 Background, definition of information
literacy
 Information seeking strategies (Google
generation)
 Information literacy & higher education
 Instructional concepts
 Exercises
Note: this module focuses on information literacy for
health professionals in academic, research, and clinical
settings. It does not address information literacy for
the general public (patient education and consumer
health).
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Alphabetic literacy – writing name
Functional literacy – reading and writing
Social literacy – communication in a cultural
context
Information literacy – critical location,
evaluation and use of information
Digital information literacy –application of
information literacy in the digital environment
Caroline Stern (2002) Information literacy unplugged: teaching
information literacy without technology. White paper prepared for
UNESCO, the US NCLIS and National Forum for Information Literacy.
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/
‘Information Literacy encompasses
knowledge of one’s information concerns
and needs, and the ability to identify,
locate, evaluate, organize, and effectively
create, use, and communicate information
to address issues or problems at hand; it is
a prerequisite for participating effectively in
the Information Society, and is part of the
basic human right of life long learning…
Information Literacy, in conjunction with
access to essential information and effective
use of information and communication
technologies, plays a leading role in reducing
the inequities within and among countries
and peoples.’
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/19636/1122886
3531PragueDeclaration.pdf/PragueDeclaration.pdf
‘Information literacy is knowing when
and why you need information, where
to find it, and how to evaluate, use,
and communicate it in an ethical
manner.’
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, UK
http://www.informationliteracy.org.uk/Information_literacy_definiti
ons/Definitions.aspx
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No, an information literate person is one who
has developed an effective informationgathering style
Information literacy goes beyond the skills
used to manipulate computer databases
It involves decision-making about the
appropriate information sources to use and
judgments about the validity and relevancy of
information
‘Most students entering our colleges and
universities today are younger than the
microcomputer, are more comfortable working
on a keyboard than writing in a spiral notebook,
and are happier reading from a computer screen
than from paper in hand. Constant connectivity
– being in touch with friends and family at any
time and any place - is of utmost importance.’
Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future…
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89 percent of college students use search engines
to begin an information search (while only 2 per
cent start from a library web site)
93 per cent are satisfied or very satisfied with their
overall experience of using a search engine
(compared with 84 per cent for a librarian-assisted
search)
Search engines fit college students’ life styles
better than physical or online libraries and that fit
is `almost perfect’
College students still use the library, but they are
using it less (and reading less) since they first
began using Internet research tools
College Students’ Perceptions of the Libraries and Information
Resources: A Report to the OCLC Membership. Dublin, OH:OCLC,
2006 http://www.oclc.org/reports/perceptionscollege.htm
Not only students’ information seeking has
been fundamentally shaped by massive
digital choices, unbelievable (24/7) access to
scholarly material and search engines.
 Same environment has impacted on
professors, lecturers, researchers and health
practitioners.
 All groups use new styles of information
seeking.
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College Students’ Perceptions…
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Horizontal information seeking – users view
one or two pages of a site, then bounce to
another site, and often never return.
Navigation – considerable time spent in
finding their way around; often as much time
as actually viewing information.
Viewing time – at a specific site is short (4-8
minutes); often ‘power browse’ through title,
contents page, and abstracts
Squirreling behavior – save material by
downloading; unclear if ever read.
 Checking information seekers – users access
authority quickly by cross checking across
different sites and relying on favorite tools
(e.g. Google).
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College Students’ Perceptions…
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Critical in environment of rapid technological
change and proliferating information
resources.
Users are faced with diverse, abundant
information choices - in their academic
studies, in the workplace, and in their personal
lives.
Information comes to individuals in unfiltered
formats, raising questions about its
authenticity, validity, and reliability.
Information is available through multiple
media, including graphical, audio, and textual
formats.
Determines the nature and extent of the information
needed.
 Accesses needed information effectively and
efficiently.
 Evaluates information and its sources critically;
incorporates selected information into his or her
knowledge base and value system.
 Uses information effectively to accomplish a specific
purpose.
 Understands the economic, legal, and social issues
surrounding the use of information; accesses and
uses information ethically and legally.
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http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/infolit/standards
/stnd5/index.cfm
Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong
learning.
