ACTEA Librarians' eNews, September 2009

[Joe Simfukwe]

With thanks to David Fitz-Patrick once again, here is your ...

ACTEA LIBRARIANS' eNews August/September 2009


Greetings fellow librarians and information workers!

This edition is devoted, largely, to the very important topic of
Information Literacy. The idea for this issue came from Muriel Teusink
(consulting at Holy Trinity Theological Seminary Library, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia).

Muriel mentioned that “Information Literacy was a topic stream at the
2009 Association of Christian Librarians Conference, Springfield, MO
at Evangel University” and she felt that it would be good to discuss
the topic in Librarian’s eNews. Great idea Muriel!

What follows is background information. Muriel will, for a future
edition, provide practical details about how to tackle information
literacy. If you are impatient and can’t wait for the “practical
edition” on IL please contact Muriel on muriel....@sim.org

I am indebted to Christine Bruce (Associate professor and Director of
Teaching. Faculty of Information Technology, QUT) for much of the
information given in summary below.

The place of the Library in the 21st Century
Information Literacy – what is it?
Information Literacy – why is it important?
Information Literacy – components of IL
Information Literacy – The Big6 model
Information Literacy – The Relational model
Information Literacy – Academic and Library Curriculum Design
Information Literacy – Engaging the Learners.
Information Literacy for Small Theological Libraries
Information Literacy – MA in Information Literacy



THE PLACE OF THE LIBRARY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

I recently read an interesting article by A Finlayson: Westminster and
Wikipedia: The Westminster Seminary Library in the Twenty-first
Century. Westminster Theological Journal Fall 2007

Finlayson says that the Reformers “explicitly recognized that the
development of good libraries was important for the development of the
Church. Martin Luther was an advocate for libraries. He stated that
‘neither care nor money should be spared to establish good libraries
especially in large cities’”. Finlayson feels that libraries still
have a very important part to play in the modern world.

Finlayson’s comments on why Westminster still needs a library are
informative. He lists the following reasons for the continuance of
Westminster’s library service:

The library provides a witness to the past. Hebrews 12:1, “we are
surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses”. The library provides a
balance to the view which says new ideas are always the best. We need
the wisdom of past generations and our rich theological heritage. A
well thought out collection will do this.
The library, through a well considered selection policy, has
materials that reflect a range of theological traditions and beliefs.
Readers are able to interact with many traditions.
The library is a place of learning and study. People do as much
learning in the library as they do in the classroom. Libraries today
are much busier and even noisier than they used to be. Good libraries
are people places.
The library is an active partner in the theological education of
students. Accrediting standards demand this. There is a new demand
that libraries demonstrate that they are teaching “information
literacy skills” to students.

Finlayson stresses that Information Literacy is the field wherein the
library, more than in any other sphere of its operations (dare one say
it?) will justify its continued existence. He quotes Middle (USA)
States accrediting standards:

“Several skills, collectively referred to as “information literacy”,
apply to all disciplines in an institution’s curricula. These skills
relate to a student’s competency in acquiring and processing
information in the search for understanding, whether that information
is …facilities of a library, through practica…by communications with
experts… or by other means. Information Literacy is an essential
component of any educational programme”.

This leads us nicely into our discussion on Information Literacy.

2. INFORMATION LITERACY – WHAT IS IT?

Christine Bruce’s (Faculty of Information Technology, QUT) definition
is helpful, she says “Information literacy is the ability to access,
evaluate, organize and use information in order to learn, problem
solve, make decisions – in formal and informal learning contexts, at
work, at home and in educational settings”.

Information Literacy is about preparation for lifelong learning,
whether in a formal educational or more informal learning situation.
IL relates to critical and reflective thinking. It is about providing
the skills and conceptual abilities which will enable the individual
to steer their own course, often without a teacher, through the
information maze and emerge having grown in wisdom and learning. We
librarians have quite a responsibility!

IL skills help one identify what information is needed, understand how
information is organized and help identify the best sources of
information for a given need. It also facilitates locating resources
and evaluating them critically. IL incorporates a knowledge of
commonly used research teachniques.





3. INFORMATION LITERACY - WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

We are surrounded by an ever-growing tsunami of information in all
sorts of formats. Information sources are not all equal: some are
authoritative, current and reliable, but some are biased, out of date,
misleading and at worst, false. The amount of information available
will increase and likewise the technology used to access, manipulate
and create information, will also increase.

