Information
Services
Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
Jennifer Coombs, Wendy Stanton
November 2010
We live and work in an information rich world where the growth of information resources
is rapidly expanding and the different methods of access appear limitless.
All students at the University of Nottingham need to develop independent information
literacy skills to enable them to seek, critically appraise and use information
appropriately and effectively and to communicate research results, thus maximising their
opportunities for:
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Academic achievement
Employability
Lifelong learning
1. Mission
To promote and support information literacy throughout the University of Nottingham in
order to underpin key objectives and core values, specifically the goals and the
objectives of the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy 2009-2012, to provide a
framework for embedding core transferable, information literacy skills throughout the
curriculum at appropriate levels across all of our campuses.
2. Vision
Information Services aims to support student progression, independent learning and
personal development through the development of confident and competent information
literacy and critical awareness as a graduate skill.
Working with Schools, Departments and other support services, Information Services will
provide the framework, content and support in order to help academics embed the key
stages of information literacy at appropriate stages throughout the undergraduate and
postgraduate curriculum, thus enabling students from all backgrounds to effectively
identify and exploit available information sources to find, access, evaluate, manage and
use the resulting information. Information Services aim is to work towards a parity of
information skills sets for students at all campuses across the University, allowing ease
of student mobility.
3. Pedagogic context
The introduction of problem based learning, increasing numbers of international
students, students from a variety of backgrounds with different skill sets have elevated
the need to promote information literacy.
Information Literacy can be defined1 as the ability to:
1
Adapted from the SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy paper published in 1999.
SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy (1999) Information skills in higher
education: a SCONUL position paper, p.6. London: SCONUL [Online] Available at:
http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/papers/Seven_pillars2.pdf [Accessed 9 July
2010]
Information Services
Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
Last Reviewed 8 December 2010
Page 1 of 7
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recognise the need for information
value information in a variety of formats
locate information using effective search strategies
compare and evaluate information from a range of resources
organise, apply and evaluate information
synthesize information and create new knowledge
Supporting Teaching
The Roberts Review2 acknowledged the importance of the development of higher level
transferable skills for both postgraduate and undergraduate students and that 'all
students are entitled to be given the support they need to learn effectively.
Information literacy (IL) teaching enables students to determine the types and extent of
information required to meet research objectives, and to manage, communicate, exploit
and critically evaluate information.'
The advantage of such high level skills is that students become effective independent
learners, able to complete their assessments successfully, improve the quality of their
research and avoid plagiarism; it also provides them with the transferable skills required
when they enter the workforce.
Supporting Research
The report ‘Researchers Use of Academic Libraries and their Services’3 from RIN & CURL
stated that ‘researchers must master an array of finding tools that themselves form part
of the complexity of materials and services incorporated in modern digital libraries.
Librarians and users must make sense of this cascade, and librarians must be the guides
of users in this respect.’
Some Funding Councils require students to develop information literacy skills; their
postgraduate training and development guidelines cover compulsory core training
requirements in general research skills, research methods and transferable skills to
enable students to undertake their research and to enter the job market successfully.4
Roberts, G. (2002) SET for Success: The supply of people with science, technology, engineering
and mathematics skills, p.4 [Online] Available at: http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/d/robertsreview_introch1.pdf [Accessed 20 January 2010]
2
RIN & CURL (2007) Researchers’ Use of Academic Libraries and their Services: A report
commissioned by the Research Information Network and the Consortium of Research Libraries
[Online] Available at: http://www.rin.ac.uk/files/libraries-report-2007.pdf [Accessed: 20 January
2010]
3
ESRC (2009) ESRC Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines 2009 [Online] Available
at:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/Images/Postgraduate%20Training%20and%20Developme
nt%20Guidelines_tcm6-33067.pdf [Accessed 20 January 2010]
4
Information Services
Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
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The Vitae Researcher Development Statement5 identifies Information Literacy as a key
skill for the development of excellent research skills.
4. Framework
A framework for information literacy has been established by the Society of College,
National and University Libraries (SCONUL) which has been adopted globally by many
higher education institutions. This model has been adapted by the University of
Nottingham for the development of Information Literacy competencies.
The framework explains what information literacy competencies would normally be
expected at a basic, intermediate and advanced stage. Basic is normally taken to refer
to year 1 undergraduates; intermediate to latter year undergraduates and
postgraduates; and advanced for researchers or academics. Students should progress
through the steps as appropriate, building on previous skills learnt. However, the level of
competency required will vary according to different disciplines and prior knowledge and
experience. The framework therefore aims to provide an example outline that can be
tailored to individual disciplines and courses.
