New Library Impact Research Report From ARL: “Improving Primary Source Literacy Learning Outcomes Through a Community-Centered Archives Approach”

From the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)/:

As part of ARL’s Research Library Impact Framework initiative, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Libraries used its humanities core program—a year-long undergraduate freshman course that introduces students to the development of scholarly research using primary and secondary source resources—to answer the research question, “When students ‘see themselves’ represented in archives, do they experience an affective response that has an effect on how and what they learn through primary source literacy workshops?” UCI used entrance and exit surveys as assessment tools. Survey results show that the learning outcomes achieved during the community-centered archives workshop exceeded those achieved during the traditional primary literacy workshop. These findings suggest incorporating more inclusive histories into workshops and discussing the importance of representation in archives improves the student learning outcomes. When students “see themselves” represented in archives, they experience an affective response that impacts how and what they learn through primary source literacy workshops.

Direct to Full Text Report
100 pages; PDF.

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