Librarians Need to Take-up the Writing Revolution

Abstract

This presentation discusses why librarians are uniquely qualified to lead the writing-across-the-curriculum charge, which has been largely ignored by our schools, and cultivate better writing among our students. The first section charts the assessment of student writing since the 1980’s and shows how student writing has not improved and, in fact, along with critical reading and information literacy skills, has actually declined. The second section explains why librarians are perfectly suited to lead a writing revolution by including writing in their instruction, alongside the other interdependent skills of information literacy, research, and critical reading.

The final section of the presentation, with help from audience members, shares ways writing can be included in the library curriculum and offers instructional writing strategies and tips on giving feedback. Audience members will leave the presentation with a bibliography of resources and sample lesson plans to help them take-on this new instructional challenge.