The right information to the right person at the right time is one of
traditional keys to library effectiveness. Library staff should have
expertise in locating, retrieving and exploiting information. Patrons
require easy access to information resources in all formats and such
resources must be current and relevant. Materials should be selected
for relevance and such materials should be organized in an easily
accessible way.

4. INFORMATION LITERACY – COMPONENTS OF IL

J.S. Shapiro et al, suggest that there are seven components to IL:

* Tool literacy – ability to use current IT to find information.
* Resource Literacy – ability to understand form, format, location and
access methods of information resources.
* Social-structural literacy – understanding how information is
socially situated/produced.
* Research literacy – using IT based tools relevant to the work of
today’s researcher/scholar.
* Publishing literacy – ability to format/publish research
electronically, in textual and multimedia forms and introduce them
into the electronic public/scholarly realm.
* Emerging Technology literacy – ability to adapt to, understand and
make use of emerging innovations in IT and to make intelligent
decisions about the adoption of new ones.
*Critical Literacy – critical evaluation of intellectual, human and
social strengths and weaknesses, potentials and limits, benefits and
cost of IT.

Shapiro advocates a radically new conceptualization of “our entire
educational curriculum in terms of information”. He appears to have
omitted the very important “relational” component to IL. The emphasis
seems to be more on IT and less on the learner and his/her experience
(including already existing knowledge/experience) and transforming
that experience on a subjective/affective level. The “relational
approach” is discussed below but first let us look at the Big6 Model.

“Information Literacy as a Liberal Art”, Jermey J Shapiro and Shelly K
Hughes.



5. INFORMATION LITERACY – The Big6 MODEL

There are quite of few Information Literacy models around. One of
these is the Big6 model, which is an information Problem-solving
Process, developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. This model is
probably the most widely known. The 6 stages are listed below:

1. Task Definition
1.1 Define the information problem
1.2 Identify information needed

2. Information Seeking Strategies
2.1 Determine all possible sources
2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (eg., read, hear, view, touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis
5.1 Organize from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

People go through these stages, consciously or not, when applying
information to solve a problem or make a decision. There is no linear
order i.e. one stage does not have to follow the one preceding. Also,
each stage does not have to take a long time. Problem-solving
situations often address all stages.

(see http://www.big6.com/what-is-the-big6 <http://www.big6.com/what-is-
the-big6> for more details)


6. INFORMATION LITERACY – THE RELATIONAL MODEL

I particularly like the “relational model” of literacy (Christine
Bruce. Faculty of Information Technology, QUT). The relational model
gives insight into interaction with the world of information as people
experience it and helps one understand differences in experience.
Learning outcomes based on whole experiences and real life become a
real possibility.

According to Christine Bruce (Faculty of Information Technology, QUT)
the relational model is “a picture map of the different ways in which
information literacy is experienced”. Information Literacy, as Bruce
sees it, is the sum of the different ways, literacy, it is
experienced. IL education, par excellence, is helping learners change
and broaden their repertoire of experiences.

Bruce talks of 7 faces of Information Literacy.

The first face is the IT experience (used for information awareness,
IT becomes a social experience, dependent on social expertise within
a group).
Face two: the Information sources experience (bibliographic, human,
assistance of intermediaries. Personal skills valued)
Face three: the information process Experience (problem solving,
decision making. Personal heuristics. A creative art.
Face Four: The Info-Control Experience (recognizing relevant
information. Managing that information. Making connections between
information, projects, people. Interconnectedness between information
and parts of projects).
Fifth Face: The Knowledge construction Experience (learning.
Developing personal perspective with knowledge gained. Critical
thinking).
Sixth Face: The Knowledge Extension Experience (Personal knowledge,
experience and creative insight/intuition. Mysterious experience.
Develop new knowledge/approaches to tasks/solutions).
Seventh Face: The wisdom Experience (Personal quality. Values and
ethics combined with knowledge. Information used for the benefit of
others).

For more information on this model see: Christine Bruce (2002)
Information literacy as a catalyst for educational change: a
background paper. White paper prepared for UNESCO, the US NCLIS and
National forum for Information Literacy. http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/
<http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/>

You can also google: Seven Faces of Information Literacy: Towards
inviting students into new experiences. Power Point presentation by
Christine Bruce. This presentation would be very useful in training
library staff and could be shown to faculty/students to great
advantage.

7. INFORMATION LITERACY – ACADEMIC AND LIBRARY CURRICULUM
DESIGN

Christine Bruce suggests that we can use the relational model (ways of
experiencing IL) to build curriculum. One could design learning
experiences that relate to the relevant “faces” of the relational
model of IL and support the development of skills necessary for each
face.

