Assessment of student information literacy and library skills

Executive Summary

During the 2010 spring semester, 934 students from the Touro College New York campuses participated in the library post test. The post test consisted of 10 multiple-choice questions given to students at the end of their library orientation class. The questions were targeted at a variety of information literacy skills, the students’ knowledge of library resources and services, and the impact of library instructions.

Additionally, this test, which is administered every semester, helps in finding out whether the learning objectives of the library orientations have been met, and what are some of the weaknesses and needs that need to be further addressed in library classes.

Key findings include:

• 87% of the students felt that they learned something new in the library session
• 78% knew that if not properly acknowledging their sources they have committed plagiarism
• 75% consider the responsibility of a website as an important aspect to evaluate the authenticity of the site
• A clear majority expressed confusion about distinguishing the parts of a citation
• Only a slight majority thought that it is necessary to cite a study if they are going to use in their term paper

For complete findings, email Sara Tabaei at sara.tabaei@touro.edu.