ANGOLA, Ind.- Tri-State University will launch a campus-wide information literacy initiative set to begin in the fall of 2006. The program will address strategies for teaching students to find, retrieve, and analyze information, while fostering life-long learning. Librarians will teach sections of the freshman success course, University Experience, as a first step in this multi-faceted program.

“With students’ nearly ubiquitous access to an astounding amount of digital information, it is vital that we promote a learning environment that prepares graduates to compete in the global economy of the 21st Century,” said Dr. David Finley, vice president for Academic Affairs. 

According to Kristina Brewer, library director, as information consumers on the job and in their daily lives, students will need to think critically, pursue, and create knowledge.

“Students will need to be able to make informed decisions in order to function as contributing members of society, and we believe this program will address that decision-making process,” she added. 

This initiative resulted from TSU’s participation in a highly competitive program sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation.  Finley, Brewer, and Kathie Wentworth, faculty member, attended the Transformation of the College Library workshops in the fall of 2005. After hearing from experts, who have effective programs in place, and networking with other institutions on ways to strengthen information literacy on the campus, TSU formed the Information Literacy Planning Group.  Those attending the workshops, plus Julie Cottin, instructional technologist, and Laura Carnahan, librarian, have met regularly to develop this initiative.