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Information literacy urs-2011

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advocates the need for and the strategies for incorporating information literacy as a meta skill for life long education
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KSOU Seminar 2011 Shalini R. Urs International School of Information Management University of Mysore Mysore, India
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Page 1: Information literacy urs-2011

KSOU Seminar 2011

Shalini R. UrsInternational School of Information

ManagementUniversity of Mysore

Mysore, India

Page 2: Information literacy urs-2011

KSOU Seminar 2011

Presentation Outline • Digital Era – new paradigms • Information Literacy – the five Cs

– Context and Concepts– Culture – Contemporary Technologies– Cognition – Content

• Implications for Academia • Focus not on dissemination of information

but on meta-capability

Page 3: Information literacy urs-2011

New Era, New paradigms

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Ghonim Thanks FB

“I want to meet Mark Zuckerberg one day and thank him… I’m talking on behalf of Egypt. This revolution started online. This revolution started on Facebook. This revolution started in June 2010 when hundreds of thousands of Egyptians started collaborating content. We would post a video on Facebook that would be shared by 60,000 people on their walls within a few hours. I always said that if you want to liberate a society just give them the Internet….”

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Prologue• Egypt isn't the cause, it is an effect of collective

consciousness accelerated by self-assembling dynamic networks now made possible by 21st century technologies that are enabling digitally driven leaderless revolutions.

• The Egyptian revolution is the cause celibre of the digital revolution. The revolution had the social media at their disposal and there was one tremendous benefit of Mubarak's inability to block the flow of information; the world had a window to what was really going on. The Whitehouse was actually monitoring Twitter feeds of #Egypt.

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Prologue

• Knowledge is of two kinds−we possess the knowledge or we know where to find knowledge ( Johnson)

• Give a man a fish- you feed him for a day, teach him fishing, you feed him for life ( Proverb)

(The rationale for Information literacy is captured very well in the above two statements)

Page 7: Information literacy urs-2011

Paradigms of the mind, message, and media

• Understanding the media : The extensions of Man by Marshal McLuhan

• McLuhan prophesied the dissolution of the linear mind

• He declared that the electronic media will break the tyranny of the text over our thoughts and senses

• Our isolated and fragmented selves locked for centuries in the private reading of printed pages were becoming whole againKSOU Seminar 2011

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The new medium • “Medium is the message” said McLuhan• Digital Era leads to technological simulation of

consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporally extended to the whole of humanity.

• The effects of technology are not limited to information, but to the patterns of perception and even resistance

• The net has become the all-purpose medium, the conduit for most of information and action and interaction KSOU Seminar 2011

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Impact of digital medium

• The impact of having the information flowing through our eyes and ears constantly into the mind is huge and transformative

• The new medium bulldozes our doubts (about the medium and its impact ) with bounties and convenience

• The impact is literally and figuratively mind boggling

KSOU Seminar 2011

Page 10: Information literacy urs-2011

Mind, plasticity and the technlogies

• Research in brain science has shown that the human brain is very plastic and has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions

• Every technology is an expression of human will, and through our tools we seek to expand our power and control over our circumstances.

KSOU Seminar 2011

Page 11: Information literacy urs-2011

Four types of Technologies

• Nicholas Carr in his book Shallows ( 2010) categorizes technologies into four types according to the way they supplement or amplify our native capacities.

• Set 1 ( extending our physical strength ) include the plow, the darning needle and the fighter jet

• Set 2 ( Extending the range of sensitivity of our senses) include the microscope, the amplifier, the Geiger counter etc.KSOU Seminar 2011

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Four Types of …• Set 3 ( reshaping nature ) include the

genetically modified plants, birth control pill, and others

• Set 4 ( intellectual technologies ) include the clock, the map, the typewriter, the computer , the internet etc. So are the book and the newspaper, etc.

• The human mind changes, adopts, and adapts to the new intellectual technologies

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Technology and the mind • These technologies are not mere exterior aids

but also interior transformations of consciousness, and never more than when they affect the word ( Walter Ong, a classical scholar)

• For example studies have shown that the working of the brain of an illiterate is different from that of a literate

• The act of reading ( for example) profoundly shapes adult neuropsychological systems

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Information Literacy

Concepts and Contexts

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What is Information Literacy ?

• The term information literacy, sometimes referred to as information competency, is generally defined as the ability to access, evaluate, organize, and use information from a variety of sources.

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Information Literacy • IL addresses the following abilities :• Defining a subject or area of investigation• Selecting the appropriate terminology that

expresses the concept or subject under investigation

• Formulating a search strategy that takes into consideration different sources of information and the variable ways that information is organized

• Analyzing the data collected for value, relevancy, quality, and suitability; and subsequently turn information into knowledge (ALA 1989). KSOU Seminar 2011

Page 17: Information literacy urs-2011

The essence of IL

• Essentially information literacy involves a deeper understanding of how and where to find information, the ability to judge whether that information is meaningful, and ultimately, how best that information can be incorporated to address the problem or issue at hand.

