New Brunswick Public Library Service

Literature suggests that teaching Information Literacy (IL) as an intellectual framework, rather than a set of computer-based tools, can be challenging for numerous reasons. At the same time, other articles describe the unique value of using hands-on investigations of special collections materials to facilitate the development of critical thinking skills and IL in discipline-specific contexts for upper-level students. This article reports on a collaboration between an IL instructor and a special collections librarian to create a hands-on special collections experience for entry-level IL students. We found that exposing these students to these materials can improve their IL and research skills. We explain our methods for designing and assessing such class sessions, and report on our results with students.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the 2011 New Media Consortium Annual Conference that allows readers to appreciate the extent and level of activity that takes place there.Design/methodology/approachThe article is derived from a journalistic eye‐witness and academic participant approach.FindingsProvides information about panels and workshops attended, and recognizes the importance of their multimedia content to media centers and librarianship in the future.Originality/valueThis paper represents the first report of this annual conference in the library literature; as such it points to the growing importance of multimedia in libraries.