Checklist for Developing Subject-Specific Information Literacy Standards

Information Literacy Standards Committee
Association of College and Research Libraries
May 2008; Revised March, 2010

Please note: The Checklist serves as a general guide for committees developing subject-specific information literacy standards. It is the responsibility of the ACRL committee or unit submitting the draft standards to develop a timeframe and related deadlines for efficiently navigating the checklist and to progress the draft document through the process. It is not the responsibility of the assigned ACRL Information Literacy Consultant to assign or monitor Committee deadlines relevant to the Checklist.

 1. Charge a committee or task force to develop the standards
 2. Select IL Consultant; contact to confirm their interest and availability
 3. IL Consultant notifies Information Literacy Standards Committee (ILSC) Chair of appointment to Section / Interest Group
 4. Identify relevant literature and accreditation standards for the discipline
 5. Consult with subject specific library associations including the ALA units, as relevant
   
Associations consulted:
 
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 6. Consult with disciplinary faculty and associations, as relevant
 
Persons or associations consulted:
 
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 7. Draft document and submit to the leadership of your ACRL unit
 8. Receive comments and revise draft document as appropriate
 9. Call for comments to the draft document from your unit’s members
 
 
 
Publications/lists and dates draft was distributed:
 
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 10. Share draft with disciplinary faculty and associations
 
Publications/lists and dates draft was distributed:
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 11. Receive comments and revise draft as appropriate
 12. Submit to your unit’s leadership for review
 13. Once unit leadership approves, submit to ILSC for review
 14. Complete the ACRL Standards and Accreditation Committee’s “Transmittal Sheet for Draft Standards and Guidelines”
 15. ILSC approves or returns for revisions
 16. After approval is given, ILSC will forward the document and the SAC transmittal sheet to the ACRL Standards & Accreditation Committee
 17. ACRL Standards & Accreditation Committee approves or returns for revisions
 18. Once ACRL Board approves, publish and announce subject-specific information literacy standards officially. Options for announcing standards include:

 Publishing the standards document on the unit’s web site
 Creating a link to the standards document on the ACRL Standards web site as a sub-listing underneath the information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
 Submitting a short news article with the URL to C&RL News
 Submitting for inclusion in the Instruction Section’s Information Literacy in the Disciplines wiki     
 Submitting a short news article to other relevant professional organizations