The Division of Library and Information Resources has developed the Wired Faculty Institute to train and assist all faculty, not just those teaching courses through the Internet, to incorporate information literacy and technology into the classroom.

Information literacy enables students to recognize when information is needed and be able to locate, evaluate and effectively use that information. This forms the basis for lifelong learning. (Association of College and Research libraries. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilintro.html)

During the 2000/2001 academic year, Harrisburg Area Community College expanded computer access by providing each full time faculty member with a computer on his/her desktop and increased the number of computers available to adjunct faculty. With increased computer access comes increased responsibility, on the part of the Division of Library and Information Resources, to provide enhanced learning experiences for students. These students are graduating high school with increasingly sophisticated information literacy and technology skills and expect to use those skills in the college classroom.

The Division of Library and Information Resources has recently expanded and enhanced its electronic resources and made those resources readily available to both traditional and "virtual" students through the Division's Web site, http://lib2.hacc.edu/ . The College as a whole is working to expand access to electronic resources by providing the necessary equipment to faculty and establishing a computer-lending program for disadvantaged students. The number of courses being offered via the Internet continues to grow each semester at the College. As the College invests in technology and integrates it with teaching, the Division has the opportunity to share its expertise with the campus community.

The Division has always taken a proactive role in the promotion of information literacy to the College by offering library skills workshops and maintaining contact with the teaching faculty. Several positive changes such as the growth of the College and the increased availability of electronic resources and technology have rendered the Division's current methods of instruction and outreach less effective in fulfilling the needs of the College. The Wired Faculty Institute will provide the means to enhance our existing programs by utilizing cutting edge technology to reach a greater number of faculty and provide in-depth and subject specific resources.