Libraries’ Collaborating on Next Steps for OHIO Guarantee+

Subject librarians are currently collaborating with faculty from across Ohio University to identify and design the Libraries’ second and third OHIO Guarantee+ information literacy milestones for each major. These joint efforts will be completed by mid-April and many milestones will be integrated into courses for the first time in fall 2022. 

First year students at OHIO started to learn about information literacy through the first of three Libraries’ OHIO Guarantee+ milestones in the 2021-22 school year, ensuring that they can find, access and critically evaluate information.

The first milestone has two online portions that are completed under the guidance of faculty like Andie Walla, assistant professor of instruction in Media Arts & Studies, who teaches a learning community class for media students. 

“[T]he Libraries has done a great job setting up these online modules for learning community instructors to teach,” she said. “You can either teach an in-class model or a flipped classroom setup, meaning you assign the module for homework and do the activities together.”

And that was just the beginning. While milestone one gives every first-year student the same background in information literacy, milestones two and three are tailored to meet each academic program’s needs. 

“There’s a great difference from subject to subject,” said Sherri Saines, subject librarian for the social sciences. “For example, the anthropology department really wants their students to understand the process of academic publication and how it confers confidence in information.” 

Saines developed a lesson plan called, “The Article Deep Dive,” which takes an anthropology journal article and explores how students can effectively use the information. 

The same milestone for business students, however, looks much different. Catherine Penrod, professor from the College of Business, worked closely with Chad Boeninger, head of User Services and business subject librarian, to integrate the Libraries’ milestone two into the Integrated Business Cluster. 

“[W]e try to simulate the real business environment,” Penrod said, “and part of that is understanding and recognizing when and how to utilize resources...So, it made a lot of sense for us to work with Chad and include him as part of our team.” 

According to Araba Dawson-Andoh, subject librarian for African studies and the social sciences, faculty input on the information needs of students can be incredibly valuable. She collaborated with Wolfgang Sützl, professor of Media Arts & Studies, to create milestones for media students.  

“I had thought that a plagiarism tutorial would be a good fit [for milestone two], but he told me that it would actually be better for milestone three,” Dawson-Andoh said. “For second-year students, he wants them to learn [how] to find credible sources for assignments.”

Many librarians and staff have drawn from previous collaborations to plan the Guarantee+ milestones.  Dr. Angela Hillman, assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, for example, worked closely with Hanna Schmillen to plan the Guarantee+ pathway for students in the exercise physiology program. 

“One of the big things for us was to try to get students to be better at consuming not only science research, but just general information,” Hillman said. 

In milestone two, exercise physiology students explore career options through the Libraries’ resources. Then for milestone three, the students re-focus on science and create infographics from scholarly materials.

“[I] set aside a chunk of topics for the students to teach each other,” Hillman said. “[They] create an infographic geared toward an exercise science professional, so that somebody can grab that information and use it quickly.” 

Through the collaboration between faculty, staff and librarians, the Libraries’ information literacy milestones in OHIO Guarantee+ have the potential to enhance student success at the undergraduate level. 
 
“This is all new and we’re learning it all together,” Walla said. “But the idea behind making sure our...students know how to use the resources at the Libraries is very important.” 

Faculty support has been integral to the success of the program so far, and the librarians are eager to continue working collaboratively to develop and improve the Libraries’ Guarantee+ milestones.  

“It is exciting for sure,” Sherri Saines said. “There’s a lot of potential, and it warms my little librarian heart.”  

For more information, contact your subject librarian or archivist.