Two UCCS faculty members have been recognized for their efforts to promote information literacy among college students with the first annual Collaboration for Information Literacy Prize, awarded by the Modern Language Association of America.
Lesley Ginsberg, Professor of English, and Larry Eames, Instruction Librarian, were honored for their collaboration on “American Literature from 1820 to 1900: Print Cultures,” an English 3350 course taught at UCCS during the fall 2020 semester and offered again in fall 2021.
The inaugural Collaboration for Information Literacy Prize honors coursework developed in collaboration between department faculty members and academic librarians in literature, language and related disciplines. The award recognizes successful integration of the disciplinary objectives of the course with learning objectives in information literacy — the ability to find, evaluate and use information in all of its formats, from analog to digital sources.
Lesley Ginsberg, Professor of English at UCCS 
Larry Eames, Instruction Librarian at UCCS
“The committee praises Lesley Ginsberg and Larry Eames for their submission of English 3350, ‘American Literature from 1820 to 1900: Print Cultures’ for its comprehensive and advanced information literacy instruction,” wrote the selection committee, composed of faculty members from universities across the country.
“This literature course thoroughly embraces the Association of College and Research Libraries’ information literacy framework, especially the information-creation process and the construction of authority, through a series of challenging and engaging activities. Particularly noteworthy is the leadership role that librarian Eames took in the mid-semester assessment in the course and the team’s ‘databases cheat sheet’ assignment.”
As digital skills and processes dominate not just the job market, but also daily life, information literacy has become a critical and foundational skill. In their collaboration on the course, Ginsberg and Eames wove these literacy skills into an online academic environment.
“This recognition from a national organization is perhaps even more important during a time when the value of studying American literature before 1900 is underestimated, and when information literacy has become a central pillar of education for citizenship and for a fulfilled life,” Ginsberg said. “The award also makes a difference for institutions such as UCCS with comparatively under-resourced libraries that nevertheless offer students meaningful research opportunities that develop important transferrable skills.”
“Conscious integration of information literacy and library instruction into course design only strengthens our work as educators to provide an impactful, holistic learning experience for students,” Eames said. “Especially in the online environment, intentionality is crucial for weaving information literacy into the foundation of instruction.”
Learn about the award-winning course
Find the winning submission for English 3350, “American Literature from 1820 to 1900: Print Cultures” in CORE, the MLA’s open access repository for digital materials.