Steps to
Information
literacy
Basic
Intermediate
Advanced
Recognise
information
need
Recognise the need to
use quality information
in support of studies
Recognise the need
to use a variety of
research based
resources and good
quality information
in support of studies
Recognise the need to
use a comprehensive
range of research
based resources and
good quality
information to support
research
Recognise where to find
face to face and online
help
Recognise where to
find specialist help,
both face to face
and online
Recognise where to
find specialist help,
both face to face and
online
5
Vitae (2010) Researcher Development Statement 2010 [Online] Available at:
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/1393-291181/Researcher-DevelopmentFramework-RDF.html [Accessed 23 October 2010]
Information Services
Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
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Ability to
access
information
Access a range of key
online finding aids
including:
Access key
bibliographic
databases and
indexes and archival
searching aids as
appropriate
Access a
comprehensive range
of databases and
indexes and archival
searching aids as
appropriate
Locate and borrow
material in the library
efficiently
Locate and borrow
material in the library
and from other
sources
Locate and borrow
material in the library
and from other
sources
Locate the full-text of
an article
Source the full-text
of an article and
access a range of
appropriate material
in different formats
Source the full-text of
an article and access a
range of appropriate
material (e.g. grey
literature, ongoing &
completed research,
technical literature,
manuscripts & special
collections)
Access resources offcampus
Access resources offcampus
Access resources offcampus
Respect academic
integrity through a
basic understanding of
copyright legislation
Respect academic
integrity through an
understanding of
copyright legislation
Respect academic
integrity through an
understanding of
copyright and
intellectual property
legislation
Select a limited number
of appropriate sources
to search for
information, e.g.
Select a wider range
of appropriate
sources to search for
information, e.g.
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Select a
comprehensive range
of appropriate sources
to search for
information, e.g.
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The online reading
list system
The Library online
catalogue
The elibrary
gateway
Know how to use basic
services, e.g. printing,
photocopying, resource
booking
Construct
strategies
for locating
information



Online reading list
system
Library Catalogue
Scholarly Search
engines/gateways
A key database
Information Services
Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
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Databases or
indexes relating
to topic area
Scholarly Search
engines/gateways
Sources of


Databases or
indexes relating to
topic area
Scholarly Search
engines/gateways
Page 4 of 7
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technical material
Sources of
archival material
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Sources of
technical
information
Sources of archival
material
Sources of
research based
information
Select appropriate key
words from a reference
to search for an item
on the Library
Catalogue
Select appropriate
keywords to find
information on a
particular topic.
Develop search
strategies for complex
literature searches or
systematic reviews
Select appropriate
keywords to find
information on a
particular topic
Develop advanced
search techniques
Develop advanced
search techniques
Revise search strategy
as appropriate
Revise search
strategy as
appropriate
Revise search strategy
as appropriate
Recognise current
awareness services
such as Table of
Contents and search
alert tools
Ability to
evaluate
information
Identify when to use
different formats of
information
Recognise the value
of different literature
formats and their
appropriateness for
use
Recognise the value of
different literature
formats and their
appropriateness for
use
Recognise the bias and
authority of information
freely available from
the web
Recognise any
potential bias of
chosen resources
Understand research
methodologies to
evaluate the quality of
sources found
Recognise the problems
of finding too much/too
little/not relevant
information
Redefine searches as
appropriate
Revise search
strategies as
appropriate
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Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
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Ability to
apply and
disseminate
information
Note down pertinent
points and piece
information together to
form a reasoned
argument
Formulate a
structured argument
using the information
found
Formulate a
structured argument
and to progress into
new areas of
knowledge
Respect academic
integrity by
understanding the
concepts of plagiarism
and the need to avoid it
Respect academic
integrity by
understanding the
intricacies of
plagiarism and the
need to avoid it
Respect academic
integrity by
understanding the
intricacies of
plagiarism and the
need to avoid it
Recognise tools to
help identify
appropriate and high
impact sources for
published work
Recognise ways of
improving impact
through open-access
publishing
Ability to
organise
information
Use tools within
systems to mark and
download references
Use tools within
systems to mark and
download references
Use tools to mark and
download references,
including the use of
Web 2.0 tools such as
RSS feeds and social
bookmarking sites
Cite ideas obtained
from others in
academic work
following a consistent
referencing approach
Cite ideas obtained
from others in
academic work using
a standard
referencing system
Cite ideas obtained
from others in
academic research
using a standard
referencing system
Create a bibliography
of references following
a consistent referencing
approach.
Create a bibliography
of references
following a standard
referencing system
Create a bibliography
of references following
a standard referencing
system using a
bibliographic
management system
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Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
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Ability to
share and
communicate
information
Understand web 2.0
tools such as wikis and
blogs as an opportunity
to share information
Utilise web 2.0 tools
such as wikis and
blogs to share
information
Utilise web 2.0 tools
such as wikis, blogs,
social bookmarking
and EndnoteWeb to
share information and
references
Utilise tools such as
academic discussion
lists and professional
online networks to
communicate with
researchers
5. Delivery
Delivery methods for information skills will depend on student numbers, timetable
availability and the appropriateness of delivery method, but may include:
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Lectures (either individually or as part of a broader lecture)
Hands-on training in computer rooms
Attendance at seminars or events
One-to-one sessions as appropriate
Online through tutorials, integration with VLE modules and through the creation
of multimedia packages
Material produced may be repurposed both internally and externally as open educational
resources.
6. Evaluation
The strategy will be reviewed annually in consultation with academic staff.
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Information Literacy Strategy 2010 – 2012
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