Faculty Resources

Quick Links

Support for Research

  Copyright Information
  Laptops, Digital Cameras & LCD Projectors
  Citation Management Software: Refworks
  Faculty Research Room
  Document Delivery & Interlibrary Loan
  MLA Directory of Periodicals
  Access to Other Libraries

Support for Teaching

  Copyright Information
  How to Create a Course Packet
  Book a Video/ DVD Showing
  Information Literacy
  Library Instruction Sessions
  Library Exhibit Space
  Mellon Collection
  Plagiarism Module
  Reserves
  Resources by Subject
  Room Reservations in the Library
  Thorpe Digital Center

Quick Links

  Borrow & Renew Materials
  Reserves
  Off-campus Access of Electronic Resources

IWU Community

Family Use of the Library

  Laptops, Digital Cameras & LCD Projectors

Information Technology and the Thorpe Digital Center at The Ames Library have teamed up to provide improved access to:

• 4 Windows-based laptops
• 1 Apple iBook
• 1 digital camera
• 2 LCD Projectors

This equipment can be used for conference presentations, research projects, and for limited use during sabbaticals. Each laptop has Internet Explorer, Mozilla Browser, FTP, and Microsoft Office products, and the digital camera includes a floppy disk to save images. Laptops and projectors may be checked out for 2 weeks; the digital camera may be checked out for 3 days.

If you know that you’ll need specific equipment at a specific time (i.e. for a conference, etc.), please feel free to reserve by calling Mike Limacher at x3323. To check out equipment, just bring your ID card to the Thorpe Digital Center on the 3rd floor of Ames Library.

Need special software loaded onto a laptop? Contact the IT Help Desk at extension 3900 or http://help.iwu.edu/ for faculty technology needs, i.e. special software for the laptops or help with producing a presentation.

Questions? Please contact the Thorpe Digital Center at 556-3323.

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  Citation Management Software

IWU uses RefWorks, a web-based citation management tool.

For training, please contact  Stephanie Davis-Kahl or your library liaison.

Citation management software allows a researcher to create a personalized database for references, or citations. Records can be created for:

•  books
•  journal articles
•  book chapters
•  dissertations
•  art work
•  recordings
•  web pages
•  letters
•  manuscripts, etc.

Creation of the database may occur through either manual entry of records or through direct import from a host of library catalogs and commercial databases.  For more information and instructions on how to export, please see Exporting Citations from Databases and Catalogs.  Faculty have the ability to attach files to RefWorks records and to share folders of records with students and colleagues both on- and off-campus using RefShare. 

Using the personalized database, the individual can:

•  create bibliographies of all or selected records
•  search the database to find specific records (perhaps on a specific subject or by an exact author)
•  format references to match a specific bibliographic style while working in word processing software.

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  Faculty Research Room

The Faculty Research Room (401B) is located in the Tate Archives & Special Collections on the fourth floor of The Ames Library.

The room is open to any member of the IWU faculty during regular hours of the library. Please note weekdays after 5:00 p.m. and on weekends faculty members should request access to the room by contacting the Information Services Desk.

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  Information Literacy

Information Literacy Definition

Information literacy is defined by the American Library Association (ALA) as the ability to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information". Since this definition was drafted by the ALA in 1989, the concept of information literacy and methodology of insuring an Information Literacy population has evolved considerably.

Mission

The university's Information Literacy Program supports Illinois Wesleyan University’s goal of furthering the intellectual development of the entire campus community while encouraging independent, life-long learning among its constituency.

Objective

The program’s objective is to facilitate through outcomes-based instruction the academic community’s acquisition of the tools and education necessary to critically employ information in professional and everyday life. Through collaboration and coordination of the library, teaching faculty, University departments, and the curriculum, the program strives to develop the knowledge and progressive skills to support the scholarship and research of students and faculty.  

Goals

Specific goals of the Information Literacy Program are to help members of the campus community:

•  understand the organization of information;
•  effectively select and access both printed and electronic resources;
•  critically evaluate the authority, relevance, and usefulness of information encountered in various media and formats;
•  use information ethically to express and communicate their ideas.

For further reading on Information Literacy in Higher Education refer to the following:

Association of College and Research Libraries:

Information Literacy Instruction, Objectives: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians
(Jan. 2001)

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
(Jan. 2000)

National Forum On Information Literacy:

Shapiro, Jeremy J. and Hughes, Shelly K. Information literacy as a liberal art: enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum. Educom review. 31 (2) March/April 1996. pp31-35

TFPL. Skills for Knowledge Management: a briefing paper by TFPL Ltd. London: Library and Information Commission, 1999.

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