Philosophy of information literacy: To read, view, listen or interact in using information

PS. image courtesy: Brenau Trustee Library

Miriam (Mimi) Sue Dudley, 1983:
"Library instruction, bibliographic instruction and user education are all reference services. The concept of reference as an assistance to users of libraries first appeared in Library Journal in 1891. In 1870's personal assistance to the reader was made available, in 1877 the access to the resources themselves was restricted to the research. In 1884 Dewey introduced the first reference department at Columbia University. In the last quarter of the 20th century library instruction was formalized as a separate function. establishing a separate unit within ALA.
The philosophy of bibliographic instruction asks the questions: why, when, where and who of library instructions. The answer: When? Now, Always, Anytime. Where? Anyplace. Every Place. Who? Your users and your colleagues. Why? Because you are a librarian." (p.63) [source] (probably the complete citation is :  Mimi Dudley, "A Philosophy of Library Instruction", Research Strategies, 1:2 (Spring 1983), 63.)

Readings:

• Philosophy of Information Literacy Education
• Philosophy of Information Literacy
• The Information Literacy Land of Confusion
• Bibliographic Instruction in Public Libraries: A Question of Philosophy
• Philosophy of User Education   Girja Kumar  
• Cook,JHA & Timmis,SE Towards a theory of student motivation in virtual learning, ALT-C 2002, p83 -92, Association of Learning Technology, 2002  in University of Bristol | Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) | Publications
• My philosophy of information literacy 
• Information Literacy and Communication: A Theoretical Approach to an Interdisciplinary Issue 
• A new direction for library and information science: the communication aspect of information literacy
• CRITICAL INFORMATION LITERACY IN PRACTICE: AN INTERPRETIVE SYNTHESIS
• Standish Library Philosophy of Information Literacy 
  
• Information Literacy Theory : An overview of resources and models:

  People absorb information in different ways - for example you may prefer to read instructions, whilst other people may prefer to listen to a podcast and others would want to watch a visual demonstration. It's also important to consider different cultural backgrounds - for example students from some backgrounds may feel it is disrespectful to interrupt the trainer by asking questions. Other students may come from backgrounds where they are expected to quote large chunks of text verbatim, rather than to synthesize and analyze a range of different academic arguments. IL practitioners have to be aware of all these different variations of learning styles.

  Different theories underpin teaching methods, and an IL practitioner needs to be aware of these and how they can help delivery of workshops and the practitioners own understanding of student behaviours

  • Behaviourist theory
  • Cognitivist theory
  • Poblem based/ Inquiry based Learning (IBL)
  • Student Centered
  • Collaborative learning
  • Experiental Learning
  • Constructivist Theory
  • Deep vs Surface learning

  There are several models of Information Literacy (IL) some of the most well known are:

  SCONUL Seven Pillars

  CILIP Definition

  American Library Association (ALA) Information Literacy Standards

  ACRL Competency standards ACRL is the Association of College and Research Libraries division of the ALA

  Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework(ANZILL)

  Six Frames for Information Literacy Education

Libraries Targets High-School and High-Schools Target Library Education

Stephen Abram says: "Sounds like a great opportunity for library board / school board partnerships. Libraries are less stigmatizing environments for adult learners catching up on high school and e-learning is more flexible for workers than going to a local high school night class."

Two news stories about schools and libraries, one in US and the other in India make headlines. These headlines are not necessarily to say that the jobs of librarians will tend to improve, or that the image of profession has changed from books to classrooms. It is for the coming times to show what are the true colors of these headlines.

• Career Online High School Pilot Program Begins March 3, 2014. "Los Angeles Public Library to Offer High School Diploma and Career Certificate Program in Partnership with Gale : This is a very important development for public libraries where they can offer high school accredited diplomas and credits to their patrons." Read more: Online Learning in Libraries Targets High-School Dropouts  / Literacy Council has lots to celebrate / Private Online School District Battles America's High School Dropout Crisis and Offers a Solution to Educational Trauma / Changing Lives & the Public Library: Career Online High School,  Library Journal / Career Online High School: Los Angeles Public Library / Career Online High School Get the Education and Career Skills You Need to Succeed

"The library hopes to grant high school diplomas to 150 adults in the first year at a cost to the library of $150,000, Szabo said. Many public libraries offer programs to prepare students and in some cases administer the General Educational Development test, which for decades was the brand name for the high school equivalency exam." cbsnews.com

• Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) introduces library and information science for grade XI and XII students, THE TIMES OF INDIA, Feb 13, 2014/ Now, learn all about libraries, The Hindu:

  "CBSE students may soon get to go to their school libraries not just during the designated hour, but also to understand the workings of classification, cataloguing, library-related technologies and library automation software, among other aspects."... According to a recent CBSE circular, the elective aims to develop basic understanding, theory and practical knowledge, and skill to pursue the subject for higher education and basic skills to work as a library semi-professional.   

