Part 1, Student Edition:
$42.00
8½" x 11" · Spiral-bound
Includes text and student activites on CD-ROM

ISBN 0-9772520-0-0
© 2006

Part 2, Instructor Edition:
$55.00
8½" x 11" · Spiral-bound
Includes lesson plans on flopy disk, plus student text and student activities on CD-ROM

ISBN 0-9772520-1-9
© 2006

Information Literacy Course Handbook for Distance and In-Class Learners

Kate Manuel, Contributing Editor
Active Learning Handbook Series, no. 1

From the Editor | Table of Contents
Request Sample Chapters

From the Editor

This work departs from the model of prior titles published by Library Instruction Publications in both its contents and its audience. [It is] designed to be read directly by students – not primarily by librarians or other educators – either as part of a class or on their own. It is accompanied by two supporting disks, one for students and another for instructors using the book with their classes. The student disk includes one or more activities to accompany each chapter of the text, as well as any instructional handouts that might help in completing these activities. The instructor disk contains the lesson plans that have traditionally formed the body of prior Library Instruction Publications titles.

Despite these changes, this work continues the tradition of its predecessors in two important ways. First, it seeks to help librarians and other educators as much as possible in their roles as information literacy instructors. Making available innovative lesson plans on diverse topics from institutions around the country is one way of doing this. Providing a textbook that educators can use directly with their students is another way of doing this. Although there are several information literacy textbooks for students already in print, this one is the only one specifically designed for distance education students. It is also one of the few information literacy textbooks produced by an independent publisher. Secondly, it brings together the materials and ideas of various librarian-educators from a range of institutions in presenting information literacy skills to distance learners. The variety of perspectives and approaches brought by the authors to the lesson plans in prior Library Instruction Publication titles has been a strength of these titles, because it allows users to expand their thinking and their instructional repertoire. Similarly, in this work, readers are exposed to different authorial voices in the chapters, as well as to varied types of activities on the student disk.

All six of the key characteristics of information literate individuals are covered in this book. With chapters on defining a topic, crafting effective search statements, searching various information resources, quoting and citing sources, avoiding plagiarism and respecting copyright, and much more, this text enables students to develop skills in all six areas.

The editor wishes to thank the contributors to this work. All of them took the time and effort to share their content knowledge and creativity in instructional design with readers. Their works represent some of the most innovative and understandable approaches to their topics that I have yet seen. These authors also took a leap of faith in committing to the project. Because this title was the first of its kind for Library Instruction Publications, I could not give them incredibly detailed guidelines on what finished materials should look like – or even what the audience for the book would prove to be. Having seen their work assembled here, though, I am confident that the book will reach the audience that it deserves. It represents a solid introduction to all aspects of information literacy for distance education students and should find users at every institution that offers distance education degree programs to undergraduate or even graduate students.

Table of Contents

24 lessons in 5 parts

Part I: Getting Started
  • Information Literacy and Why It Matters
  • Identifying and Refining a Research Topic
  • Using Essential Questions
  • Creating Research Plans and Keeping Research Logs
  • Conquering Library Anxiety
  • Finding and Using Help (Or, Help for the Helpless)
Part II: Searching for Information
  • The Art and Science of Keyword Search
  • Who Holds the Keys to the Kingdom? Keyword vs. Subject Searching
  • Choosing Periodical Databases and Locating Periodical Articles
  • Standard Features of Electronic Databases
  • Internet Applications and Their Use for Research
  • Web Searching Basics
  • Going beyond the Web Search Engines: From Library Catalogs to Deep Web Subscription Databases
Part III: Evaluating Sources
  • Scholarly, Popular, or Special Interest/Trade? How to Tell the Difference Online
  • What Makes a Journal Scholarly?
  • Web Analysis & Assessment
  • Evaluating Non-Web Sources; Or, Why You Can't Trust Everything You Find in Newspapers, Periodicals, and Books
Part IV: Working with Information Sources
  • Integration of Research Sources and In-Text Citations
  • Citing Sources Using APA and MLA Style
  • Introduction to Copyright
  • Like a Thief in the Night-The Perils of Plagiarism
  • Ethics, the Law and Information Seeking: What Everyone Needs to Know
Part V: Exploring Special Topics
  • Locating and Evaluating Historical Primary Source Materials on the Web
  • Finding and Using Economic Data

Request Sample Chapters

To request sample chapters for both students and instructors, as well as the table of contents, contact the publisher – mpw@library-instruction-pubs.com