Information literacy instruction in Canadian academic libraries: Longitudinal trends and international comparisons

Abstract

A national survey of information literacy instruction in Canadian academic libraries revealed that trends in teaching objectives, methods, and content have changed little in the past five years. Instructional librarians continue to face numerous challenges, particularly with regard to limited resources and faculty and student attitudes. Although more than half of the libraries believe they are meeting their instructional objectives, only a minority actually record their objectives formally and evaluation of instructional success remains mostly informal. Findings from the survey are compared with an earlier Canadian study and with similar work done in the United States and New Zealand.