Promoting lifelong learning through government document information literacy

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report on the development and assessment of a government document information literacy curriculum by librarians at Washington State University. The pedagogical and assessment goals are described, and the learning outcomes by participating sophomore and junior English composition students are explored. Design/methodology/approach – Instruction librarians adopted ACRL standards to government information in order to address difficulties undergraduates have in identifying and evaluating common federal government resources. Learning outcomes are measured with a mixed-methods approach including pre- and post-tests, in-class worksheets, and student bibliographies. Findings – Overall, the project improved government document information literacy in the student groups that participated. Research limitations/implications – There are many questions the project raises that the authors cannot address. Does the curriculum have any long-term impact on the students? Will it make students who participated more likely to use government information when job seeking, or when making important decisions? Originality/value – The project uniquely targets a population for which there has been little research on regarding government information literacy – undergraduates who have already received introductory library instruction, but who are not yet researching upper-division, discipline-specific topics.