Information Literacy Instruction (ILI) internships can be highly beneficial for library school/iSchool student interns, for internship supervisors, and for libraries. Check with a library school/iSchool nearby regarding requirements for offering Internships.

INTERNSHIP CONTENT:

Keep in mind that ILI is not limited to synchronous, face-to-face group instruction. There are many forms of ILI Internship options, including synchronous and asynchronous online instruction, signage and paper materials, like point-of-use guides for databases. The latter can be especially effective if they follow minimalist principles as outlined in:

van der Meij, Hans and Ard W. Lazonder. 1993. "Assessment of the Minimalist Approach to Computer User Documentation." Interacting with Computers 5(4):355-370.

Assessment and outreach for ILI can also include personal interactions, grant investigation and proposal writing, and development of online assessment materials. Any of these areas may lend themselves to internships, though all should include expected learning outcomes for the intern, as well as the internship supervisor's commitment to teach, train, supervise and evaluate the intern.

NOTE: Generally, librarians who teach, train, supervise and evaluate ILI internships should have a minimum of 5+ years of instruction experience utilizing a variety of formats and methodologies, not limited to face-to-face group instruction.

Librarians with <5 years of instruction experience may be able to supervise Internships profitably if the Internship focuses on specific projects or topic areas--e.g., grants for IL outreach or adapting the open source Assignment Calculator.

See subpage, Sample Internship Materials, for documents that may be useful in developing ILI internships.

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