Conference Agenda

Sociocultural approaches to information literacy, which recognise that information literacy is shaped through dialogue and debate, have not always been welcomed within our field, being variously critiqued as ‘fashionable,’ of no interest to practitioners or as irrelevant given the availability of other conceptual work. Yet, it could be argued that these ideas have irrevocably changed the direction of information literacy research and practice, not least by challenging ingrained assumptions about ways of knowing- and how we teach for these ideas. This keynote presentation critically analyses the legacy of information literacy’s sociocultural turn by reflecting on how these ideas have been developed since the early 2000s, how they have been integrated into information literacy discourse and narratives and their contributions to information literacy research and practice. In further examining gaps and silences, or the places where sociocultural ideas are sidelined, this presentation also reflects on future challenges for both research and practice, including the risk of stagnation, the lure of aspiration and the responsibilities of progress. In effect, where have sociocultural approaches to information literacy been, where might they be going and why does it matter to our field?

The basis of all learning is information. The notion of learning lies at the heart of information literacy. For example, information literacy is sometimes promoted as an approach to learning, or a way of learning. Very often the exercise for children in early school age is to investigate beyond the textbook about an item or subject, a phenomenon or a term. They are usually aware that they are unable to fulfil the exercise by themselves and ask their parents or siblings for help. Children learn through experiences and in the preschool age they begin to develop their independence, but they are aware they still need the parents’ help when they want to know or do something, especially when they obtain information about something from unknown or new sources (Shenton & Dixon, 2004). The idea of informed learning was developed to direct attention toward those interpretations of information literacy that involve using information to learn (Bruce, Hughes & Somerville, 2012, p. 524). Therefore, in order for an individual to be able to participate promptly and actively in a world saturated with information, it is necessary to work from an early age on the development of information skills that deal with proper procedures in the sea of information. However, the authors mostly focus on the development of information skills in adults or older children, but very few authors decide to explore information skills in young children through library services (Barriage, 2021). It is suggested that children can engage in evaluation and application of knowledge which influences their academic outcomes (Greene, Cartiff & Duke, 2018). Eisenberg and Berkowitz (1999) dedicated part of their work to the youngest users of the library, including preschool children. In their work, they designed the Super3 program specially for information literacy of preschool and early school age children. Eisenberg and Berkowitz in the extended version of Big6 single out the skills that need to be acquired in order for an individual to be an information literate person, but for children these skills are simplified to: plan, do and review, also called as Super3 (https://thebig6.org). The aim of this research is to investigate the basic knowledge of children, age 5 to 8 years old in Croatia, about information and sources of information and about their basic information literacy skills. The research questions are: 1. What does the concept of information mean to early school-age children?; 2. What kind of sources of information do early school-age children use?; 3. How do early school-age children actively seek information by themselves?; and 4. Are workshops based on Super 3 an appropriate method to teach information literacy skills of early school-age children? Methods applied in this research are survey, in-depth interviews and action research – with carefully designed materials and workshop for teaching information skills using Super 3. Results of this research show that children in the early school years have poorly developed information literacy skills, due to their age, this was to be expected. Furthermore, they hardly understand the meaning of the term information, where the information came from and how one can find them. The problem lies in the fact that children are expected to already be familiar with the concept of information at the entering school and know how to handle it for the purpose of completing school assignments, without prior training in this field. After this workshop we can conclude children’s knowledge and skills are improved. The workshops within this action research serve as a kind of guidelines for the organization and implementation of such workshops for intentional teaching information skills of children in the early school years. Furthermore, it plays on a basic approach to supporting planning and implementation school library programs for developing and improvement of information literacy skills of children from early school age.

References

Barriage, S. (2021). Young children’s information-seeking practices in center-based childcare. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620962164

Bruce, C., Hughes, H. & Somerville, M. M. (2012). Supporting informed learners in the twenty-first century library. Trends, 60(3), 522–554.

Shenton, A., & Dixon, P (2004). The development of young people’s information-seeking behaviour. Library and Information Research, 28(90). https://doi.org/10.29173/lirg172

Eisenberg, M. B., & Berkowitz, R. E. (1999). Teaching information & technology skills. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Greene, J. A., Cartiff, B. M., & Duke, R. F. (2018). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between epistemic cognition and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(8), 1084–1111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000263

Nelson, A.C.H., & Du Puis, D. N. (2010). The adventures of Super3. Linworth.

Bartow, C. et al. (2018). The Big6. Retrieved from https://thebig6.org

There is a growing need to design creative teaching methods early in the school curriculum to empower children with information literacy (IL) skills. This will prepare them for battling mis/disinformation, so that they can be safe, understand the value of critical engagement with online information, and express their perspectives while opening dialogue about their experiences. Previous research in the U.K. has found that children lack the critical IL skills for identifying fake information and are least likely to speak to their teachers (National Literacy Trust, 2018, p. 4). Connecting online happens at an increasingly younger age, with UK research estimating that up to half of children 8-12 years have set up their own online profile, while a third include a false date of birth (Ofcom, 2022). After surveying 25, 101 children, the EU Kids Online project identified a significant increase in screen time, which had almost doubled in some EU countries (Smahel et al., 2020). This project empowered young people with IL skills by means of opening dialogue around the phenomenon of mis/disinformation and the ethics of online connectivity. We followed the principles of the United Nations Convention of the ‘Rights of the Child’ that extend to the online environment where digital technologies should “adopt the principles of privacy, resilience and harm reduction” (Scottish Government, 2022) and where programmes should incorporate children’s “rights to seek, receive and impart information” (OHCHR, 2021, p. 3). The project took the form of a collaboration between the educational project, ‘Maddie is Online,’ and the Modiano Elementary Library of Anatolia College (a private non-for-profit organisation in Greece). ‘Maddie is Online’ is an innovative community-led project, funded by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC). Ituses creative storytelling, with an emphasis on opening dialogue around experiences of online connectivity, using video animated stories with children’s voice overs, digital lesson plans, and reflective exercises. We incorporated ‘Maddie is Online’ resources into the library IL program, aimed at Year 5 students (10 years old), with a total of 90 pupils from 3 classes. The lessons were delivered by the Elementary Librarian in collaboration with teachers. We collected qualitative data from pupils who, after watching the video stories and completing the toolkit exercises engaged in discussion in small groups, reflecting on their own experiences and exploring how they would address the challenges that Maddie encountered. This allowed opportunities for dialogue and exploring skills for information searching, evaluation, and critical judgement. Pupils submitted anonymous data via question-and-answer home quizzes that tested their comprehension. We explored the learning experiences of pupils and their perceptions of misinformation through an online survey while we collected qualitative feedback on experiences around delivering the sessions from staff.

