Research and Writing in the Disciplines: A Model for Faculty-Librarian Collaboration

In our collaborative faculty-librarian presentation, we will offer a model for institutionalizing information literacy (IL) instruction through our university’s Writing in the Disciplines courses. In this model, developed through primary and secondary research, we facilitate and support faculty-librarian collaborations, guiding pairs to maximize the potential for IL instruction as a means of supporting student writing. As the extensive literature on faculty-librarian collaboration suggests, the one shot approach to IL instruction is not ideal for several reasons. Chief among them is that without shared understandings of the role of librarians and of what IL is (and is not), IL can become a lesson in basic searching skills instead of in-depth, contextual instruction in critical literacy. Current best practices indicate that IL is best developed through ongoing collaborations between faculty and librarians and scaffolding within the curriculum. Usually the preferred institutional models begin with first-year composition as a site to embed IL because composition faculty and the field of composition have much in common with librarians and the field of library science. Given our curricular context, the first-year composition model would not work at our university; we have instead begun the process of institutionalizing IL through the third tier of our WAC program: the Writing in the Disciplines course. By starting with faculty who have undergone WAC certification and are teaching discipline-focused research, we are building on shared knowledge about supporting student learning while tapping into something the faculty member wants and needs