Information Literacy Presentation

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Introduction to Information Literacy McNeese
University Library

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WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?

• Ability to locate, organize, evaluate
  
  
  
  
  and use information
• Combines computer and
  
  
  
  
  research skills
• Important for academic
  
  
  
  
  achievement
• Basis for lifelong learning

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IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH SKILLS

• Basic research skills useful in the
  
  
  
  
  real world
• Knowledge is power

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SOURCES OF INFORMATION

• Books
• Periodicals
• Newspapers
• Internet

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SOURCES CURRENT INFORMATION

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Television
• Radio
• Internet

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SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR SCHOLARLY RESEARCH

• Books
• Monographs
• Journal Articles
• Dissertations
• Theses

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STARTING RESEARCH AT THE LIBRARY

• Resources undergo review before purchase
• Most information and services are free
• Information is organized
• Most information is kept permanently

COMES WITH PERSONAL




ASSISTANCE!
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RESEARCH INTERNET RESOURCES

• ADVANTAGES
• Variety timeliness
• Available 24 hours/7 days a week

• DISADVANTAGES
• Do not go through review process
• Some information not free
• Not organized
• Most information not permanent

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Library web site




library.mcneese.edu

• Provides access to electronic
  
  
  
  
  catalog and databases
• Provides access to university and
  
  
  
  
  community resources
• However all library resources are NOT available
  from our web site

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YOUR 1ST TRIP TO THE LIBRARY FINDING BOOKS

• Why use books? In-depth coverage of a
  
  
  
  
  topic
• How to find books? Use the librarys
  
  
  
  
  catalog
• Call numbers? Unique identification
  
  
  
  
  number for books

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McNEESE LIBRARY CATALOG
Electronic inventory of library materials
Search by keyword(s) describing your topic.
Review list of results. Make note of each items
CALL NUMBER. CALL NUMBER is identification
number for library books. 1ST LETTER of CALL
NUMBER determines location where books are
shelved.
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RECORD FROM LIBRARY CATALOG
Includes AUTHOR, TITLE, PUBLISHER, and DATE OF
PUBLICATION. SUBJECT HEADINGS describe
content. CALL NUMBER and LOCATION specify
where item is shelved in MSU Library. Example
of CALL NUMBER Q 451 .D54 1998
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YOUR 1ST TRIP TO THE LIBRARY FINDING ARTICLES

• Periodical?
• Item published on a continuing basis
• Examples?
• Newspapers, magazines, and journals
• Finding articles on specific topics?
• Periodicals databases such as EBSCOhost
  
  
  
  
  Academic Search Premier

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EBSCOhost ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER

Online periodicals index and database for
magazine and journal articles
NOT ALL CONTENT FROM PERIODICALS IS REPLICATED
ONLINE!
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CITATIONS

• A CITATION is a bibliographic record which
  includes the following information
• AUTHORS NAME
• TITLE OF PERIODICAL ARTICLE
• NAME OF PERIODICAL
• VOLUME, ISSUE NUMBER, DATE
• PAGE NUMBERS
• ABSTRACT, or SUMMARY (if available)
• LINK TO FULL-TEXT (if available)

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Full-text Magazine Journal




articles from EBSCOhost

• Available as
• PLAIN TEXT, or
• TEXT WITH GRAPHICS, or
• PDF FILES (Requires Adobe Acrobat viewer)

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JSTOR Electronic Journal Archive
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Blackboard Course Materials
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WORLD WIDE WEB

• Large variety of information available
• COMMERCIAL cnn.com
• GOVERNMENT www.whitehouse.gov
• EDUCATION www.mcneese.edu
• ORGANIZATION www.pbs.org
• Search tools include Yahoo! and Google

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EVALUATING INFORMATION

• Factual?
• Non-biased?
• Verifiable?

Items in the library are usually easier to
evaluate because these have already been
reviewed Freely-available Internet resources
usually do not pass through a review process, so
you will need to look at these more closely
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CITING SOURCES ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
If you use a fact, unique idea, or quotation from
someone else, you acknowledge your debt to them
with a citation -- a reference to their
work. This process is often referred to as
compiling a bibliography. What to cite?
Quotations, Unique Ideas, Statistics
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McNEESE E-MAIL
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COMPUTER LABS FOR STUDENTS

• Holbrook

• Library

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RECAP
Information Literacy is knowing how to find,
evaluate, and use the best information from an
ever-increasing array of sources. Information
Literacy is a critical life



skill
in todays society. Developing library research
skills is an
important component of information literacy
and a foundation for academic success.
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INSTRUCTIONS LIBRARY
EXERCISE
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START AT LIBRARY WEB PAGE
library.mcneese.edu
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CLICK ON Freshman
Orientation (bottom-left of
screen)
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FROM THE FRESHMAN




ORIENTATION MENU click 1.
ANSWER SHEET 2. EXERCISE Additional materials
are also available, including todays slide
presentation.
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• FRESHMAN ORIENTATION EXERCISE
• Print a copy of the Answer Sheet.
• Work through the exercise. Do not close
  
  
  
  
  your browsers window labeled Freshman
  
  
  
  
  Orientation Exercise until you
  finish.
• Fill-in responses on the Answer Sheet.
• Read document entitled, Plagiarism What is It?
  How to Avoid It!

Turn in your answer sheet to your FFND 101
instructor and youre done!