References

National Literacy Trust. (2018). Fake news and critical literacy: The final report of the commission on fake news and the teaching of critical literacy in schools. Retrieved March 7, 2023 from https://cdn.literacytrust.org.uk/media/documents/Fake_news_and_critical_literacy_-_final_report.pdf

Ofcom. (2022). Children’s online user ages. Retrieved from https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/245004/children-user-ages-chart-pack.pdf

OHCHR. (2021). General comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. Retrieved March 7, 2023 from https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-comment-no-25-2021-childrens-rights-relation

Scottish Government. (2022). Building trust in the digital era: achieving Scotland’s aspirations as an ethical digital nation. Retrieved March 7, 2023 from https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-trust-digital-era-achieving-scotlands-aspirations-ethical-digital-nation/pages/2/

Smahel, D. Machackova, H., Mascheroni, G., Dedkova, L., Staksrud, E., Ólafsson, K., Livingstone , S. & Hasebrin Smahel, U. D. et al. (2020). EU kids online 2020-international report. Retrieved March 7, 2023 from https://www.eukidsonline.ch/files/Eu-kids-online-2020-international-report.pdf

In my dissertation (Alamettälä, 2022), I investigated how lower secondary school teachers (n=3) developed their instruction practices of online research skills after having been introduced to a pedagogical framework, Guided Inquiry Design (Kuhlthau, Manioites & Caspari, 2015), and examined the short- and long-term effects of the intervention on students (n=58). It was a longitudinal study: I followed the same students from 7th to 8th grade. During these two years, the students participated three teaching intervention courses that focused on different subtasks of online research: information search, evaluation, and use. The control group received standard instruction based on the curriculum. The results showed that the intervention had a positive effect immediately after the intervention, but this effect did not last until the following year (Alamettälä, 2022). Therefore, it is important to investigate how the students themselves experienced the intervention and how they reflected on their own working and learning after the intervention courses.

There are only a few intervention studies related to teaching of online research skills or information literacy skillsin lower secondary schools and even fewer investigated students’ experiences. My study provided students’ perspective on the topic. In this paper, I focused on how the students themselves experienced the intervention and their own actions during the intervention courses.

The research questions are:

1. What kind of new competencies did the students feel they achieved during the intervention?

2. How did the students indicate they worked during the intervention?

3. What kind of challenges did the students report that they had during the intervention?

4. How do students’ learning experiences, classwork, and challenges correlate?

I collected the data between 2015 and 2017. Through the questionnaire I surveyed students’ learning experiences, classwork, and challenges during the intervention courses. I analysed the data using quantitative methods.

The results showed that, concerning online research skills, the students reported most learning during the first intervention course. However, , the students reported learning more than online research skills in that they also learned subject content and working practices. According to the students, their classwork was quite exemplary; they felt that they had followed teacher’s instructions. The students did not report about any major problems. Most challenging for them was planning the work and using the inquiry log.

Correlation analysis show that good classwork was linked to positive learning experiences. A negative correlation was found between classwork and perceived challenges: the better the classwork, the fewer the challenges. There was no significant correlation between learning experiences and challenges in either direction. The same results were observed after each intervention course.

References

Alamettälä, T. (2022). Development of online research skills among lower secondary school students: The roles of formal instruction and personal factors. [Doctoral dissertation]. Tampere University. Retrieved from https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2248-9

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

In 1974, Paul Zurowski coined the term “information literacy” (IL) (Badke, 2010, p. 48) and brought attention to the burgeoning production and complexity of information and the need to study and understand it, given its power and possibilities for shaping/influencing daily life. Writing in 2013, Zurkowski made clear that “[w]ays must be found to enable ordinary[,] every day citizens [to] produce and wield countervailing power to effectively restrain” “special interest money” (p. 2). For Zurkowski, “a combination of IL and a Direct Democracy movement, offer the library community such an opportunity to remodel itself while building, along what [he called] “The Direct Democracy Coalition for Citizen Rights and Responsibilities,” the power to address … [the] “issues” he identified then. Quite clearly, Zurkowski had deep ethical concerns about the socio-economic and political life of citizens around the world. He identified IL and information professionals including librarians, as significant to creating a more just and equitable world for all. My paper is embedded in critical, sociocultural/sociohistorical perspectives (Freire, 1970) and informed by Zurkowski’s vision, and Lloyd’s (2012) “people-in-practice” perspective about IL. I highlight contemporary examples of children and youth in the practice of “generating” (Zurkowski, 1974), and simultaneously using informational texts and literacies to agentically ‘speak truth to police power,’ thereby alerting society of their lived realties of fear and injustice. The Canadian information landscape is characterized by “a range of state statistics and figures related to the disappearance and death of Indigenous women and girls…” (Scribe, 2018, p. 48). Jonnie et al.’s (2019) compelling work of youth advocacy is provoked by fear of going missing and winding up dead through misrepresentation/dehumanization, absence, and need for information, and desire for safety. This takes place in the face of what Amnesty International (2021) describes as “appalling statistics … consistent with previous estimates from sources such as Statistics Canada that have long pointed to a greatly disproportionate level of violence against First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and girls” (para. 4) in Canada. My presentation employs “description, analysis, and understanding of experiences” to illustrate their value in understanding the “life worlds” of those we serve as information professionals (Bruce, p. 12), in places marked by ongoing colonial oppression. I was guided by theory of phenomenography (1981) and Bruce’s (2013) application of it to IL research. I feature epistolary writing of adolescents along with relevant interpretive/theoretical frameworks, such as Indigenous feminism (Joyce, 2020) and reader response theory (Rosenblatt, 1978). This work instantiates critical youth agency/IL practices through centering multimodal literature produced by youth for the purposes of sharing information about life-threatening phenomena characterizing their life-worlds. Thereby, illustrating youths’ critical awareness of, and need for the “transformative and empowering” possibilities of IL itself, in and beyond their contexts (Bruce, 2013). Furthermore, my presentation offers insights about IL practices for youth in underserved populations and their resistance to indifference and argues for, and contributes to scholarship about the phenomenographic, “experiential [and relational] perspective” (Ibid).