 Is common to all disciplines, to all learning
environments, and to all levels of education.
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Is strongly connected with critical and reflective
thinking.
Seven Faces of …
Gives the user the skills to know when he or she
needs information and where to locate it more
efficiently.
 Includes the technological skills needed to use
the modern library as a gateway to information.
 Enables users to analyze and evaluate the
information, thus giving the user confidence in
using that material to make an informed
decision.
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http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/infolit/overview/intro/i
ndex.cfm
Course integrated instruction
 Information literacy skills is a key part of
the course
 Learning outcomes are measurable
achievements/part of overall grade
 Resource based teaching
 Students must use skills to find
information from a variety of sources
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For successful development of information
literacy skills, program must
 Incorporate information literacy across
curricula in all programs and services.
 Include support by the administration of
the university, and
 Require the collaborative efforts of faculty,
librarians, and administrators.
ALA…
Information literacy model requires positive
change in the instructional mission of the
library.
 Library's expanded instructional role
emphasizes information-seeking behavior
within the context of an information need.
 Librarians and support staff are uniquely
qualified to support and teach information
literacy skills – for lifelong learning and
critical thinking.
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Information Literacy: An Overview Robin Angeley and Jeff Purdue
May 2000 http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/dialogue/issue6.html
‘To embrace a successful across-thecurriculum information literacy model, a
close collaboration of faculty, librarians,
and administrators is necessary, with
essential support needed from the higher
administrative levels’.
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Education for health information professionals
must be based on a solid foundation of the
changing paradigms and trends in health care and
health information as well as technological
advances to produce a well-prepared information
workforce to meet the demands of health-related
environments. Based on this premise, we need
to connect health care, library and information
sciences, and other information-centered
disciplines.
Miles to go before we sleep: education, technology, and the
changing paradigms in health information. Cleveland, A. J Med Libr
Assoc. 2011, January (99)1: 68
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016652/
‘I now understand that education is
about being empowered to learn rather
than about being dependent on the
teacher for acquiring knowledge and
skills.’
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Information literacy is not a discrete set of skills,
but rather a way of learning.
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Information literacy is an appreciation of the
complex ways of interacting with information. It is
a way of thinking and reasoning about aspects of
subject matter.
Information literacy research: dimensions of the emerging collective
consciousness Christine Bruce, Queensland University of Technology
http://www.anziil.org/resources/papers/archive/bruce/1_multipart
_xF8FF_2_AARLsub.pdf
‘Developing country librarians are beginning to
recognize the importance of evaluating their value
for research and teaching staff. Communicating the
value of their role however remains a key challenge…
There is limited awareness of how librarians can
better support research and teaching staff beyond
these traditional parameters.’
Library Value in Developing World . Neil McCreadie. August,
2013
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/repository/binaries/pdf/LibValRe
port-2013.pdf
Information Literacy Project, Philadelphia University, 2009 t/
http://www.philau.edu/infolit/definition.htm
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Seven Faces of Information Literacy : Towards inviting
students into new experiences. Christine Bruce, Queensland
University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia), 2003
http://www.bestlibrary.org/digital/files/bruce.pdf
ACRL Information Literacy Website, Association of College
and Research Libraries (Chicago, U.S.)
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/infolit/
Information Behavior Researcher of the Future, University
College London (U.K.) January 2008
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppr
es/ggworkpackageii.pdf
Please complete the following
hands-on exercises. Thank you!
How do you use information seeking skills
in your work environment and everyday life?
 Remember the details of a time when you
used this process effectively.
 What is your picture of an effective
information user ( or information literate
person)?
 Think about your experience of being ( or
trying to be) an information literate person.
What did you do? Was it easy? What do you
struggle with?
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In your environment, how is information
literacy integrated in your activities?
Is it integrated between units (e.g. library,
academic discipline, research groups, clinical
wards)?
How could it be better integrated?
What information literacy activities would you
add?
Which groups would benefit?
What is the role of instructors and
administration?
 How could this role be enhanced?
 What aspects of the institutional culture
impact on information literacy needs?
(positively and negatively)
 What would you do to foster a better culture?
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Updated 2013 10