Teaching in a Tea House Esther Grassian UCLA

Teaching in a Tea House Esther Grassian, UCLA College Library Catherine Haras, CSULA Billy Pashaie, East LA College

Surprising LILi Data re Teaching! n …in a Tea House (USC)

They’re also teaching… n n …in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi & American Sign Language (Alameda County Library) Archiving VOIP (Voice Over IP) Library Sessions (National University)

LILi? n n n What? Why? How? Lessons Learned Further Research

LILi: Lifelong Information Literacy n n Informal Group of Librarians Spectrum of California Libraries Investigating IL Definitions, Standards & Instruction GOAL: Suggestions re Sequenced, Lifelong ILI Curriculum http: //www. library. ucla. edu/libraries/college/lili/index. htm

Why? Lit Review n Hypothesis: ILI efforts across various types of libraries are not sequentially coordinated.

More… n n Interesting surprises re AASL and ACRL’s Blueprint for Collaboration IFLA and UNESCO don’t mention sequential ILI

Even more… n n n Pipeline & Lifelong ILI Underdeveloped Cross-Institutional Collaboration Limited or Non-Existent Obstacles n n Budget Time Personnel and…

California-Specific Problems n n No State IL Mandate Fewest FTE Library Media Teachers in Nation

How? LILi Methodology: Survey Instrument n n Broad IL Definition Goal re ILI in California: To ID… n n n current practice gaps overlaps

Issues n n IL Offered, but Not Labeled as IL Instruction Differs Even Within Institutions

Questions… n n n # of Surveys to Use No Funding Soliciting Broad Cross-Section of Responses Consciousness-Raising Decision: 1 Zoomerang Survey

No Precedent First Grassroots IL Survey Across All Types of Libraries

Data Collection n Two Question Reviews by Expert Spring 2006 Pilot Fall 2006 Final Survey Mounted

More Issues… n n Difficult to Determine Total # of California Libraries Missing Numbers… n n n Academic Library Branches Public Library Departments Private School Libraries or Library Media Centers

Numbers Available n n n Public Libraries: 1, 153 Special Libraries: 1, 017 Academic Libraries: 346 Public School Libraries or Library Media Centers: 6, 340 TOTAL: 8, 856

Survey Responses n n 300 Total Responses Geographically Distributed Across California 247 Usable Responses Only 3 Usable Special Library Responses

Issues n n Results Cannot be Generalized Interesting Data Tell Anecdotal Story Reflects Range of Current IL Practice in California Survey Analysis=Significance & Broadest Interest

Sample {n=247} n n n Academic = 32% Public = 16% School = 48% Special = 1% Other = 5% 98% have an operating Library or Library Media Center

Serving a range of populations n n n Up to 500 Users = 11% 501 -5000 Users = 48% 5, 001 -20, 000 Users = 16% 20, 001 -50, 000 Users = 12% Over 50, 000 Users = 11%

4 Preliminary Findings n n Professional Instruction using IL standards Teaching infrequently assessed and not mandatory Articulation beyond the institution is rare Achievements and obstacles common across libraries

1. Professional instruction using IL standards The number of libraries… Offering instruction With a definition of IL Using professionally developed standards Using Librarians to teach (MLS/MLIS) For school or course-related assignments • 44% High school • 36% Undergraduates 76% 69% 71% 74% 95%

Type of instruction • Point of use or 1 -on-1 90% • Informational web pages 71% • Group instruction 67% • Instructional materials 62% (bibliographies, finding aids) • Interactive tutorials 21% • For ILI, few use blogs (7%), RSS feeds (4%), podcasts (2%) or wikis (2%)

2. Teaching not assessed frequently and not mandatory Number of libraries… Without formal assessment practices With mandatory ILI 43% 18%

We are teaching the same topics Overlapping instruction Library catalog Locating materials 95% 89% How the web works 67% Basic computer functions 51% Surprises: • 36% teach evaluation of periodical articles • 18% teach blogs and wikis

3. Articulation Beyond the Institution is Rare n n Only 7 of 247 libraries reported contact or collaboration with a sequencing institution Only 48% include “ability to engage in lifelong learning” in their IL definition

4. Achievements & Obstacles Common Across Libraries Highly valued achievements {N=195} n empowered users n establishing course-integrated or sequenced instruction n collaboration with faculty n ILI required or reaches most of their users n community support for ILI

4. Achievements & Obstacles Common Across Libraries Challenges to ILI {N=195} n faculty resistance n staffing n time n funding n poor outreach n no mandate n a very small number noted lack of IL or poor quality IL at preceding (feeder) institution as impediment to instruction

Data for Academic Institutions

27 Community Colleges Reach the following: Middle school students High school faculty Parents of college students General public adults General public teens Senior citizens 7% 30% 15% 7% 41% 30%

27 Community Colleges All respondents assess student learning n n 81% formally assess 100% informally assess 70% use “direct” assessment 30% use “indirect”

27 Community Colleges n Shasta College n n Santa Rosa Junior College n n Teaches distinguishing among & using different types of images Teaches problem-solving and decisionmaking Glendale College n Conducts substantive research on their IL program and how it affects student success and retention

17 California State Universities Reach the following: Elementary school students Middle school students High school students Undergraduate/Graduates College faculty General public Senior Citizens 18% 29% 65% 100% 82% 35% 29%

17 California State Universities All respondents assess student learning 89% formally assess n 100% informally assess n

21 Private Colleges & Universities n n n Use ACRL Standards + Big 6 (U of Redlands) Teach not to procrastinate (Loyola Marymount) Teach how to set up alerts, use clipboard, get database help (Samuel Merritt College)

12 University of California Libraries n UC Irvine n n n UC Santa Barbara n n n Teaches elementary school, junior high & high school students & faculty Reaches every freshperson (4000/year) Does IL in social settings Uses cellphones UCLA n Describes/demos how multi-user virtual worlds work

Data For Other Types of Libraries

40 Public Libraries n Santa Clara County >100, 000 users n 80 full-time librarians n Use i. Pods & publicize widely n Reach 101 -205/year n

More public libraries… n Outreach to schools n n n “Visit schools doing all day sessions for classes” (Palos Verdes District, Peninsula Center Library) Teach in classrooms & at festivals (Santa Monica Public Library) Berkeley Public Library n n No classes 81 -100% of users have serious or profound IL needs

3 Special Libraries n Boeing Library >100, 000 users n 47 full-time & 3 part-time librarians n Teach “how to avoid copyright problems” n Publicity: Corporate Intranet & Business Partner Staff Meetings n

Lessons Learned 1. 2. 3. 4. Need Four Different Surveys Focus on Smaller Geographic Area as Model Ask Directly re Sequential IL Funding Needed for Professional Survey

Further Research Is Needed Goal: An information literate populace