Revision for Academic Policies and Procedures Manual, effective 2020-21
Theological scholarship, reflection, and research require particular habits with regard to information use. AMBS students and faculty should practice these information literacy habits:
● Critical assessment of resources’ relative value and authority
● Reflective discovery of resources
● Ethical use of information
The AMBS Library teaches these information literacy habits to all new students, using the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education from the Association of College and Research Libraries as a reference point and toolkit.
Teaching faculty collaborate with librarians to build and assess information literacy throughout the curriculum. Demonstration of information literacy is required for advancement to candidacy in the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts programs.
Particular educational goals in each degree program have a special resonance for ongoing development of information literacy habits. These include:
● MDiv: Graduates demonstrate personal integrity and authority in ministry.
● MATPS: Graduates analyze theological and biblical foundations of peace and justice, considering Anabaptist perspectives.
● MACF: Graduates reflect critically, contextually, and constructively on the theological content and practices of their specialized ministries.
● MATGA: [Graduates will] [b]uild research skills through analysis of how Anabaptism developed and formed in Western and non-Western contexts and interacted with other Christian movements.
(Approved by Teaching Faculty, December 2017)
(Revisions for consistency with program changes, December 2019)
ATS Standard 4.2.1 explicitly references information literacy as a responsibility of the library. This policy accounts for the expectations of this standard and references elements of ATS Standard 3 on the Theological Curriculum. https://www.ats.edu/accrediting/standards-and-notations