Building bridges: using information literacy to support high school to university transition

Zoe Jarocki from San Diego State university, which has a very diverse student body, works in the university library and has faculty status. She reported on an initiative to partner with a high school district to facilitate access to university and increase college readiness. The librarians run library visits for 10th grade students which allows them to be introduced to resources and services, and develop understanding of some of the principles of academic information e.g. understand that research is a process. The children spend a morning at the library, and encouraged to picture themselves in the library, as part of the learning community. Evaluation of the visits showed that students had a better idea of academic quality resources, and felt happy about their visit. It’s better to have smaller groups of students, and use active learning.