Librarian named MCC Outstanding Faculty Member

Janet Scott, reference librarian, was selected as McHenry County College Outstanding Faculty Member. She was recently recognized along with other instructors throughout the state at the Illinois Community College Trustees Association annual recognition banquet in Springfield.

Scott, who lives in Lake in the Hills, has worked at the college for 23 years as a reference librarian. She refers to herself as a "teaching librarian" and considers the teaching role of the academic library to be at the heart of its mission. Along with her fellow librarians, she teaches sessions across the curriculum in information literacy, defined as the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.

In 2003, she developed and began teaching a graduate course, "Information Literacy for Educators," in partnership with Aurora University. To date, one-third of MCC faculty have taken this course. She is considered the campus leader in information literacy, having worked over the past decade to develop the campus Information Literacy program. Most recently, she developed a credit "Information Literacy and Research" course for MCC students, which she taught for the first time during fall 2009 semester.

"It's a real thrill and an honor to be selected," Scott said. "I've always been proud to be an MCC faculty member. It's nice to have my peers recognize the importance of the library in the curriculum."

Scott said she enjoys working as reference librarian at MCC because she can be both a librarian and a teacher at the same time, and follows the "teach a man to fish" philosophy when she works with students.

"If a librarian locates an answer for a student, the student can complete an assignment, but if a librarian teaches information literacy skills, the student can learn for a lifetime," she said.

Scott noted that being computer savvy and information literate are two separate sets of skills. "We ease students into transferring those skills from high school into college level, particularly introducing them to using scholarly journals for their research."

When the Internet was new on the MCC campus in the 1990s, Scott and her fellow reference librarian provided the first training in how to navigate and search the Internet for MCC employees.

Scott has been a part of the evolution of many college programs, and has served on college committees and chaired the Faculty Development Committee in 2002 and the Curriculum and Academic Policy Council's Assessment Committee in 2003. She currently serves on the Honors Committee and the Retirement Committee and is vice president of the MCC Faculty Association

Scott received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development award for excellence in teaching in 2004. She has two master's degrees, one in library and information science and one in educational media.