Library Policy on Citation/Style Guide Help
Answer
Students frequently need instruction and support in appropriately crediting sources used in their academic work. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) includes the ability to provide appropriate credit for the work of others among its Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Specifically, standard 5 states that: “The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.” The performance indicators and outcomes associated with this standard elaborate further, stating that, “The information literate student acknowledges the use of information sources in communicating the product or performance,” and can “Select an appropriate documentation style and use it consistently to cite sources.”
The University of Regina Library recognizes the importance of helping students to meet this information literacy competency standard, and provides instruction and support for students needing assistance on these matters through the Information Desk, with further referrals to subject liaison librarians as appropriate.
Library staff are committed to teaching students about citation and style guides, but we are not a proofreading or editing service—we cannot “correct” lists of student citations. But we are happy to explain citation rationale and strategies, and will suggest specific issues for students to consider as they edit their lists of works cited. Library staff do not usually read and correct entire lists of worked cited; rather, staff will use examples from a list to address specific issues and explain specific principles. This allows students to independently apply these principles. Ultimately, students are responsible for their own success and classroom faculty are responsible for judging whether citations meet their expectations and assigning grades. While library staff will do their best to provide guidance, they are not responsible for loss of marks arising from differing interpretations of style guides and citation practices, and are advised to remind students of this when providing assistance.
Work Cited
Association of College and Research Libraries. 2000. Information literacy competency standards for higher education [Online]. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. Available at http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/standards.pdf. [Accessed: 18 December 2013].
March 12, 2014