Information Literacy Programmes

Mohit KumarSenior Research Fellow

Indian Agricultural Statistics Research InstitutePusa New Delhi

Historically the term information literacy was first used in print by Paul G. Zurkowski in 1974 in a report written on behalf of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. The phrase was used to describe the "techniques and skills" known by the information literate "for utilizing the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in molding information solutions to their problems". Although other educational goals, including traditional literacy, computer literacy, library skills, and critical thinking skills, are related to information literacy and important foundations for its development, information literacy itself has emerged as a distinct skill set and a necessary key to one's social and economic well-being in an increasingly complex information society".

Introduction

The American Library Association's (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, Final Report states, "To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information"

Jeremy Shapiro & Shelley Hughes (1996) define information literacy as "A new liberal art that extends from knowing how to use computers and access information to critical reflection on the nature of information itself, its technical infrastructure and its social, cultural, and philosophical context and impact."

The Western Michigan University Libraries define the term as "Information Literacy is the ability to identify, retrieve, evaluate, and use information that is appropriate to a need. Students who develop information literacy skills will be more successful in their studies and their daily lives. They will find that these skills are an essential element in becoming a lifelong learner."

Definition of Information Literacy

Tool literacy, or the ability to understand and use the practical and conceptual tools of current information technology relevant to education and the areas of work and professional life that the individual expects to inhabit.

Resource literacy, or the ability to understand the form, format, location and access methods of information resources, especially daily expanding networked information resources.

Social-structural literacy, or understanding how information is socially situated and produced.

Research literacy, or the ability to understand and use the IT-based tools relevant to the work of today's researcher and scholar.

Publishing literacy, or the ability to format and publish research and ideas electronically, in textual and multimedia forms... to introduce them into the electronic public realm and the electronic community of scholars.

Components of Information Literacy 

Emerging technology literacy, or the ability to continuously adapt to, understand, evaluate and make use of the continually emerging innovations in information technology so as not to be a prisoner of prior tools and resources, and to make intelligent decisions about the adoption of new ones.

Critical literacy, or the ability to evaluate critically the intellectual, human and social strengths and weaknesses, potentials and limits, benefits and costs of information technologies.

Conti….

Recognize the need for information Know how to access information Understand how to evaluate information Know how to synthesize information Be able to communicate information with rest of the world

Standards of Information Literacy

The characteristics are primarily intended to help those who are interested in developing, assessing, and improving information literacy programs. This audience includes faculty, librarians, administrators, and technology professionals, as well as others involved in information literacy programming at a particular institution.

Individuals involved with information literacy programming are encouraged to use the characteristics in a variety of ways. These characteristics both present and represent a set of ideas that can be used when establishing, developing, advancing, revitalizing, or assessing an information literacy program.

Purpose and Use of ILP

Category 1: Mission A mission statement for an information literacy program: Includes a definition of information literacy; Is consistent with the “

ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education”;

Aligns with the library’s mission statement to correspond with the larger mission statement of the institution;

Adheres to the format of campus strategic documents; Incorporates the institutional stakeholders, clearly reflecting their

contributions and the expected benefits; Appears in appropriate institutional documents; and Promotes relevant lifelong learning and professional development

Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy

Goals and objectives for an information literacy program: Are consistent with the mission, goals, and objectives of  the

library and the institution; Establish measurable outcomes for evaluation of the program; Accommodate input from institutional stakeholders; Clearly present the integration of information literacy across the

curriculum for students’ academic pursuits and effective lifelong learning. 

Accommodate sequential growth of students’ skills and understanding throughout their education,

Take into account all learners served by or connected to the institution, regardless of delivery systems or location

Category 2: Goals and Objectives

Planning for an information literacy program: Articulates and develops mechanisms to implement and/or adapt components of

the best practices listed in this document (as needed): ◦ mission◦ goals and objectives◦ administration and institutional support◦ articulation (program sequence) with the curriculum◦ collaboration◦ pedagogy◦ staffing◦ outreach◦ Assessment/evaluation.

Addresses current opportunities and challenges. Is tied to library, institutional, and information technology planning and

budgeting cycles. Incorporates findings from environmental scans.

Category 3: Planning

Accommodates the level of the program, department, and institution.

Addresses and prioritizes human, technological and financial resources (both current and projected), taking into account administrative and institutional support.

Encourages librarian, faculty, and administrator collaboration at the outset.

