Survey of Library Services at Engineering News Record's Top 500 Design Firms: Implications for Engineering Education

Journal of Engineering Education, Jul 2004 by Napp, John B

Nerz and Weiner co-authored an article tided Information Competencies: A Strategic Approach [10]. This was the inspiration for an assignment the author developed that asks students to imagine they are in an engineering firm as the leader of a design team. The course instructor could vary the project being designed from class to class or within a class. They are told that the first step in the design project will involve gathering information on the subject of their project. The students are given an example of a Pathfinder for general engineering resources and are asked to develop one for their project. Such an assignment has two benefits. It helps the students become familiar with library resources that they can use in their studies as well as in their careers. It also subtly gives the message that as working engineers they will need to use library skills and resources beyond Yahoo and Google. This assignment is also easily adaptable to different engineering disciplines and courses.

There are other methods for teaching engineering students the value of information literacy skills. One involves engineering faculty working together with librarians to develop course-specific assignments or curriculum-based instruction [11-14]. In curriculumbased instruction, information literacy is taught throughout the undergraduate program. Ideally, the instruction fits seamlessly, so the student is unaware that the skills are being taught. The skills are merely a part of what is being learned in their courses along with thermodynamics, technical writing, etc.

Information literacy and the accreditation of engineering programs is another issue to be considered. While not mentioned specifically in the ABET Engineering Criteria, two sections of Criteria 3 are suggestive of information literacy skills.

The ABET Engineering Criteria for 2003-2004 require students to be willing and able to engage in lifelong learning [15]. According to Criterion 3 (i), students will need information literacy skills to locate and use the resources for lifelong learning. The skills they will need to have can be best learned while they are still in college. As students, they have the opportunity to become information literate as part of their engineering coursework. They have access to more sources than they will have at consulting engineering firms. They also have access to librarians who can assist them in becoming more information literate.

It will also be important for librarians and teaching faculty to help students learn how they can locate information using the limited tools they will likely have available on the job. Compendex, Dialog and Inspec are excellent tools, but unless they are working in a community with a college or public library with those resources, it is unlikely that their firm will have access to them.

In ABET Engineering Criterion 3 (k), engineering graduates are also required to use ".. .the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice." This requirement could include the ability to locate and utilize needed information. The challenge will be to convince engineering students that as professional engineers they will be expected to have those skills and in fact will need them to succeed in their careers.