The premises of such a viewpoint are quite powerful. Take for instance
the comment by Marton et al “Powerful ways of acting come from
powerful ways of seeing”. IL education, according to Bruce, should
build on relevant experiences and mirror those experiences in the
curriculum.

By influencing and understanding their already existent ways of
conceiving of effective information use one can help learners become
better information users.

A relational curriculum allows students to conceive of IL in different
ways, use information in a wide range of contexts, in the most
effective way and think about information use and its application to
new situations. Information is seen as subjective and
transformational. This is powerful stuff! This is the territory of the
librarian!

Librarians/information workers, have more than ever, to be involved in
decisions about curriculum development and the learner’s overall
experience of education. Where educators may be focused on subject
matter, the librarian’s unique abilities and skills allow him/her to
focus on the life enhancing skill of critical thinking and information
usage. This is a front line position. How many of us have the courage
to assert ourselves, on behalf of learners, in this arena? It is
simply a matter of claiming our “birth right”, we already have many of
the skills.

8. INFORMATION LITERACY – ENGAGING THE LEARNERS

Information literacy is more than teaching a set of skills. It is a
process which should transform learning and the culture of communities
for the better.

Curriculum should ensure that through a process of constructive
alignment (Biggs 1999) learning activities should require students to
engage in a process that leads to achieving desired learning
objectives. IL can be encouraged or discouraged by particular learning
activities (Bruce, C et. al.)

Bruce suggests four elements of an IL programe, to engage learners:

· Resources to facilitate specific learning skills, e.g. web
based information skills packages/self paced instruction.
· Curriculum that provides learning opportunities for specific
skills.
· Curriculum which requires engagement in learning activities
that require ongoing interaction with the info. Environment.
· Curriculum that provides opportunities for reflection and
documentation of learning about effective information practices.

See (for more interesting information):

Patrick Breivik. 2000. Forward, Information Literacy Around the World,
edited by Bruce, C and Candy P. Charles Sturt University.



9. INFORMATION LITERACY FOR SMALL THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIES

Some smaller theological libraries have modest sized collections and
are unable to access expensive electronic databases found in larger
universities.

http://ww.acts.twu.ca/library/infolittheol.htm <http://ww.acts.twu.ca/
library/infolittheol.htm> seeks to help smaller libraries in their
search for IL skills. It includes tutorials and outlines various
courses available at various USA universities/seminary libraries,
which are used in training patrons about IL.

Also see http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.html <http://
www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.html> for an article by Robert Harris
on Evaluating Internet Research Sources. You could also just google
the article and author and obtain the useful article that way.

Here are some url's for Information Literacy programs offered at Nyack
College in NY state. Muriel is currently revamping the curriculum at
Bingham Academy for IL and when she has completed this (and taught it
once), she will make it available to the group. Mary Evans is also
teaching an IL course at Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST).

4 year integrated learning IL program
http://www.nyackcollege.edu/library.php?page=ILUgrad

IL student learning goal
http://www.nyackcollege.edu/library.php?page=ILSTudentGoals

10. INFORMATION LITERACY – MA IN INFORMATION LITERACY.

There is a growing demand for experts in the theory and practice of
information literacy, people who are qualified and motivated to
educate citizens for lifelong learning in information literacy. With
this demand in view the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom)
offers an MA in Information Literacy, which can be taken full-time
over 12 months or part-time over 2-3 years. One needs a second class
honours degree or equivalent. Relevant work experience in a library or
information or an educational work place would be an advantage.

FINAL WORDS

Hannelore Rader (2002) provides some interesting information on the
growth of IL around the world. Here are a few examples:

· In South Africa IL was given impetus by the transformation of
education, along with the transformation in society since 1994.
· Since the early 1980s China has encouraged the teaching of
information skills.
· New Zealand has had a national curriculum framework for
information skills since 1993.
· In Europe EDUCATE, (end user course in information access
via IT), was instituted in 1994
· Australia – CAUL has adopted US Higher Education Competence
Standards.

Hannelore Rader (2002) Information literacy – an emerging global
priority. White paper prepared for UNESCO, the US NCLIS and National
Forum for Information Literacy.
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/ <http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/>

Many of you are already involved in IL programs and have written your
own. Please write in and give us your experiences.

All the best as you approach the end of the year, the busyness of exam
time and the run on the Reserve/short loan section!




David Fitz-Patrick
LIBRARIAN