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Information Literacy Concepts • The earliest use or reference to this term was in

1974, when Paul Zurkowski, then president of the Information Industry Association advocated the establishment of a national program for achieving information literacy

• People trained in the application of information resources to their work be called information literates.

• They have learned the techniques and skills for using the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in molding information solutions to their problems

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Information Literacy –some definitions

• Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

• An information literate individual is able to:– Determine the extent of information

needed – Access the needed information effectively

and efficiently – Evaluate information and its sources

critically

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Definitions…

• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base

• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

(ACRL, 2000)

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Definitions …(Doyle, 1992)

• An information literate person is one who: • recognizes that accurate and complete

information is the basis for intelligent decision making

• recognizes the need for information • formulates questions based on information

needs • identifies potential sources of information • develops successful search strategies • accesses sources of information including

computer-based and other technologies

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• evaluates information • organizes information for practical application • integrates new information into an existing

body of knowledge • uses information in critical thinking and

problem solving

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Some more …

• Information is available from many sources and in many formats, such as printed text, television, videos, library databases, web sites, and more. To be "information literate" you need to know why, when, and how to use all of these tools and think critically about the information they provide.

( Texas Information Literacy Tutorial)

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IL competency

• Information literacy competency focuses on five broad abilities: – to recognize the need for information – to know how to access information – to understand how to evaluate information – to know how to synthesize information – to be able to communicate information

(Dennis Isbell and Carol Hammond "Information literacy competencies" College and Research Libraries News, June 1993 p.325-327.)

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Information Literacy

• “one who has the analytical and critical skills to formulate research questions and evaluate results, and the skills to search for and access a variety of information types in order to meet his or her information need” (Lenox and Walker , 1993)

Page 26: Information literacy urs-2011

Information Literacy, Computer Literacy, Library Literacy

• We need to distinguish between these related but different literacies ( or abilities)

• There is a strong relationship undoubtedly, though

• Information literacy is not the same as computer literacy (which requires a technological know-how to manipulate computer hardware and software) or library literacy (which requires the ability to use a library's collection and its services), KSOU Seminar 2011

Page 27: Information literacy urs-2011

Why IL ?• Because it is all about meta learning and meta

knowledge• Because, in the digital era, there has been a

paradigm shift and academia , industry, and all stakeholders including society will have to take note of the importance of this meta-ability and meta-knowledge

• Current economic and industry scenario impels us to rethink on core competencies and knowledge

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Importance of IL ( some examples)

• The U.S. Department of Labor's report from the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) lists information literacy as one of the five essential competencies necessary for solid job performance.

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Peter Drucker on IL

• "The most important thing [people] will have to learn is how to learn. The most important thing, in other words, is not specific skills, but a universal skill--that of using knowledge and its systematic acquisition as the foundation for performance, skill, and achievement."

Peter Drucker (1969)

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Paradigm Shifts

• Access to Information is easy and unlimited now

• “Findability “of information is no brainer • Once upon a time, teachers’ job was mainly to

pass on the information to students• Today with information deluge, the core

functionality of facuty and librarians are changing

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Models of Information Literacy

Seven Faces of Information Literacy( by Christine Bruce,1997)

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The information technology conception

• The IT centric approach• Dependence on the

accessibility to, usability and availability of IT

• Information Literate person scans the environment to attain higher levels of information experience

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The information sources conception

• IL is seen as finding information located in information sources

• The focus is on the knowledge of information resources- variety of formats including electronic and other media

• IL is defined in terms of knowledge of information resources

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The information process conception• Focus of attention is on the

information processes-strategies used for confronting a information need situation

• IL is seen as the ability to confront information need - the ability to handle novel situations( problem solving approaches adopted

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The information control conception

• The focus is on different ways of information management by storing and retrieving information

• Selection, filing, storing of information to retrieve the useful info when needed

• IT is viewed as a means of controlling information

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The knowledge construction conception

• Information use is the focus of attention

• Using information to construct Personal knowledge base

• Information in this context is personal and subjective

• IL is seen as building up personal knowledge base

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The knowledge extension conception

• Information use remains the focus-but viewed as a means of knowledge extension( knowledge creation) - an outcome of the process

• Intuition, creative and other abilities are seen as necessary for the use of information

• IL is seen as working with knowledge to create new knowledge

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The wisdom conception

• IL is using information wisely to benefit others

• Personal values, attitudes, and beliefs are part of the wisdom of using information- information is seen as part of the life experience process

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Information Literacy--Contexts

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Information literacy and life long learning