References

Amnesty International. (2021). Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls: The facts. Retrieved from https://amnesty.ca/blog/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-facts/

Badke, W. (2010). Foundations of information literacy: Learning from Paul Zurkowski. Online, 34(1), 48–50.

Bruce, C. S. (2013). Information literary research practice: An experiential perspective. In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), European Conference on Information Literacy: Proceedings, ECIL 2013, CCIS 397 (pp. 11–30). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.

Jonnie, B., Shannacappo, N., & Shingoose, N. (2019). If I go missing. James Lorimer & Company.

Lloyd, A. (2012). Information literacy as a socially enacted practice. Journal of Documentation, 68(6).

Marton, F. (1981). Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10(2), 177–220.

Mithlo, A. M. (2020). “A Real Feminine Journey”: Locating Indigenous feminisms in the arts. Meridians, 19(1).

Rosenblatt, L. M. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem. Southern Illinois University Press.

Scribe, M. (2018). Pedagogy of indifference. Canadian Woman Studies, 32(1/2), 47–57.

Zurkowski, P. (2013). Information literacy is dead …. Long live information literacy. In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), European Conference on Information Literacy: Proceedings, ECIL 2013, CCIS 397. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

The aim of this doctoral research is to explore in depth the information worlds (Jaeger & Burnett, 2010) of female undergraduate engineering students. Although the information behaviour of engineers has been extensively studied, with some studies focusing on students in particular (Mercer et al., 2019), the female perspective is under-researched. There is a lack of research on the impact of marginalised identities on information behaviour, including variables such as gender, race, and class (Julien, 2005).

The research will explore how female engineering students use information as part of their learning process, and how the gender balance and social norms in the learning environment affect the information behaviour of minoritized genders. The research will use a phenomenological approach (Denscombe, 2021) to explore, through in-depth interviews, research questions including: how women engineering students acquire information for their learning needs; the aims and motivations of female students when engaging with information; and the role of affect in women engineering students’ information behaviour.

This paper will present a critical review of the literature. It will outline some theoretical approaches currently being explored, in particular an intersectional feminist approach (Hill Collins & Bilge, 2020; Lennon & Alsop, 2020; Olesen, 2018), and the model of epistemological development among women known as Women’s Ways of Knowing (Belenky et al., 1997/1986).

Intersectional feminism will be used as an underpinning philosophy, to explore the ways in which women are structurally disadvantaged in the highly masculinised field of engineering education (Faulkner, 2005) and the impact this may have on their information behaviours. This paper will review relevant literature related to information behaviours of minoritised genders, particularly within STEM education.

Women’s Ways of Knowing (WWK) will be explored as a lens through which to examine women’s information behaviour. This paper will review how WWK has been applied in library and information science research, since being identified by Julien (2005) as having potential applications for researching information behaviour.

References

Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1997). Women’s ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind. Basic Books.

Denscombe, M. (2021). The good research guide. McGraw Hill.

Faulkner, W. (2005). Becoming and belonging: Gendered processes in engineering. In J. Archibald, et al. (Eds.), The gender politics of ICT (pp. 15–25). Middlesex University Press.

Hill Collins, P., & Bilge, S. (2020). Intersectionality. Polity Press.

Jaeger, P. T., & Burnett, G. (2010). Information worlds: Social context, technology, and information behavior in the age of the Internet. Routledge.

Julien, H. (2005). Women’s ways of knowing. In K. E. Fisher, S. Erdelez, & L. McKechnie (Eds.), Theories of information behavior (pp. 387–391). ASIS&T.

Lennon, K., & Alsop, R. (2020). Gender theory in troubled times. Polity Press.

Mercer, K., Weaver, K., & Stables-Kennedy, A. (2019). Understanding undergraduate engineering student information access and needs: Results from a scoping review. In Proceedings of the 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. American Society for Engineering Education. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--33485

Olesen, V. (2018). Feminist qualitative research in the millennium’s first decade. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (pp. 151–175). Sage.

Background

Research details that our present ‘digital-by-default’ society structurally supports inequalities, where users without the requisite skills to enable meaningful engagement in the digital world are at an increasingly severe disadvantage (Eynon & Malmberg, 2021). These disparities are particularly felt by older adults, who while already challenged by structural issues related to their age cohort (e.g socioeconomic status, health problems, a mistrust of technology) see the quality of their tangible access to digital resources negatively impacted by such deficits (Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2018).

Scottish public policy currently focuses on developing digital literacies from economic and school-based educational perspectives (Scottish Government, 2021), despite research suggesting that around 22% of adults in the UK still lack the basic digital skills needed for everyday life (Lloyds Bank, 2022). Older adults are disproportionately affected herein, and there are no existing equivalent policies or actions that focus on developing their particular strategic needs.

Public libraries are uniquely placed to respond to these challenges, given their centrality in public life and the high levels of trust they enjoy (Barrie et al., 2021). Public libraries can also address the compound sociological issues faced by older adults in holistic, inclusive and participatory ways, and as ‘leaders in community digital skills training’ (Detlor et al., 2022) can be the vehicle to progress new user-led approaches to digital literacies.

