This school year is the tenth year of implementation of the Library Instruction Program (LIP) after its pilot implementation in SY 2008-2009.
The program is a series of sessions of the Elementary librarians with pupils, weekly for four grading periods.
The subject consists of matters pertaining to the Elementary Library; policies governing its proper use; its collection; its services and how pupils could best avail of them.
Specifically, it includes use of dictionaries, thesaurus, maps, and other reference sources; storytelling sessions; use of word puzzles, quizzes, among others.
The program was conceived to be a good leap for the juvenile learners to start their interest in libraries, their passion for reading, and their love for learning.
Teachers serve as co-implementers in the LIP as they ensure pupil attention and maximum participation during discussions and activities.
An evaluation of the LIP was conducted by Mrs. Arlyn Cristobal in SY 2015-2016, Elementary librarian then and now officer-in-charge of the University Libraries. Based on the overall evaluation of the LIP among the respondents, it was rated as generally “very good” on the following aspects: objectives of the LIP, relevance to pupils’ needs, teacher/ librarian conducting LIP, visual aids and activities used, and schedule (every Friday).
Higher level literacy
The other USL libraries have continually conducted this school year series of library sessions among students of the junior high school, senior high school, and college.
The program in the junior and senior high school is called the Library and Information Fluency Program (LIFP) while for college, it is the College Information Literacy Program (CILP).
The junior high school (JHS) LIFP started in SY 2013-2014. The program is carried out by the JHS library staff to acquaint students with knowledge on the use of library resources and to equip them with proper library skills for their lifelong learning.
The LIFP per grade section is held once every grading period.
The senior high school (SHS) LIFP began in SY 16-17, following the introduction of the CILP in SY 2015-2016.
The programs are intended to equip senior high and college students to understand and use the collections and services of the SHS and College libraries, respectively; recognize that information is available in a variety of formats; determine when information is needed and find it; evaluate quality of information; and use information ethically and legally.
The SHS LIFP and its college counterpart focus on helping students, especially those who are into research writing, develop information-seeking behavior and evaluation skills which are considered important in the students’ fields of study.
In the JHS LIFP, results of quizzes and activities conducted by the librarians form part of the students’ class standing in their English subject. For senior high and college, results of quizzes and activities are forwarded to the tandem teacher for recording as part of their class standing.
To reinforce the programs, teachers conduct follow-ups in their English or Research subjects. For SHS and college, use of online resources as sources of related literature is emphasized in research classes.
The 2018 dissertation titled, “Information literacy skills of librarians and faculty and information literacy skills of students: a basis for an Information Literacy Program,” by Dr. Venus Guyos who is the director of Libraries, encompasses all information literacy programs of the University libraries. ### with Macekrell T. De la Cruz
