Prepare, Partner, Protest, Propose and Persevere: Advocating for a Dedicated Information Literacy Classroom

Abstract

Envision a beautifully renovated academic library without adequate space for information literacy instruction. In 2011, SUNY Oneonta, a midsize academic institution, began planning for the partial renovation of the James M. Milne Library to accommodate three offices and their staff: the tutoring center, accessibility resources office, and faculty center. In the initial planning stages, there was no discussion of the inclusion of dedicated information literacy classrooms. In 2017, when it was determined that there would be classrooms in the library, the provost and vice president for academic affairs created a policy that granted the college registrar priority to schedule semester-long classes in the library’s two computer-equipped classrooms to commence in the fall 2018 semester. This policy was made without consultation with the library. In 2018, the partial renovation of Milne Library was completed. The remodeled building was touted as student-centered and conducive to learning; however, in the three semesters immediately following the completion of the renovation, instruction librarians were forced to schedule nearly 25 percent of information literacy sessions in classrooms located outside the library and unequipped with computers. As a result of these two events, the head of reference and instruction and the instruction coordinator used a five-point advocacy model of prepare, partner, protest, propose, and persevere to advocate for adequate information literacy instruction facilities in Milne Library