Objectives

This project will utilise a Participatory Action Research methodology to examine the CILIP Information Literacy Model (CILIP, 2018) in developing user-led interventions aimed at improving digital literacies in older adults. It will do this through longitudinal engagement with an established 60-plus age group of older adults comprising around 40 participants from within the Scottish public library sector. The project will focus development on user-led principles to ensure that areas of relevant concern are addressed with sustainable and scalable solutions presented.

References

Barrie, H., la Rose, T., Detlor, B., Julien, H., & Serenko, A. (2021). “Because I’m old”: The role of ageism in older adults’ experiences of digital literacy training in public libraries. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 39(4), 379–404. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2021.1962477

CILIP. (2018). CILIP information literacy model. Retrieved from https://ILdefinitionCILIP2018.pdf (infolit.org.uk)

Detlor, B., Julien, H., la Rose, T., & Serenko, A. (2022). Community-led digital literacy training: Toward a conceptual framework. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 73(10), 1387–1400. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24639

Eynon, R., & Malmberg, L. E. (2021). Lifelong learning and the Internet: Who benefits most from learning online? British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(2), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13041

Hunsaker, A., & Hargittai, E. (2018). A review of Internet use among older adults. New Media and Society, 20(10), 3937–3954. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818787348

Lloyds Bank. (2022). Lloyds consumer digital index 2022. Retrieved from https://www.lloydsbank.com/assets/media/pdfs/banking_with_us/whats-happening/221103-lloyds-consumer-digital-index-2022-report.pdf

Scottish Government. (2021). A changing nation: How Scotland will thrive in a digital world. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2021/03/a-changing-nation-how-scotland-will-thrive-in-a-digital-world/documents/a-changing-nation-pdf-version/a-changing-nation-pdf-version/govscot%3Adocument/DigiStrategy.FINAL.APR21.pdf

Often learners enter the learning environment apprehensive of their ability to navigate the new skills and doubting the validity of their prior experiences. How do we help learners overcome this deficit thinking? Is there a way to connect everyday experiences with information literacy? Can we present information literacy instruction in a way that empowers learners to become resilient, confident, lifelong learners?

In this workshop, we will reflect on and examine how everyday personal experiences with information mirror the habits essential to lifelong information literacy. Together, we will investigate how learners experience and create meaning through exemplar information literacy activities. Participants will be invited to discuss how these habits could relate to other learning environments and ways to provide a platform for skill transference, shifting the narrative from a deficit mindset to a strengths-based mindset. Presenters will lead participants through a guided reflection exercise utilizing an existing information literacy lesson to integrate everyday habits with the intent of developing resilient and confident lifelong learners. Participants are encouraged to bring an existing or known assignment from their context or coursework with which to engage.

Objectives

Participants in the workshop will:

• Reflect on their personal experience with information in everyday life

• Investigate how individuals interpret and create meaning from information they experience

• Infer how meaning making habits encourage individuals to become lifelong learners

• Modify an existing information literacy lesson to integrate everyday habits of mind

Proposed Time

50 Minutes

Target Audience

Instructors or librarians who teach information literacy-related concepts to learners at any level.

Equipment

Projector and screen, round tables, poster/chart paper and markers.

References

Adair, H. F., & Crane, A.B. (2021). Information literacy. In F. Lane & H. Adair (Eds.), Foundations for College Success. Open Educational Resource. Retrieved from https://www.oercommons.org/courseware/unit/8786

The Institute for Habits of Mind. (n.d.) The Official Habits of Mind Institute. Retrieved from https://www.habitsofmindinstitute.org/

Mackey, T. P., & Jacobson, T. E. (2014). Metaliterary: Reinventing information literacy to empower learners. American Library Association.

This paper describes how the Czech National Library of Technology in Prague (NTK) maps the information needs of its patrons and how it addresses the gaps in information literacy (IL) that (re-)appear in successive educational stages. In the past five years, NTK information specialists have provided individual consultations to 644 students and researchers and organized 230 IL workshops/webinars attended by 5,396 students and researchers. By combining qualitative and quantitative content analyses of these activities, we managed to identify structural IL gaps that extend from high school students to doctoral researchers:

• insufficient knowledge of searching tools and suitable search engines;

• insufficient ability to evaluate information found online;

• misapprehension of the main principles of referencing sources;

• lack of knowledge about citation managers;

• and difficulties with writing academic texts as such.

These findings point to the benefits of closing the IL gap earlier rather than later, as already suggested by other examples of best practice (Dolničar, Podgornik, Bartol & Šorgo, 2020; McPherson & Dube, 2016). We will illustrate this by presenting case studies dealing with the transition from high school to university and from Master to doctoral work. IL interventions earlier in the education cycle, in our case, appear to provide benefits later in life, but we have not yet performed a longitudinal study confirming this. Nevertheless, while the Czech education system does not yet require independent research and academic writing outputs in its high school curriculum (Výzkumný ústav pedagogický v Praze, 2007), our efforts to date (Razím & Chodounská, 2021; Martinová & Tassanyi, 2018; Tvrdá & Martinová, 2017) developed in cooperation with instructors, are in high demand. This anecdotally points to a need for more comprehensive IL interventions that systematically encompass the entire public educational cycle, as previously identified by Martinová & Tassanyi (2018).

The goal of our contribution is to show what structural IL gaps should be filled at the high school level and why, and how libraries could contribute to achieving this. Aside from continuing the aforementioned instructional services, we plan to extend our services to more schools and to resume our cooperation with the National Pedagogical Institute, with the hope that we can provide evidence-based data to the Czech Ministry of Education on the effectiveness of IL interventions and, perhaps in the form of a future longitudinal survey tracking student success over the long-term, show how IL leads to benefits such as better preparation for university-level work and/or civic engagement.

References

Dolničar, D., Podgornik, B. B., Bartol, T., & Šorgo, A. (2020). Added value of secondary school education toward development of information literacy of adolescents. Library & Information Science Research, 42(2), 101016.