• IL empowers life long learning• IL enables self directed learning• IL maximizes the returns on investments in

time and efforts in reading• IL therefore needs to be integrated with

learning styles and learning behaviour

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Information Literacy and education

• IL is concerned with all levels of formal education

• IL may be equated with literacy in the primary education

• IL ties in with reading habits • IL is to be interwoven with the three ‘R’s of

primary education• IL will take different forms at different levels of

formal education

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Information Literacy and Education • Educational institutions and associations have

to be urged to incorporate IL within each and every programme of study

• Example of US Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development – “ Information Literacy…equips individuals to take advantage of opportunities inherent in the global information society. IL should be part of every students’ educational experience. ASCD urges schools, colleges and universities to integrate informational literacy programmes into learning programme for all students

Page 43: Information literacy urs-2011

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IL ,democracy and development

• IL is a social process and an agent of social change• Information as a tool for development. “ common

desire and commitment to build a people centred, inclusive and development oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving the quality of life ( WSIS)

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Information Literacy and culture

• IL and the general cultural setting• IL and the educational experience• IL and the information ecology

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IL and cultures

• It is important to realise that different cultures have different value systems

• To realise the full its potential of IL, programmes have to be oriented to and aligned with the cultural setting

• Culture – involves attitudes, motivations and value systems of a community

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IL and educational systems

• IL is closely involved with learning. It is a conceptual and intellectual framework for the development of educational models and curricular concepts. Understanding IL and integrating with the prevalent pedagogic systems are critical

• Learning is to transit from data/information acquisition to ‘informatisation’ or transformation of individuals

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Education system– The pedagogic system

– Quality of schooling and other levels

– Rote learning, memorisation, no critical thinking

– The language issues

– exposure to technology

– exposure to libraries

– Support and encouragement for reading or independent learning

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Information ecology

• The ecology of information rests on the following facets-– Information culture– Information behaviour– Information agencies, systems and

tools

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Information culture • The beliefs and values that the society assigns

to information/knowledge.• The culture of scholarship and scholarly

communities define the edifice of information culture. For example- academics publish because scholarship bestows value to publications

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Information behavior• The individual and institutional processes of

creating, archiving, distributing and using information.

• For example- the practice of exhaustive literature search, norms of citations, footnotes and other tenets of scientific writing

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Information agencies, systems and tools

• The tools, technologies, agencies and institutions that the society has evolved for information. For example - the development of journals, databases, libraries and other resources

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Information Literacy and Contemporary Technologies

• The Writing technologies and tools• The Printing technologies and

tools• The Digital technologies and tools

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The impact of writing technologies• The concept of learned person totally

transformed- when society changed from oral culture to written culture- it was a dramatic shift

• For many centuries-hundreds of generations of people learned by ‘doing things’, ‘interactions’ ‘observations’ and from their own experiences.

• Only with the development of language- knowledge could be codified and passed on from one generation to another

• In early oral cultures – a good scholar (student) had to be endowed with and developed high capacities for listening and remembering ( listening and memorizing were the information literacy of the day)

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• Verse/Poetry was the literary form of the oral cultures. Writing in verse required specialised skills. Prose as a literary form was developed much later.

• Information used to be disseminated orally through singing and other forms

• Writing endowed enormous power as well as limitations on storing knowledge requiring different sets of skill sets.

• Externalisation of Knowledge took place• New genres ( example prose ) replaced old ones for

communication

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Impact of printing technologies

• Printing became a power tool for the powers be- whether religion or political

• Printing Press – the Gutenberg revolution democratized education and knowledge

• There was a paradigm shift in the processes of archiving, distributing, and accessing Knowledge

• Many information processes and procedures were also transformed

• Many new skill sets, tools and technologies evolved

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Impact of digital technologies • Digital technologies represent another watershed

development that has dramatically transformed the ways and means of creating, storing, archiving, distributing, and ace3ssing information

• Emergence of new genres of documents , records and informational materials-Hyper text/ hyper media documents, collaborative writing, dynamic documents, virtual documents…

• The concept of a ‘fixed medium’ giving way to ‘fluid’ and dynamic medium

• Non linear presentation of text leading to user centric presentation. New means of personalization of presentations

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• Medium for the presentation of information is richer and versatile( multi media, animations, colours, designs…)

• New forms of presentations ( Ex-PowerPoint, slideshare, Videos, youtube ) are also emerging

• Emergence of new means of communication- emails, list servs etc

• Demanding new economic, social, legal systems for the same

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Information Literacy Vs. Computer literacy

• How IL relates to IT is a vexing problem- opinions are divided among the Computer community and the library community

• At one level, skills needed to retrieve information are different and separable from those required to make informed decisions(Candy,2002)

