This upcoming academic year, two NU Library interns took on an exciting challenge: to transform the fundamentals of information literacy into engaging videos that students will actually want to watch. Throughout the internship, they explored the research process from a learner's perspective while developing practical educational content that will soon be available to the NU community.
Rassul Baidalin
Sociology, School of Sciences and Humanities
"Information literacy is knowing when you need information, transforming information into knowledge, and being open to the truth while understanding its complexity. Before becoming an intern for the information literacy program, I perceived information literacy as a skill based mostly on intuition. While the significance of being information fluent is regularly emphasized, I did not engage deeply with this issue. In reality, searching for and evaluating information is a challenging process, and learning it in a proper way can be very rewarding in terms of time and psychological well-being. Video-making helped me to reevaluate the idea of information literacy in a more structured and systematic way. Visualizing phases of information search and explaining the research process to the future audience enhances my own knowledge and improves the quality of produced content."
Aruzhan Baiduan
Political Science and International Relations, School of Sciences and Humanities
"During the internship, I was able to strengthen my content creation skills in an academic setting. I was particularly eager to improve my media literacy and develop my ability to work with AI tools, and the internship allowed me to immerse myself in both within a relatively short period of time. By participating in the internship, I not only created educational content but also discovered library tools that can help streamline my study routine."
Venera Niyazbayeva
Teaching and Learning Librarian, Project Supervisor
"Supervising this internship reminded me why I love this work: watching students move from 'here's a script' to 'here's a video I'd actually want to watch' - all while learning to search, evaluate, and use information responsibly. Their videos launch the upcoming semester, and I can't wait for our community to see them!"
Coming this Fall
Follow the launch of the Information Literacy Video Series this fall and discover how each module can help you develop essential information literacy skills. Learn more
Meet the Team
Rassul Baidalin
Sociology, School of Sciences and Humanities
"Information literacy is knowing when you need information, transforming information into knowledge, and being open to the truth while understanding its complexity. Before becoming an intern for the information literacy program, I perceived information literacy as a skill based mostly on intuition. While the significance of being information fluent is regularly emphasized, I did not engage deeply with this issue. In reality, searching for and evaluating information is a challenging process, and learning it in a proper way can be very rewarding in terms of time and psychological well-being. Video-making helped me to reevaluate the idea of information literacy in a more structured and systematic way. Visualizing phases of information search and explaining the research process to the future audience enhances my own knowledge and improves the quality of produced content."
Aruzhan Baiduan
Political Science and International Relations, School of Sciences and Humanities
"During the internship, I was able to strengthen my content creation skills in an academic setting. I was particularly eager to improve my media literacy and develop my ability to work with AI tools, and the internship allowed me to immerse myself in both within a relatively short period of time. By participating in the internship, I not only created educational content but also discovered library tools that can help streamline my study routine."
Venera Niyazbayeva
Teaching and Learning Librarian, Project Supervisor
"Supervising this internship reminded me why I love this work: watching students move from 'here's a script' to 'here's a video I'd actually want to watch' - all while learning to search, evaluate, and use information responsibly. Their videos launch the upcoming semester, and I can't wait for our community to see them!"
Coming this Fall
- Module 1 Establishing the Need for Information Before searching, define what you actually need to know. Concept mapping turns a vague topic into a focused research question.
- Module 2 Searching Strategy Searching isn't a single attempt, it's a conversation with the database. Keywords, Boolean operators, and filters turn 250,000 results into a short, usable list.
- Module 3 Evaluate Information Not every source deserves equal trust. CRAAP and CCOW give students a concrete method to check currency, authority, and hidden bias, not just gut feeling.
- Module 4 Use & Dissemination of Information Research doesn't end when you find a source it ends when you use it honestly: quoting, paraphrasing, and citing with integrity, including AI-generated content.
Follow the launch of the Information Literacy Video Series this fall and discover how each module can help you develop essential information literacy skills. Learn more