Enables librarians to take on leadership roles that will extend beyond the planning stages.

Includes a program for training and development, Provides a timeline for systematic revision

Conti…

Administration within an institution: Assigns information literacy leadership and responsibilities to

appropriate librarians, faculty, and staff. Incorporates information literacy in the institution’s mission, strategic

plan, policies, and procedures. Provides funding to establish and ensure ongoing support for :

◦ teaching facilities◦ current and appropriate technologies◦ appropriate staffing levels◦ Professional development opportunities.

Recognizes and encourages collaboration, Communicates support for the program. Rewards individual and institutional achievement and participation in the

information literacy program

Category 4: Administrative and Institutional Support

Articulation with the curriculum for an information literacy program: Identifies the scope (i.e., depth and complexity) of competencies to

be acquired on a disciplinary level as well as at the course level. Sequences and integrates competencies throughout a student’s

academic career, progressing in sophistication. Emphasizes learner-centered learning, . Is formalized and widely disseminated. Uses local governance structures to advocate for and ensure

institution-wide integration into academic or vocational programs. Specifies programs and courses charged with implementing

competencies.

Category 5: Articulation (program sequence) within the Curriculum

Fosters communication among disciplinary faculty, librarians, other instructors (e.g., teaching assistants), administrators, and other staff within the institution.

Focuses on enhancing student learning and skill development for lifelong learning.

Communicates effectively with faculty, librarians, other instructors, administrators, and additional staff members to gain support for the program within the academic community.

Aligns information literacy with disciplinary content. Works within the context of the course content, and other learning

experiences, to achieve information literacy outcomes. Takes place at different stages: planning, delivery, assessment of

student learning, and evaluation and refinement of the program

Category 6: Collaboration

Pedagogy for an information literacy program: Supports diverse approaches to teaching and learning. Is suitable to the type of instruction (e.g., one-shot, dedicated course). Takes into account diverse teaching and learning styles. Incorporates and uses relevant and appropriate information technology and

other media resources to support pedagogy. Advances learning through collaborative and experiential-learning

activities. Promotes critical thinking, reflection, and recursive learning. Builds on learners’ existing knowledge, course assignments, and career

goals. Contextualizes information literacy within ongoing coursework appropriate

to the academic program and course level. Prepares students for independent lifelong learning.

Category 7: Pedagogy

Staff for an information literacy program: Includes librarians, library staff, administrators, program coordinators,

instructional technologists, as well as disciplinary faculty, graphic designers, teaching/learning specialists, and other program staff as needed.

Endeavors to work collaboratively with others and support each other’s learning development.

Are knowledgeable in instruction/teaching, curriculum development, and assessment of student learning.

Garner expertise in developing, coordinating, implementing, evaluating, and revising information literacy programs.

Exemplify and advocate for information literacy and lifelong learning. Engage in professional development and training. Are adequate in number to support the program’s mission and workload. Receive regular evaluations about the quality of their contributions to the

program and areas for improvement

Category 8: Staffing

Delhi University Library System (DULS) comprising of more then 34 libraries in its fold, caters to the information needs of entire University community. In addition to the e-resources available through UGC-Infonet, DULS also subscribes a good number of e-resources. Besides, it also promotes prominent public domain e-resources available free of cost through its website: http://crl.du.ac.in/.

ILP at DULS

To acquaint the users with the academic power of Internet; To provide an indication as to what is there on Internet related to the area of

study and research. To show how web resources could be of immense use in their academic

pursuit and research; To show the usefulness of various multimedia resources on web in Social

Science Research. To promote the use of subscribed databases in academics and research; To describe specific features of various databases being subscribed by DULS; To acquaint the users with the use of various search techniques to retrieve

relevant information; To recognize the need for information, and to evaluate, organize, interpret,

and communicate information in all its formats;

Objectives

The presentation mainly described the following aspects. Internet and Academic Research in Social Sciences. Electronic Information Sources in Social Sciences. Importance of subscribed databases Role of e-resources in Social Science Research. Orientation to subscribed databases Practical exposure

Information Competency in Social Sciences

http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/charannot  http://

crl.du.ac.in/Information%20Literacy%20and%20Competency%20Development%20Programme.htm 

http://crl.du.ac.in/ot/  Majumdar, S and Singh, Rajesh, Information Literacy Program for Social

Sciences: A workshop Report, pp.1-15.

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