  A. Amudavalli, professor and head, library and information sciences, University of Madras, says it is a viable and necessary career option. She says since it is an elective, it cannot be equivalent to a diploma, but it is a good move by the Board. “There is definitely more demand than there are people in this field,” she says. “Library science has changed drastically and, today, we work in a hybrid environment. Not only is there a demand for librarians, they are also well-paid,” she says, adding students of her department were placed well now.

Literacy Resources for Libraries – A quick list

This post is inspired by the collection of American resources by ESTHER CHASE @ LIBRARIES AND LITERACY

The Canadian resources:

• A Directory of Canadian Adult LiteracyResearch Now Online
• Action for Literacy (Canadian Library Association's Interest Groups)
• Literacy programs--Canada. : Toronto Public Library
• Digital Literacy in Canada? The DLP is On It! | Digital Literacy Project
• Geographical Distribution of Adult Literacy Skills in Canada  
• Cases on Building Quality Distance Delivery Programs: Strategies and Experiences  Stephanie Huffman 
• Research Strategies: Finding Your Way Through the Information Fog  William Badke Beyond the Answer Sheet: Academic Success for International Students  William B. Badke 
• Community Library Programs That Work: Building Youth and Family Literacy  Beth Christina Maddigan 
• Using Technology To Teach Information Literacy (Information Literacy Sourcebooks)  Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson 
• Directory of Libraries in Canada 2009 (Libraries Canada)  Laura Mars-Proietti 
• Dynamic Fair Dealing: Creating Canadian Culture Online  Rosemary Coombe 
• Last One Out Turn Off the Lights: Is This the Future of American and Canadian Libraries?  Susan E. Cleyle

American resources by ESTHER CHASE:

·         America's Literacy Directory
·         National Literacy Directory·         IL Adult Learning Hotline·         Libraries' English and Reading Network·         How to Start an Adult Volunteer Literacy Program (IL SOS)·         IL State Library Literacy Grants for Adult Volunteer Literacy Programs·         How to Serve the World: Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries (ALA)·         Literacy for All: Adult Literacy @ your library (ALA)·         America Dream Toolkit for Libraries (ALA)·         GCF Learn Free - Technology Tutorials Online·         Hampton-Brown Series for Advanced Book Groups·         Joe's Web Tools - Readability Calculator·         Pearson Fastback Series for Intermediate Book Groups·         YALSA's List of Recommended Reads - Great for ESL Book Groups

On the same shelf:

•  Information Literacy as an Unnatural State | Peer to Peer Review By Wayne Bivens-Tatum 
• Libraries and Literacy: Vital to Life

Elements of Digital Literacy - East and West

PS. This is a note to remind everyone that there is no one size fits all. Eastern/developing nations need  a different strategy, and different approach, as agains the rest of the developed world. The following is excellent in the latter case:

•  Digital Literacy and Multitasking @ startek

Extract: :About three years ago Doug Belshaw came up with the Eight C’s of Digital Literacy: Cultural [Cu], Cognitive [Cg], Constructive [Cn], Communication [Co], Confidence [Cf], Creative [Cr], Critical [Ct], and Civic [Ci]. This article briefly describes how each of these eight strategies might look in the classroom."

Read more »

Information Literacy Re-visited

The New Literacy Crisis: Immigrants Teaching Natives in the Digital Age, Teresa Coffman, Ph.D., Aileen Campbell, Emily Heller, Emily M. Horney, & Lynne P. Slater

What is Library Literacy and how do you best impart this to public library users? THE LATERAL LITERAL LIBRARIAN

Information Literacy: A Clarification, by Linda Langford

“What do you mean I can’t just use Google?” Information Literacy in an Academic Setting, by Laura Thorne, Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management (Canadian academic survey)

21st Century Literacies: Tools for Reading the World

ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Approved 2000.

assessment tool for information literacy that can be used to measure success: complete list of Information Literacy Assessment Tools; more specifically: James Madison University's ILT (Information Literacy Test) TRAILS' related sources (Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills), Kent State University's SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills):

"There are many choices but SAILS will give you an accurate snapshot by group (freshmen-senior) if you want to get just aggregate data. The responses are totally anonymous so you cannot track individuals, but you can compare years if you have at least 50 responses from each cohort." @ collib-l@ala.org

On the same shelf:

Database Searching Trends in India: Review Article on the state-of-the-art

I found an interesting research article by Dr. Shailendra Kumar, Mr. Projes Roy, and Prof. M. P. Satija, "Database Searching in Central University Libraries in India," Library Philosophy and Practice 2011.

