The authors discuss the application of the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) "Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline" to develop a successful post-secondary information literacy program. Drawing on personal experience and the literature, they examine several of the key characteristics with the intention of raising questions and exploring issues. ACRL recognized their work with information literacy at Zayed University, UAE, selecting it as one of the ten institutions in the world demonstrating best practices.

abstract:Librarians from Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) report on an empirical evaluation of the relevance and value of Infoasis (http://www.zu.ac.ae/infoasis), a Webbased information literacy tutorial developed and tailored to the Arab student population of the Emirates. After the successful implementation of this project, questions arose about the value of maintaining Infoasis, given the time intensive nature of this activity. Was the tutorial relevant and useful to students? Was it being used by students, and what factors contributed to the engagement (or not) of students with the tutorial? Survey results concluded that students found the tutorial both relevant and useful to their studies and that the design features tailored to the needs of the undergraduate Arab population were effective in ensuring usability. Reasons for poor usage of Infoasis outside the classroom are discussed.

This paper explores issues in developing, leading and sustaining a professional development organization in the Gulf region. Launched in December 2005, the Information Literacy Network (ILN) of the Gulf Region is an organization of librarians which supports and encourages student learning in higher education. The ILN aims to provide its members with opportunities to discuss best practices and regional challenges to developing instructional programs in information literacy. The authors outline their experience highlighting the stages of development, accomplishments and recurrent challenges of the ILN. They draw parallels between the ILN and effective ‘learning organizations’ as defined by P.M. Senge in his book “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization” . The authors in their dual roles as managers and leaders reflect on the application of Senge’s framework to the ILN to identify appropriate strategies and propose a set of recommendations to ensure that the continued development of the ILN as a true learning organization.