Assessing a web library program for information literacy learning

Abstract

Purpose – Main goal in this paper is to show the experience of a web-based program in information literacy from different perspectives: students, teachers and librarians. The study focuses on freshmen in business administration. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology. A qualitative study is used to analyse the opinions from teachers and librarians, whereas a quantitative study is developed to study the students' perceptions. Findings – Students find information literacy competencies to be useful and perfectly applicable to their assignments. In this sense, there is no need to provide additional incentives (extra points) for the course. At the light of the work assignments, teachers and librarians suggest that there is a necessity for greater depth in questions of citation and plagiarism. Research limitations/implications – Results have to be interpreted within the context of study. There is a need to use alternative methodologies and activities in different groups to check and compare the effectiveness of each action. Practical implications – The paper can be used as a guide for teachers and librarians to develop courses of information literacy. Results obtained from this experience show some key points that may be useful for teachers and librarians. Originality/value – This article complements previous literature by providing new findings from different angles. The information gathered from the librarians, teachers and students involved provides a holistic view about the effectiveness of web-based tutorials for information literacy learning.