Effective Date: August 2019
Last Reviewed: October 2024
Policy Owner: Director of Information Literacy

Please read our Schmidt Library Instruction Policy and then fill out the form below to request a session.

Information literacy is the ability to use technology and other search tools to locate, access, and evaluate information; use that information ethically and legally; and appropriately cite resources from print, digital and electronic media.

York College of Pennsylvania identifies information literacy as a key facet of critical and analytical thinking, and is required for providing students with the basis for understanding their course of study, connections between courses and experiences, and to help them make their own judgments about what they have learned.

It is the core belief of the Schmidt Library Information Literacy Instruction Program that information-literate students are people who have learned how to learn. They are prepared for not only academic success with our institution but also personal and professional success, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand.

The mission of the Schmidt Library Information Literacy Instruction Program is to collaborate with members of the York College of Pennsylvania community to develop instructional sessions, learning objects, assignments, and other educational activities which foster the development of information literacy skills in accordance with college-wide student learning outcomes and the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

In order to prepare students for success across various disciplines and stages of academic development, librarians will collaborate with faculty to align instructional activities and goals with both course curricula as well as career expectations in order to establish relevance and a need for life-long development of information literacy skills.

York College of Pennsylvania serves a diverse learning community, and as a result the Library will utilize technology and pedagogical best practices to support a variety of learning styles, attitudes, educational levels, life experiences, cultures, technology skill levels, and other learner variables such as proximity to the campus itself (distance learning students).

Information literacy instruction sessions are designed to introduce users to the resources available at Schmidt Library and to assist in the development of research strategies that will enable students to pursue their research goals, evaluate information, or meet other information needs.
Although stand-alone presentations and workshops are available and useful, it is important to see them as an introduction to information literacy and not the end-goal. For effective information literacy instruction sessions or workshops, the content will be customized specifically for the information needs of the particular class, assignment, and students.

Librarian participation and instruction is not limited to formal classroom instruction or one-off lessons. Research suggests an “embedded librarian” model, wherein a librarian is integrated into multiple key steps of an assignment or research process, to be the most effective mode for affecting student engagement and improving information literacy outcomes.

Information literacy instruction sessions will align with both course learning outcomes and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. As a result, instructional content will usually support one or more of the following core information literacy skills:

• Evaluate the quality of a source (Authority Is Constructed and Contextual)
  • Example lesson topics:
    • Identifying scholarly, peer-reviewed sources
    • Evaluating websites
    • Locating empirical studies
    • Identifying fake news
• Identify the relationship between information presentation and purpose (Information Creation as a Process)
  • Example lesson topics:
    • Reading a scholarly article
    • Locating statistical data
    • Understanding the role of various kinds of sources in research
• Provide citation and use information ethically (Information Has Value)
  • Example lesson topics:
    • Creating and using citations
    • Locating and using images with Creative Commons licenses
• Develop and revise research questions (Research as Inquiry)
  • Example lesson topics:
    • Writing research questions
    • Narrowing a topic
• Seek various perspectives and developments in the field of research (Scholarship as Conversation)
  • Example lesson topics:
    • Locating articles on controversial topics
    • Locating primary sources
• Use keywords and filters to refine searches (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
  • Example lesson topics:
    • Developing keywords from research questions
    • Creating a research plan
    • Using library databases

Librarians will collaborate with faculty to deliver instruction content using a variety of formats that support student engagement and faculty need. These formats include but are not limited to:

• Group instruction or workshop
• Individual or small group research appointments
• Digital or print resources
• Web tutorials
• Learning management software participation (Moodle, Canvas, etc)
• Faculty workshops

Instruction sessions are available at any time of the year. Scheduling of sessions is dependent on the availability of librarians and a classroom.
Advanced notice of at least 15 days is requested to assist with staffing and allow for faculty-librarian collaboration in the creation of objectives, services, and resources. Instructional Faculty are required to share information about the assignment and the course with the librarians before the session.

You will need to be present for the session(s). This reinforces that the learning objectives are an integral part of the course. It also helps with practical issues, such as providing answers to questions about content or assignment requirements and assisting students in need of redirection or individual help.

To request information literacy instruction, submit the form at:

For other questions, concerns, or opportunities for collaboration, contact Trenton Bankert, Director of Information Literacy, at tbankert2@ycp.edu or contact your school’s librarian liaison, found at https://Library.ycp.edu/FacultyResources.

Through the collection of both feedback from the York College of Pennsylvania community as well as student assessment, the Schmidt Library Information Literacy Instruction Program will regularly review and revise its practices to reflect changes in the institution and learning community.
Librarians will employ both formal and informal assessment tools, such as surveys, exit tickets, web tutorial results, and guided questions in order to inform our continued improvement in service of student success.

The Schmidt Library takes all feedback seriously, both positive and critical. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our services or procedures please contact Trenton Bankert, Director of Information Literacy, at tbankert2@ycp.edu.