleges.

References