Syracuse University School of Information Studies Assistant Professor Megan Oakleaf wrote one of the 20 best library instruction articles of 2009, according to the American Library Association Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT). The committee reviewed more than 200 published articles on the topic before crafting its list.
According to LIRT, Oakleaf’s paper, “Guiding Questions for Assessing Information Literacy in Higher Education,” exemplified all the criteria: quality writing, useful research, and stimulating ideas. The list of the top 20 articles appeared in the June 2010 issue of Library Instruction Round Table News.
Her article outlines six questions librarians in campus settings should ask before beginning information literacy assessment in their library, as well as why assessments are important in the campus context.
She joined the iSchool at Syracuse after completing her dissertation entitled, “Assessing Information Literacy Skills: A Rubric Approach,” at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previously, she was the Librarian for Instruction and Undergraduate Research at North Carolina State University, where she designed, implemented, coordinated, and assessed the library instruction program.
In July, Oakleaf received a $280,550 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to measure information literacy skills of college students during a three-year study. SU will match the grant with an additional $126,815. The research project, entitled “Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills” (RAILS), is designed to develop and test rubrics that evaluate student learning and information literacy, as well as faculty and librarian assessment skills.