Towards an Information Literacy Continuum: Examining the High School to College Research Transition

We know that many students have difficulties meeting faculty expectations for college-level research. Basic search strategies, critical thinking and evaluation skills are often lacking. Increased dialogue between academic librarians, school librarians and teaching faculty could begin to address some of these problems in a proactive manner. This presentation is a small step in that direction. Chris Sweet, Information Literacy Librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University, will introduce this topic from an academic librarian’s perspective. Dana Convery, English and Literature instructor at Prairie Central High School, will discuss high school research from the trenches. What research skills are being taught in the classroom? What role do Illinois Learning Standards play? What barriers are holding high school teachers and librarians back? Finally, an Illinois Wesleyan student will give us insights on his/her personal transition from high school to college researcher.