Here is the email that I sent to Mr. Gomez expanding on some ideas I had about doing what I called a "Reference Insitute."
I've been thinking a lot about the previous email I sent to you about my belief in the importance of the library's role in information literacy education. Mostly because I've been trying to determine how this process could begin, even with the limitations of budget and staff. There are so many options, and I suppose much of what happens will be contingent on what resources (people- and time- wise) may be allocated toward the education of both librarians and the public. However, despite challenges, I still believe we should work toward accomplishing this goal, even if we can only take a few steps at a time.
What I'd like to suggest has two aspects, which together I think address the issues of educating staff, educating students and teachers and creating and generating public awareness for digital and information literacy.
The first aspect would be to have an internal mechanism within LAPL that deals with digital/information literacy. What I propose is to create an "institute" which focues only on digital/information literacy education. This "institute" (which should have a fun, accessible name for kids and teens) would have a link on the LAPL homepage and opening this will lead the user to video instruction on database use, simple pathfinders for database use (which use real language to direct users)—for example, a link that says, "How do I find information about a country?" instead of "CultureGrams." There would also be direct links through the "institute" to explain how to evaluate a website (with a checklist to print off or use online), a search engine rundown, scavenger hunts that test user knowledge of databases (to be used in conjunction with in-school trainings done by librarians) and examples of quick searches and evaulations either through video and/or print. The "institute" should also have specific links directed at teachers on how to incorporate information literacy into their lesson plans and/or encourage them to sign themselves up for a librarian visit, either with a class or one-on-one, to understand how to promote digital/information literacy and use the "institute." The "institute" should have someone at its helm to direct progress and collaborate with other departments on its implementation, but by creating a committee made up of both children's and teen librarians to develop its content, the education process for staff begins here as well. The materials and link content that will be developed by the committee can also be used to train peers and fellow librarians.
The second aspect would come into play after a beta edition of the "institute" has been completed and is online, but not necessarily part of the library website yet. This second part would entail enrolling a few schools, willing to collaborate with the library to put together a series of visits (just a few) to target digital/information literacy training in specific classrooms. Then, after the trainings, the classes can complete the scavenger hunt(s) or fun tasks as a way to measure the ability of the "institute" to do what it's supposed to do. I think this will give the "institute" committee a good idea of what works, what doesn't, what's missing and what could be streamlined. I also believe that doing a pilot program with schools and measuring its successes would be of some interest to the general public and could be spotlighted somehow in the media and to other schools.