Co-sponsored by the Libraries and the Office of the Provost, the information literacy grants ($1,500) support faculty who wish to collaborate with a librarian to integrate information literacy into a 200-level or above course. The goal is to encourage faculty to provide opportunities for students to develop their information literacy skills beyond the first-year seminars. Since the program’s inception in 2002, 57 faculty have received information literacy grants.
To be eligible, the course should include information literacy-related assignments and discussions throughout the semester. They should center on the following areas:
Discover that the information they use exists within a framework developed to record, store, and access it and that research allows them to tap into an ongoing conversation among scholars;
- Example: Students trace a seminal idea, theory, or discovery through five years of literature, comparing newer articles to those that preceded them to determine what knowledge has been added, where contradictions exist, and what questions remain unanswered. Students also look for reports of this work in the popular press to determine how the material has been simplified and if it has been reported accurately.
Critically examine the research process;
- Example: Students interview those who work in a field to find out how they acquire the information they need in their field: how they keep up with what’s new, what they do when they’re embarking on a new project, and what they consider the best sources for information in the field. Students compare this with their own approach and discuss differences in the information-gathering processes of novices and experts.
Explore the economic, social, legal, and ethical issues surrounding information in today’s society.
- Example: Students debate the ownership of scientific information by researching and defending the views of the constituencies involved: scientists, not-for-profit publishers, for-profit publishers, librarians, and database producers. Students also write a short paper describing how various resolutions of the debate could affect their own access to information.
To apply, write a two to three page description of how you plan to incorporate information literacy and send it to Lijuan Xu. The deadline for spring 2026 will be December 18, 2025. Questions should be addressed to Lijuan Xu at xul@lafayette.edu.