Martinová, O., & Tassanyi, P. (2018). Navigating the maze: Collaborating with teachers to meet information literacy challenges. In S. Špiranec et al. (Eds.), The Sixth European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL): Abstracts, September 24-27, 2018, Oulu, Finland (p. 131). Oulu: University of Oulu.

McPherson, H., & Dube, M. (2016). Reducing the information literacy gap in high school students: An action research study. Knowledge Quest, 45(2), 48–55.

Razím, T. & Chodounská, A. (2021). Podpora výuky chemie v Národní technické knihovně. Chemické Listy, 115(10), 547–549.

Tvrdá, P., & Martinová, O. (2017). Partners in class: A needs-based approach to high school curricular support at the National Library of Technology in Prague. In S. Špiranec et al. (Eds.), The Fifth European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL): Abstracts, September 18-21, 2017, Saint-Malo, France (p. 195). Saint-Malo: Information Literacy Association.

Výzkumný ústav pedagogický v Praze. (2007). Rámcový vzdělávací program pro gymnázia. Retrieved January 9, 2023 from https://www.edu.cz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RVPG-2007-07_final.pdf

I completed a PhD in Information Literacy (IL) at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in November, 2022. Two of my research questions were:

1. How can we measure students’ IL knowledge (know), skills (do), and interest in being or becoming information literate (feel)?

2. In which ways do students develop as information literate individuals over their first three years as undergraduates?

I developed four tools to quantitatively measure students’ IL knowledge, skills, and interest. In addition, I interviewed students to gain insight into their perceptions of their development as information literate individuals. The use of mixed methods allowed me to better explore the totality of their growth. I paid special attention to possible transformative IL learning or changes in their identity as information literate people. In this presentation, I briefly introduce the IL tools and present main findings from my research.

I evaluated the tools I developed for this research for reliability and validity; the tools are freely available for others to use. To measure IL knowledge (knowing), I used the 21-item test, TILT (Nierenberg, Låg, & Dahl, 2021). TILT measures students’ knowledge of three main facets of IL: finding, evaluating, and using information sources. To assess students’ IL skills in practice (doing), I employed two assignment-based measures. One measure assesses the ability to evaluate sources and the other measures the ability to use sources correctly when writing. I developed the questionnaire, TRIQ, to measure students’ interest in being or becoming information literate people (feeling) In developing TRIQ I was informed by Hidi and Renninger’s (2006) four-phase model of interest development (Dahl & Nierenberg, 2021). TRIQ is composed of several subscales, including the Meaningfulness and Competence level, and I designed it to measure how interest changes over time.

I utilized this suite of four tools to measure students’ knowing, doing, and feeling at several points during the first three years of their undergraduate education. Results revealed that their IL knowledge and skills increased with time, as expected, while findings from TRIQ’s interest subscales showed varied results. Interestingly, correlations between knowing, doing, and feeling scores also increased with time, possibly indicating an integration of knowledge, skills, and interest, and thereby a deeper kind of learning.

Regarding the second research question, students’ perceptions of themselves as information literate people clearly evolved during their three years of higher education. Interview findings indicate that some students experienced glimmers of transformative IL learning and changes in identity as information literate individuals (Nierenberg, 2022). By employing mixed methods, where quantitative and qualitative findings are integrated, I found the evidence for transformative learning was strengthened. This research lays the foundation for subsequent research by identifying specific qualities of the student experience in capturing IL growth, transformation, and identity change.

References

Dahl, T. I., & Nierenberg, E. (2021). Here’s the TRIQ: The Tromsø Interest Questionnaire based on the four-phase model of interest development. Frontiers in Education, 6(402), 1–17.

Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 111–127.

Nierenberg, E. (2022). Understanding the development of information literacy in higher education: Knowing, doing, and feeling [article-based thesis, UiT The Arctic University of Norway]. Tromsø, Norway. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10037/27245

Nierenberg, E., Låg, T., & Dahl, T. I. (2021). Knowing and doing: The development of information literacy measures to assess knowledge and practice. Journal of Information Literacy, 15(2), 78–123.

Over 85% of students doing their Masters’ degree in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences are over 30 years old (Education Statistics Finland 2022), usually meaning that some time has passed since their first degree. When returning to studies, their information literacy (IL) skills need updating to help them use the current databases and search portals effectively. Together with the teachers from the health faculty, academic librarians worked on finding the best information literacy guidance tools for Masters’ degree students in LAB University of Applied Sciences.

Scoping the Needs with Service Design

A service design process was initiated in early 2022 to find ways to enhance the information retrieval skills of the Master’s Students. Information was gathered using mixed methods, including observation, interview, survey and scoping to form a versatile view of the current situation.

Customer profiles were created for three different student types based on the collected data. The student types showed differences in their need for guidance and support – one being a super achiever and needing just a little push in the right direction, the other needing more structured and personalized help, and the third looking for individualized support. Solution ideas most beneficial for all student types were a step-by-step guide for updating and refreshing the information retrieval skills and an entry-level skills test which allows the students to reflect on and evaluate their IL skills.

Useful Tools for Adult Learners

The step-by-step guide that emphasized search skills and tools was created in summer 2022. This guide was designed to work with the already existing comprehensive information retrieval guide. The new guide was tested with a pilot group of summer course students. According to the course lecturer, the students had less difficulties finding and identifying academic sources with the help of the new guide.

The teachers viewed the step-by-step guide as such an important part of the studies that they wanted to ensure and control that the students have familiarized themselves with the guide. The entry-level skills test was created in autumn 2022 for this purpose. Passing the test is a mandatory part of a research methods course. The test was piloted in spring 2023.

As Marquez and Downey (2015) state, using a service design process can help the library refine existing services to meet the needs of our patrons and ensure through collaboration that the services are effective and relevant. Customer profiles offer a good way to remind the librarians of the diverse customer base, and to make sure the adult learners’ specific needs are met.

References

Education Statistics Finland. (2022) University of applied sciences (UAS) education. Students and degrees. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://vipunen.fi/en-gb/polytechnic/Pages/Opiskelijat-ja-tutkinnot.aspx

Marquez, J., & Downey, A. (2015). Service design: An introduction to a holistic assessment methodology of library services. Weave: Journal of Library User Experience, 1(2).

