Evaluating nursing faculty's approach to information literacy instruction: a multi-institutional study

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Nursing Education
• Library and Information Science

Background:

• The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Health Sciences Interest Group aimed to update nursing information literacy (IL) standards.
• This initiative sought to align with the 2016 Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education.
• Understanding current nursing faculty approaches to IL instruction was crucial for this update.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess how nursing faculty incorporate information literacy (IL) principles into their coursework and teaching practices.
• To inform the development of a companion document for the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, specifically for nursing education.
• To identify how faculty perceptions of IL relevance vary across different educational levels.

Main Methods:

• A survey with nineteen mixed-methods questions was developed.
• The survey was administered to nursing faculty at eight institutions nationwide.
• Data collection focused on the utilization of IL principles in nursing curricula.

Main Results:

• 79% of nursing faculty employ diverse methods for teaching IL principles.
• Only 12% of faculty explicitly integrated ACRL IL competencies; however, nursing educational association standards were more commonly adopted.
• Faculty's perception of the importance of IL skills increased with higher educational levels being taught.

Conclusions:

• Information literacy instruction in nursing education predominantly relies on standards from nursing educational associations.
• Librarians can leverage knowledge of these standards and faculty's evolving perceptions of IL relevance to foster collaboration.
• This understanding will facilitate the integration of IL instruction across nursing curricula at both course and program levels.