Gaps in Information Literacy Preparedness Between Students at Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions

Using cross-institutional survey data from 407 first-year college students, differences in information literacy preparation and academic library experiences between community college students and students at four-year institutions are examined. Results show that first-year community college students are more likely to be novice library users, having had fewer interactions with their high school library or librarian before coming to college. By the end of their first year of college, students at four-year institutions are more likely to be familiar with the concepts of ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (2016), suggesting that greater emphasis needs to be given to these concepts at community colleges so that their students are on equal footing with their peers at four-year institutions. Implications for community college faculty are presented, as well as recommendations for greater integration of discipline-specific, scaffolded information literacy instruction throughout community college programs of study.