Information Literacy for Life - College of DuPage Teleconference

Oh, this teleconference was on one of my FAVORITE topics!! The panel talked about their experiences collaborating with other entities to teach/discuss/introduce information literacy skills. The college librarian from American University in Washington, DC, really piqued my interest because of his collaborative work with high schools and his involvement in his college's Teacher Education program. The other two librarians discussed grant projects they had done with information literacy skills & both of those projects were interesting as well. One was on the value of peer mentoring of information literacy skills in a high school setting and the other was about teaching information literacy skills to older adults with an emphasis on health information. I would love to pursue that idea in a collaborative effort with a local public library!
The teleconference was reassuring in the sense that work I've done in the past and am currently engaged in with information literacy collaborations is on track with what other librarians around the country are doing. We are encountering some of the same challenges and have discovered some of the same rewards! A key reminder for me was that collaborations take time and consistent efforts...but it's also important not to bite off more than one can chew!
I was really intrigued by a question that was posed after the panel concluded that asked about collaborating with home school groups...no one on the panel had done that yet. That sounds like a wonderful idea to me!!! Again, another potential area to collaborate with a public library. My focus has been more on local high schools, but the home school association would be a great avenue to head down as well. I also asked a question which the moderator posed to the panel :) I asked what role college librarians can play for high schools that do not have a school librarian. They responded with Advocacy type answers and just getting involved and being a voice. I can see the value in that; it's really a big issue and difficult to know where to start. One more thing to look into...