Note from the publisher

Citation

Williams, V. (2008), "Note from the publisher", Reference Services Review, Vol. 36 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/rsr.2008.24036daa.003

Note from the publisher

Article Type: 2008 Awards for Excellence From: Reference Services Review, Volume 36, Issue 4

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Reference Services Review

"Assessing information literacy skills using the ACRL standards as a guide''

Ada EmmettJudith EmdeUniversity of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to obtain preliminary evidence over a three-year period on the efficacy of a curriculum designed to foster information literacy skills in graduate students in a chemistry bibliography course.Design/methodology/approach - Specifically, the researchers examined the application and results of an assessment tool and its connectivity to instructional strategies for improving literacy outcomes. ACRL's "Information literacy competency standards for higher education'' provided the basis for the construction of the assessment tool. The instrument was given to chemistry graduate students enrolled in the course at the beginning and at the end of the semester.Findings - The assessment results from all three years indicated marked improvements in the average student score from the pre- to the post-test. The assessment provided evidence of skill development over the course of the semester for specified outcomes.Research limitations/implications - The research would have been strengthened by the use of a valid control group of graduate students in related chemistry majors who were not enrolled in the class. The extended study would have supplied rates of improvement in the control group over a given period of time compared with rates of improvement of students enrolled in the class.Practical implications - The paper provides methods for approaching the assessment of information literacy skills by focusing on tool development based on desired learning outcomes.Originality/value - The study developed, refined and applied a methodology to assess student information literacy skills based on learning outcomes over a three-year period. The literature lacks reports of studies looking at the assessment of information literacy development of graduate students in the sciences as well as the use of "backward design'' in creating evaluative tools.

Keywords: Assessment, Chemistry, Graduates, Information literacy, Learning, Library instruction

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/00907320710749146

This article originally appeared in Volume 35 Number 2, 2007, pp. 210-29 of Reference Services Review

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

"Harnessing the deep web: a practical plan for locating free specialty databases on the web''

Brett Spencer

This article originally appeared in Volume 35 Number 1, 2007 of Reference Services Review

"Incorporating data literacy into undergraduate information literacy programs in the social sciences: a pilot project

Elizabeth StephensonPatti Schifter Caravello

This article originally appeared in Volume 35 Number 4, 2007 of Reference Services Review

Outstanding reviewer

Sylvia TagWestern Washington University, USA