CalArts Library’s Information Literacy Program was developed to align with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)’s “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.” The program’s primary focus is the development of information literacy (IL), or the “set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.” The program promotes the relevance of IL in connection to students’ creative and scholarly pursuits, to effective lifelong learning, and to long-term professional development.
To meet the needs of CalArts’ interdisciplinary creative student population, the program places emphasis on visual literacy and media literacy, and it promotes the application and use of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Through these modes of engagement, library instructors support students in developing the tools they need to deepen their creative practices and engage meaningfully, thoughtfully, and contextually with the information landscape.
CalArts Library’s instructional program was developed through the lens of critical information literacy, which “aims to understand how libraries participate in systems of oppression and find ways for librarians and students to intervene upon these systems.” This commitment ensures that information literacy instruction at CalArts is inclusive, openly empathetic, activist, and responsive. The program is also attentive to the tenets of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), building instruction that strives to “account [...] for everyone's abilities and differences.”
Design and develop instructional materials in service of the six frames of the ACRL Framework
Develop embedded, scaffolded information literacy instruction throughout the full lifecycle of the BFA Critical Studies curriculum
Promote information literacy instruction to faculty across CalArts’ Schools and métiers
Encance the curriculum to better support the information literacy of CalArts’ growing English Language Learning (ELL) population
Facilitate awareness and encourage the development and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER)
Incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a foundational framework for all instructional activities
Utilize active and object-based learning to create participatory, anti-oppressive classroom environments