Introduction
In consequence of the recommendation of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC, 2005-2008), each of the Indian states has at least one fully-funded central university. Now there are 39 central universities. Privately funded and owned state-legislated universities are also being established to cater to the increased demand for higher education. In between there are many universities that are not legislation-based but are authorized by the University Grant Commission (UGC, New Delhi) to award degrees. Central universities are better-equipped in terms of financial resources, faculty, and infrastructure, and thus have an edge over the usually fund-starved state universities.

The libraries across the globe are challenged to integrate e-resources into their collection, services, and patrons' lives and academic libraries face obstacles when virtual learning environment (VLEs) become "the primary means of interaction between students and universities (Tenopir, 2008). Providing access to electronic journals and other e-resources is an important area of librarianship (Prabhu, 2002). The design of usable online interfaces is a crucial issue (Xie and Cool, 2000). Traditional library services and printed material are still more effective to researchers in Indian universities than web-based information and resources. Barriers to progress in this area in university libraries in India cannot be overlooked (Chandrakar, 2003).

On the same shelf

Background of the database searching (need and demand): Taking online interaction for granted, by Tenopir, Carol, Library Journal, 12/1/97, Vol. 122 Issue 20, p39,.

Can Johnny search?: ONLINE DATABASES, by Tenopir, Carol, Library Journal Feb 1, 2007, v132 i2, p30

Teaching student searchers: (Online Databases) by Tenopir, Carol, Library Journal March 1, 2005, v130 i4, p33(1)

Webliography: Database Searching -- Information Literacy for Library Technicians

Five Myths About the 'Information Age'

The Chronicle Review, April 17, 2011
By Robert Darnton
Extract:

The book is dead.


We have entered the information age.


All information is now available online


Libraries are obsolete


The future is digital

Continue reading the full article, here On the same shelf:

Books & Libraries @ Facebook

• Asian Classics Input Project:

"The Asian Classics Input Project was founded in 1988 to preserve and freely distribute ancient Asian classical literature, and to support refugees in doing this work. Millions of texts were destroyed during and after the 1959 invasion of Tibet, and many others are buried in libraries throughout Asia. During the past 20 years, the Asian Classics Input Project has saved thousands of these endangered masterpieces by combing monasteries, libraries and archives throughout Asia. After finding these..." (read more)

• Books for a better Future Program 2009:
  

"The Books for a Better Future Program is a student initiative which seeks to collect old and unwanted academic textbooks, specifically from, but not limited to, tertiary students, academic staffers and libraries, for distribution to a number of tertiary partners in India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

We would especially like to collect books in the fields of commerce, law, history, nursing, women’s studies and engineering. VCE textbooks and language resources used to teach English would also be..." (read more)

International Workshop on Information Literacy 2009

International Workshop on Information Literacy (IWIL) 2009
Date: 22-26 June 2009
Organized byIndependent University, Bangladesh
(IUB)Sponsored byThe International Federation of Library Associations
and Institutions (IFLA)
Venue: Independent University, Bangladesh,
Baridhara, Dhaka

The Key resource person for the workshop is:
Professor Gary Gorman, School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Click here for more details

Making by Stealing of Un-cited (Recycled) Content in the Wiki Age: Role of Librarians?

What comes to our mind by seeing the emerging open-source and open-gate information revolution? (most Netizens may think this as an avenue to be creative, in terms of manipulating and exploiting the deep Web--with the freedom and choice to use the Read-Write Web, 24X7, via blogs, wikis, and second life in nano-seconds)

"We the users turned creators and distributors of content are TIME's Person of the Year 2006, and AdAge's advertising agency of the year. We form a new Generation C. We have MySpace, YouTube, and OurMedia; we run social software, and drive the development of Web 2.0. But beyond the hype, what's really going on?" Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and B... >>>>>>-----

The following links may make us think (indirectly, albeit) about a role libaries may have in promoting best practices for knowledge sharing:

• [KG Audit Disc] Is Knowledge inequality an open invitation to mass-destruction of knowledge? [Read my views on how a revolutionary timesaving approach, "cut and paste" has metamorphosed into a fancy synonym for organized knowledge piracy, and on a bigger canvas as a psychological disorder that needs to be checked.
  Looking forward to your views.
  Best wishesSaurabh]


• Copyright, Copyleft & the Creative Anti-Commons
• Cut/Copy/Paste - Three Shortcuts That Killed Creativity ...
• CARL - The Cyberspace Is Not A "No Law Land"
  
• ControlC: Turning Cut & Paste Into A Web Service


• KnowledgePerson.com blog: Why understanding is knowledge


• Knowledge as information in transition


• YouTubers cut and paste at their peril - Technology - smh.com.au


• Carnegie Mellon Libraries: Information Ethics Problem of the Month ...