Information literacy is extremely relevant in academic education for prospective researchers, teachers and future enterpreneurs. DigComp 2.2 ((Vuorikari, R. et al., 2022) offers many examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes desirable for information and data literate citizens and workers, many related to the retrieval and management of documents, both analogic and digital. Such competences should be part of the learning goals at the end of any academic path; they mark students’ individual growth and foster their future careers, especially if certified. Open badges are a useful assessment tool enabling students to spend those competences in the job market.

Academic libraries that contribute to building these competences may become more visible within their institutions, advocating for themselves.

The University of Trieste Library system took advantage of the pandemic-related closures in 2021 to build an online, self-paced and self-learning information literacy course for students. The project was run at no extra cost, employing the time of librarians during the lockdown. The final product was hosted on the institutional Moodle platform. The course goals aim at increasing information literacy skills, including the ability to “recognize information needs and to locate, evaluate, apply and create information” (IFLA, The Alexandria Proclamation, 2005) including “how to use it in an ethical way” (IFLA, MIL Recommendations, 2011). An expected side-effect of the course would be to enhance knowledge about and use of library services and resources of any format among students, for whom the library is not always the first port of call.

The first edition, developed by the Science and Technology Library in academic year (A.A.) 2021/22, was tailored to the needs of STEM students. In A.A. 2022/2023 the course underwent a restyling. The materials were reorganized and expanded to meet multidisciplinary needs.

Participants who pass the final test earn a digital Open badge, the international standard to valorize individual competencies. Open badges are easily shareable on individual portfolios, CVs, social media accounts, personal websites. Officially announced in October 2022, the second edition of the course, by the 8th of March 2023, had released 432 badges, the highest number among the 8 badges granted by the University of Trieste.

This report sets such experience within the information literacy framework: it describes the genesis of the course, its learning goals (compliant with UN SDGs 4,10,17), and analyses the progress from the first to the second edition. It reports how it became an open-badge course and the resources underlying its development. Analysing the feedback of the participants of the current edition, it discusses lessons learned and ideas for further improvements.

Moreover, the paper puts in question the limits of such experiences: how far are they able to produce a deep change? Can they be defined as “information literacy” or simply “library instruction”? Are they flagships to advocate for the role of libraries themselves?

References

IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). (2005). Beacons of the Information Society: The Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning. Retrieved June 15, 2023 from https://www.ifla.org/publications/beacons-of-the-information-society-the-alexandria-proclamation-on-information-literacy-and-lifelong-learning

IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). (2011). IFLA Media and Information Literacy Recommendations. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://www.ifla.org/publications/ifla-media-and-information-literacy-recommendations

Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S., Punie, Y., European Commission, & Joint Research Centre. (2022). DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence framework for citizens: with new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://op.europa.eu/publication/manifestation_identifier/PUB_KJNA31006ENN

Since 2001, Wikipedia has been much loved by users and oft vilified by librarians and educators. Now slightly more than twenty years into this experiment in crowdsourcing, Wikipedia has stood the test of time and shown its value as an encyclopedia for the world. Yet we as librarians and educators are not making the most of its existence and accessibility. Many of us still steer students away from it while, secretly or not so secretly, using it as a fast-fact reference tool. It is time to embrace using Wikipedia as an encyclopedia everyone can not only learn from but can add information to and edit existing articles.

Courtney Baron (2020) suggests that even while students should not be taught to cite Wikipedia, even the most novice researcher should be taught to use Wikipedia to identify both topics of interest and resources outside of Wikipedia that may be references in research writing (p. 225). But the real genius of using Wikipedia with students is in using it to teach information literacy through doing. Courtney Stine (2022) recently pointed out that “writing and editing Wikipedia articles showcases the research process, requiring students to understand how information is created, ask questions to identify information gaps, use strategic searching to find information, evaluate articles for authority and inclusivity, properly use and cite sources, and connect with other researchers (p. 166).”

Teaching information literacy through editing Wikipedia is an engaging way to teach upper-level teen students and university students the concepts encompassed in ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy (“Framework for information literacy for higher education,” 2016). Any number of universities and libraries have held Wikipedia edit-a-thons for various reasons. Yet, how many of us really know how to edit Wikipedia ourselves, let alone how to train others to edit? It is all well and good to host an edit-a-thon and hope that everyone is able to figure out how to do it. But to be able to use an edit-a-thon as a tool for learning takes some skill, practice, and knowledge many of us do not already possess.

In this workshop, attendees will create a Wikipedia login (if they have not already done so), learn some basic editing skills, and edit in real-time a Wikipedia article, with guidance from the presenters. We have participated in some train-the-trainer sessions with Wikimedia to prepare to them to use Wikipedia editing to teach information literacy skills and have hosted joint virtual edit-a-thons at both USF and TSU. We will share their experiences and student feed back from these edit-a-thons.

At the end of the workshop, participants will have enough skills to edit Wikipedia and host an edit-a-thon in their library or educational setting.

References

Baron, C. (2020). From “Don’t use it” to “Let’s edit!”. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 39(2), 219-238. https://doi.org/10.1086/711302

Framework for information literacy for higher education. (2016, January 11). Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Stine, C. (2022). Crowdsourced pedagogy: Editing Wikipedia and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. College and Research Libraries News, 83(4), 166-170.