• Opinions are divided on this issue- some believe that information literacy appears to be an extension of library literacy

• Integrate digital literacy and information literacy• This has had impact on the content of IL

Programmes as well

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IL- Content issues

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Core Competencies• Critical and creative thinkingCritical and creative thinking• Problem analysisProblem analysis• Effective communicationEffective communication• Gather and organize informationGather and organize information• Abstract reasoningAbstract reasoning• Interpretive and assessment skillsInterpretive and assessment skills• Insight and intuition in generating Insight and intuition in generating

knowledgeknowledge• ( University of Calgory- IL Programme)( University of Calgory- IL Programme)

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Communicate information

Recognizes need for information

Forms appropriate questions

Levels Types Format

Effective search strategies

Skills to locate & retrieve information

Synthesize & evaluate information

Critical thinking & problem solving

Page 63: Information literacy urs-2011

Levels of IL

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IL-Content

• Information searching skills– Knowledge of Information Sources ( printed as

well as electronic)-when to use…– How to use an information resource- Book index,

dictionaries …– Search strategies- how to search, broaden or

narrow down searches…

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ICT skills– Optimal use of both hardware and software – Use of computer for creating information

sources/products ( beginning with simple word processing skills and abilities to create word, files, PPTs, Spreadsheets, HTML, XML, PDF documents etc)

– Use of modern communication tools such as email, list servs, social networking sites, Twitter accounts, etc

– Search Engines including advanced search etc– Use of specific resources- databases, Websites etc

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Learning/cognitive skills

• Learning strategies – Dealing with Short term and long term

memory and other strategies • Reading skills- strategies for reading• Critical thinking abilities- application of

knowledge• Problem solving approaches and skills

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Vision

Information Literacy as a meta knowledge

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Mission

– Integrating IL as part of Information Society Component

– Iterating IL as part of capacity building at-• National Level• Institutional Level• Individual Level

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Implication for the academia

• Teachers have to transit from being communicators of information to triggers of thinking , and catalysts of critical analysis

• New pedagogy in the light of Impact of Internet has to be adopted and adapted

• Focus more on cognitive abilities and critical thinking and problem solving

• Each domain has to provide case studies of problems and problem solving approaches

KSOU Seminar 2011

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Information Literacy Programs across the world

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South Africa Info.com 2025, INFOLIT

China National Workshop on Information Literacy for

Higher Education

Singapore Collaborative Projects of Library Support Groups

Australia Four successful national conferences on Information

Literacy organized by University of South Australia

Library and the ALAIA

New Zealand National curriculum framework for information

skills in compulsory education

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United Kingdom

SCONUL , JUBILEE (LISC User Behav1ior in information seeking :

Longitudinal Evaluation of EIS)

Scotland CITSCAPES(www.iteu.gla.ac.uk)

Ireland Three-year Training and Accreditation Program

Germany Information literacy program in Annual conference of German

Library Association

Sweden NORDINFOLIT (www.nordinfo.helsinki.fi/topics/index.html

)

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Canada Maintenance of Competence Program (MOCOMP)

Mexico User education program at Juarez University (

www.uacj.mx/bibliotecas/default.htm

)United States

The National Forum on Information Literacy (http://www.infolit.org)

The Institute of Information Literacy (www.ala.org/acrl/nili/nilihp.html)

Research Strategies -Journal

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Policy Framework• Agencies such as Knowledge Commission

( National as well as State) and other organisations including NAAC and others have to take cognizance of the importance of Information Literacy

• Encouraging and supporting the formation of groups/agencies and alliances ( ex- US National Forum for Information Literacy, 1993)

• National agencies and associations of educationists and library professionals to focus on IL ( ALA/ACRL Presidential Commissions)

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National policies

• There have been some flurry of activities in different part of the world to evolve national policies towards IL

• Notable examples include- – US Report of the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving the

Necessary Skills( SCANS Report)– New Zealand Dept of Labour’s position paper ‘Closing the

Digital Divide: Summary of stake holders Discussions’– Australian Library and Information Association’s Statement

on Information Literacy for All Australians

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• Policies for introducing and integrating IL at all the three stages of education

• Like Human rights and environment education, IL education is to be made mandatory at schools, colleges and universities

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National Policies: Some issues

• IL policies to be integrated with national information policies?

• IL to be integrated with Information Society Policies?

• IL policies to be integrated with ICT policies?• IL to be integrated with HRD/ educational

policies ?

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Target Groups

• Appropriate Government organisations – ministries, departments and commissions are to be identified for bringing about the policy changes

• Policy makers and decision makers • Educational institutions and educational

administrators- including accrediting agencies and institutions

• Professional associations and bodies• Academics, including faculty and librarians• General Public

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PNM-PPM Library 3.0 Seminar June 29,2010

Shalini Urs


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