• Libraries Unleashed: the Guardian Tackles Library Technology Issues


• Disconnects Between Library Culture and Millennial Generation Values


• Study of Internet's Impact on Museums and Libraries


• Book publishers seek ways to adapt to Web SiliconValley.com


• Encyclopaedia Britannica Goes -- Gasp! -- Wiki


• Stealing slogans from the Web


• Tragedyof the Commons Revisited: Librarians, Publishers, Faculty and ...


• Hackers, phishers can't get away with it like they used to By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
  
• Sell More by Sharing on Peer to Peer Networks
  They say that piracy on the Internet decreases sales. Everywhere you hear figures in hundreds of millions dollars/euros of revenues lost by sellers of music, movies, software and books.
  Is it really true? Can you have a different take on sales by sharing? Here is a different story.
  Paulo Coelho, author of books such as “The Alchemist” and “The Witch of Portobello”, sold over 100 million books last year. He puts this success down to BitTorrent, as he saw a huge increase in sales when his books appeared on sites such as The Pirate Bay.
  
  
  

Bangla and Bangalooru: The Phonetic Similarity in Jeopardy

PS. Bear in mind the newstory about the trend to restore original syntax & symantics (A.K.A. Indianization) that was announced in the State of Karnataka (India) -- It's official: Bangalore is now Bengalooru / Bangalore or Bangalooru?

Reference and Research Protests posted by Annoyed Librarian:
It can't happen often that a reference book draws more than yawns and mediocre reviews, but the OUP has stopped selling the Concise Dictionary of World Place Names because of some protests and outcries in India. (This was reported a few days ago, but I'm behind on my news.)

According to the story:"Among other errors, the book, the Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, says that the local language in Bangalore, Karnataka’s capital, is Bengali. Actually the language is Kannada. Bengali is spoken in Bangladesh and neighboring regions of northeastern India." Continue reading

Checking Out Tomorrow's Library

In Paris, an International Working Group Shows Off the Prototype For a Multilingual 'Intellectual Cathedral' of Digitized Knowledge

By John Ward Anderson, Washington Post Foreign Service -- Thursday, October 18, 2007; A21

PARIS, Oct. 17 -- As ideas go, they don't come much bigger: Digitize the accumulated wisdom of humankind, catalogue it, and offer it for free on the Internet in seven languages.The first phase of that simple yet outlandishly ambitious dream is about a year away from being realized, according to a group of international librarians, computer technicians and U.N. officials who unveiled a prototype for the project, called the World Digital Library, in Paris on Wednesday.

Its creators see it as the ultimate multilingual, multicultural tool for researching and retrieving information about knowledge and creativity from any era or place. The WDL Web site ( http://www.worlddigitallibrary.org/) will provide access to original documents, films, maps, photographs, manuscripts, musical scores and recordings, architectural drawings and other primary resources through a variety of search methods. ...

Info courtesy: "Ali Houissa"

Excerpts from the "Really Modern Library" blog entry:

"The goal of this project is to shed light on the big questions about future accessibility and usability of analog culture in a digital, networked world."

"Our aim with the Really Modern Library project is not to build a physical or even a virtual library, but to stimulate new thinking about mass digitization and, through the generation of inspiring new designs, interfaces and conceptual models, to spur innovation in publishing, media, libraries, academia and the arts."

The blog entry also mentions "plans for a major international design competition calling for proposals, sketches, and prototypes for a hypothetical 'really modern library.' " The blog entry goes on to describe this competiton as follows:

"The call for entries will go out to as broad a community as possible, including designers, artists, programmers, hackers, librarians, archivists, activists, educators, students and creative amateurs. Our present intent is to raise a large sum of money to administer the competition and to have a pool for prizes that is sufficiently large and meaningful that it can compel significant attention from the sort of minds we want working on these problems."

For more info, go to: the really modern library

Info courtesy: Bernie Sloan.