ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ November 2001 / 1001 pact o f their efforts. When asked to share with us “What has been the impact of your campus information literacy program?” one respondent was very clear: “Faculty are more aware o f what librarians can teach and how it relates to what faculty teach. Students have more com plex questions at the reference desk.” Many others contributed similar anec­ dotal evidence and stated their plans to be­ ing assessment in the future. One respondent shares with us: “Apart from my own teaching, information literacy is just being introduced on this campus. So far I am getting a positive response, but we have a long way to go before I would con­ sider that information literacy is even being implemented.” The National Information Literacy Survey will provide librarians with reliable data to support their programs. It gives them ex­ amples o f practice at various types of institu­ tions, and it demonstrates success in establish­ ing information literacy within the curriculum.5 Notes 1. The survey report can be found as an appendix to Patricia Senn Breivik’s book S t u ­ d e n t. L e a r n i n g i n t h e I n f o r m a t i o n A g e (Ameri­ can Council on Education/Oryx Press, 1998). 2. For more information see the Institute’s Web page at http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/ nilihp.html. 3 For m ore in fo rm atio n see h ttp :// www.ala.org/kranich/literacy.html. 4. The Standards are available from ACRL. See more information at http://www.ala.org/ acrl/ilcomstan. htm l. 5. For more on the survey, see http:// www.ala.org/acrl/infolit.html (available Nov. 2001). ■ Letter to the editor I had just finished service on a search com­ mittee when I read Philip C. Howze’s excel­ lent article “New librarians and job hunting” (June 2001). I wanted to add a few sugges­ tions to those persons looking for a job: 1. Do not assume that someone will con­ tact you and ask for information you have not yet supplied. . . . It is incumbent upon the applicant to verify that the necessary materials have arrived. 2. Failure to address each and every one of the job requirements may, in fact, remove you from consideration in some circum­ stances. Make sure your letter o f applica­ tion addresses every stated required and desired or preferred qualification . . . 3. Do not address letters o f application to “Dear Sirs.” For all you know, the search committee m ay be made up entirely of women . . . 4. Do not foiward a résumé that lists your “career goals.” . . . We know you have ca­ reer goals, and if you make it to the inter­ view stage, someone is likely to ask you about them. 5. Spell checkers don’t check everything. Have someone— a friend, a colleague, a pro­ fessor, your mentor—read everything before you send i t . . . 6. Regarding references—do not list the “most important” people you know. List people who know you, know your work, and can (and will) comment positively (and enthusiastically) on your skills and attributes . . . 7. If you haven’t heard anything from the search committee and you would like more in­ formation about the status of the search, con­ tact the institution and inquire. However, do not make a pest of yourself. Call once. Do not call before the closing date . . . 8. Be kind to the search committees, even if they aren’t always kind to you. If you ac­ cept a position with Library B before you’ve heard from Libraiy A, send Library A an e- mail or a letter withdrawing your applica­ tion. It is courteous and professional . . . And finally, if you believe that you’ve been treated shabbily by an organization during this process (e.g., you sent every­ thing on time and no one ever got back to you, and you had to telephone to find out that they had already hired someone), don’t take it to heart. . . . This kind of behavior on the part o f an organization may tell you that perhaps this isn’t the place you want to begin your career.— S a r a B . S lu ss , C a li­ f o r n i a S t a t e U n iv e r s it y , L o n g B e a c h , e - m a i l : s b s l u s s @ c s u l b . e d u ■ http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/ http://www.ala.org/kranich/literacy.html http://www.ala.org/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/infolit.html mailto:sbsluss@csulb.edu