Information literacy is something that all libraries strive to provide for their patrons, students, and community members. What most people don’t think about is that information literacy is something that we all do every day, whether it is watching television or getting information from social media, we consume information constantly. While we constantly consume, we often also do not think of how to accurately assess information through the lens of information literacy. Though social media has been something people have used for several years, it can be argued that within the last couple of years the ability to understand and digest information through social media has become crucial for internet users. In their paper “Investigating the Relationship Between Information Literacy and Social Media Competence Among University Students” Zhu et al discuss how social media has changed information literacy stating, “The growing use of social media, such as microblogs, social networks, bookmarking sites, community blogs, or video sharing sites, has not only changed the way people communicate, but has also triggered considerable changes in peoples’ information behavior”. It is only through adjusting the way we teach and explain information literacy that people’s ability to discern credible information via social media can be improved. They go on to explore information literacy through three stages. 1. The “germination stage” which was before the 1970’s where library skills were a type of information literacy. 2. From the 1970’s to the late 1980’s where the idea of information literacy “shifted from simply emphasizing literature retrieval…to encouraging the use of information tools” and 3. From the 1980’s to the end of the 1990’s where the “ability to criticize and evaluate information was valued” (Zhu et al, 2021). It can be argued that from the 2010’s to now, a new type of information literacy is needed, that of competent information gathering skills where credible information is emphasized. Zhu et al discuss this need stating “due to a lack of relevant legislation, social media have witnessed an increase in problematic behaviors, such as sharing misinformation, which might be disguised as ‘breaking news’ or factual information” (Zhu et al, 2021). This emphasis on credibility and misinformation is something that libraries should focus on, especially university libraries.

This presentation looks at social media and explores students behaviors towards it and information gathering through a class presentation assignment. Each student should use TikTok, Instagram Stories, Facebook Reels, or YouTube shorts to explore the idea of credible information relating to their desired topic. Through this assignment, students needed to explore social media that they use every day (mainly TikTok) and should be able to articulate whether the information presented to them is credible or not. This assignment not only allows for gathering information on how students think about information literacy without being exposed to formal information literacy training, but it also allows for talk about how we consume media and information and how we organize the information we consume constantly. This is a best practice because it approaches information literacy from a social standpoint instead of purely from an academic standpoint. It allows for better discussion of information and social media, and how we navigate the rocky road of information literacy.

References

Zhu, S., Yang, H. H., Wu, D., & Chen, F. (2021). Investigating the relationship between information literacy and social media competence among university students. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(7), 1425–1449. Retrieved from https://doi-org.lib-e2.lib.ttu.edu/10.1177/0735633121997360

As a result of the growing number of alternative media, the rise of distrust in the media, and fears of possible hybrid attacks, gaps in media literacy have become a societal problem (Haider & Sundin, 2022). Media literacy development is both increasingly important and highly underestimated in the Czech Republic’s educational system.

Interactive Courses for Secondary School Students and Senior Citizens

The paper will present the project “Media Literacy Interactively and for All” (https://medgram.cz/), which is being developed in cooperation with the Library of the Czech University of Life Sciences, the Faculty of Education of Charles University, and the University of South-Eastern Norway. The project focuses on the two most vulnerable groups regarding media literacy levels – high school students (jsns.cz, 2018) and senior citizens (Moore & Hancock, 2022). The project also connects them and tries to increase understanding between generations.

A Synergy of Knowledge and Potential of Several Universities

Libraries, in general, are a natural environment to educate the public in media literacy. This education has also been declared as a key theme for Czech libraries for 2022 – 2024. University libraries in the Czech Republic have great opportunities to contribute to the promotion of media literacy. However, they have not yet made much use of it. This paper will present how we have taken advantage of the opportunities provided by inter-university cooperation and present outcomes that can be used in more than just the Czech Republic.

In the project, we use not only the contacts we have as universities through a network of cooperating secondary schools and a network of centres for lifelong learning but also modern teaching methods and software tools. The main core consists of two MOOC courses designed to meet the needs of each group. The courses use a newly developed system of interactive electronic learning e-books and come with detailed methodologies and tutor guides. In addition, we create an escape game that links general media literacy topics with real-life examples.

References

Haider, J., & Sundin, O. (2022). Paradoxes of media and information literacy: The crisis of information. New York, NY: Routledge.

JSNS.cz. (2018). Mediální gramotnost středoškoláků a jejich postoje k mediím: Research report. Praha. Retrieved from https://www.jsns.cz/nove/projekty/pruzkumy-setreni/medialni_gramotnost_zaku_2018.pdf

Moore, R. C., & Hancock, J. T. (2022). A digital media literacy intervention for older adults improves resilience to fake news. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-9.. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-08437-0

In many frameworks, information literacy skills are seen as part of a much broader set of skills: digital skills. Although information literacy also includes non-digital skills, it is evident that digital competence is an important part of the information literate student (Leaning, 2019).

Consequently, in many educational institutions in the Netherlands, skills education has now broadened to include digital skills. Following a previous project in which IL educational materials were shared, the Dutch IL working group has now taken the initiative for nationwide sharing of digital skills educational materials via the national Dutch search portal Edusources.

To create optimal support, the IL Working Group sought cooperation with six other national library working groups. This makes the project unique.

Such cooperation prevents many parties from doing the same thing through different platforms. Cooperation is also important in defining a common scope that has translated into a Digital Skills taxonomy. As a basis for that taxonomy, all major digital skills frameworks, such as DQ framework and Digcomp 2.2 (DQ Institute, 2019; Vuorikari, Kluzer, & Punie, 2022) were compared and analyzed. Based on that, a first draft was developed that became final after incorporating feedback from a broad spectrum of relevant working groups and stakeholders. That taxonomy will have a place in the edusources search portal to increase retrievability and thus promote reuse.

During this presentation we will briefly discuss the relationship between information literacy and digital literacy and you will get an idea of the different facets of sharing (DS) educational resources.

References

DQ Institute. (2019). DQ (Digital Intelligence) Global Standard on Digital Literacy, Digital Skills and Digital Readiness. DQ Institute, Global. Retrieved from https://www.dqinstitute.org/global-standards/

Leaning, M. (2019). An approach to digital literacy through the integration of media and information literacy. Media and Communication, 7(2), 4–13.

Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S., & Punie, Y. (2022). DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens - With new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes (EUR 31006 EN, JRC128415). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2760/115376

If students are doing independent research projects for their thesis, basic data management skills should be part of their curricula. Also reusing existing data requires understanding of data citation and management. Both Bauder (2021) and Marzal and Prado (2013) consider data literacy as part of information literacy. Bauder continues that data related skills are a good fit in the 2016 ALA Information Literacy Framework even more substantially than textual literacies. Data literacy as part of information literacy is important as so-called transferable skill that will greatly benefit those students that leave academia and enter the workforce. Smits and Teperek (2020) noticed in their study of Master students that data management often comes up piecemeal, for example, in the context of method studies or thesis seminars, but was not treated in a coherent manner. There is a need for systematic data management guidance also on the undergraduate and graduate or Master level.

Helsinki University is a multidisciplinary research university, largest in Finland and ranked 110 in the THE University Ranking. Helsinki University Library has had a data management team since 2009 and has been teaching data management planning and other skills for researchers since 2017. The education so far has reached researchers and administrative staff, but not bachelor and master students. Also, since the changes in the data privacy legislation namely the EU GDPR, the demand for timely data management education for all levels is genuine.

When teaching undergraduates an obvious challenge will be the sheer scale of students that need to be addressed. How to address the right group of students at the right time? Who will teach? Could data management teaching for undergraduate level be embedded in thesis seminars or will the academics be reluctant to take on new responsibilities? It is vital MA students know how to handle personal data according to GDPR requirements before they start their projects, so that they don’t just start collecting data and forget to inform the research participants correctly. Students also need to know what the special categories of personal data are and how not to cause risks to these vulnerable groups with how they handle this kind of data.

In Helsinki University Library we figured that we need more than one approach to reach the students. As starting points we are preparing a short self-study guide in simple language on data management for undergraduates and a test form for personal data – “Do I handle personal data in my thesis?” To deepen the learning more in context of the thesis seminars we concluded a pilot with a Master program together with the responsible University Lecturers. With simple exercises aimed at first just recognizing data features in publications of selected research groups the students took the first steps in learning the different dimensions of data management. Our data management team is also developing a data management introductory wizard tool with CS students. Data Support team is working together with the library Pedagogical Team responsible for Information Literacy teaching to further embed data themes into student resources.

References

Bauder, J. (2022). Teaching research data management. American Library Association.

Calzada Prado, J. & Ángel Marzal, M. (2013). Incorporating data literacy into information literacy

programs: Core competencies and contents. Libri, 63(2), 123–34. https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2013-0010

Burress, T. (2022). Data literacy practices of students conducting undergraduate research. College and Research Libraries 83(3), 434–451. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.83.3.434

Smits, D. A. B. & Teperek, M. (2020). Research data management for master’s students: From awareness to action. Data Science Journal, 19(1). Retrieved from https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85106864849&doi=10.5334%2fdsj-2020-030&partnerID=40&md5=387b83348a741146c3fb46eda6df251e

Introduction and Objectives

Information literacy (IL) is an essential capability for modern life, including education, work and leisure. IL interventions are thought to impact on society by facilitating meaningful engagements with information (Khan & Idris, 2019; Sundin et al., 2008).

There has been much research into IL interventions in higher education. However, the impact of IL interventions in other settings is not well understood. One factor is the lack of an agreed definition of IL intervention impact and parameters to guide impact assessments, including whether these encompass both positive and negative effects; intended and unintended consequences; social, economic, cultural, environmental, or technological dynamics; and short-term and long-term processes.

There is thus a rift between the assumed value of IL in different areas of society, and what can be evidenced. This was addressed in this project by posing two research questions : (1) ‘How is impact defined in IL interventions?’; (2) ‘What are the success factors behind impactful IL interventions?

Methodology

A literature review of research published in English was undertaken using the databases LISTA and Web of Science, and search-terms developed from the research aims: assess, benefit, effect, evaluat*, impact, indicator*, measur*, monitor*, outcome, output, result. Results without ‘information literac’ in the title or abstract were removed, as were duplicate results and all results predating 2005. This led to 3707 items. A longlist of 170 items was created by independent reading of titles and abstracts, with discussion between the researchers in cases of disagreement. A shortlist of 26 items was created by independent assessment of each longlist item’s significance, quality and rigour. Shortlisted items were then examined for references to impact assessment methods and the types of IL impact reported.

Outcomes

RQ1: Impact is evaluated (hence defined) in terms of immediate activities, not longer-term benefits. Examples include (a) use of IL skills by students after participating in an IL project, but not effect on grades; (b) use of library facilities by student nurses, not impact on nursing capability.

RQ2: While not all shortlisted papers report how projects generated impacts, nor how these were evaluated, the emergent components of impactful IL interventions are: evaluation of effectiveness and outcomes; choice of clear frameworks and structures to measure impact; ensuring integration and relevance of the intervention; collaboration between stakeholders; design of content and delivery methods; management buy-in and budget; repetition and follow-up.

All of these components apply to any project, but ‘repetition and follow-up’ is worthy of further study in the IL context, e.g. when and how this should be delivered.

References

Khan, M. L., & Idris, I. K. (2019). Recognise misinformation and verify before sharing: A reasoned action and information literacy perspective. Behaviour and Information Technology, 38(12), 1194–1212. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2019.1578828

Sundin, O., Limberg, L., & Lundh, A. (2008). Constructing librarians’ information literacy expertise in the domain of nursing. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 40(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000607086618

The Model of Quality School Library (MQSL) is a result of multiphase applicative research (Vilar & Zabukovec, 2022). According to many authors (e.g. Todd & Kuhlthau 2005; Todd, 2012; Vilar & Stričević 2014; Vilar & Zabukovec 2016, 2020, 2022), quality school libraries (SL) are one of fundamental prerequisites for systematic development of information literacy (IL) skills that are essential in our information society. SL have important tasks in formal education and are the only libraries to be potentially visited by everyone. While, according to Slovenian legislation, SL, including formally educated librarians (L), are a compulsory part of formal pre-school, primary and secondary education, the legislation lacks addressing the foundations for professional development and work. The formation of MQSL (the 1st part of this paper), started with a draft model (Vilar & Zabukovec, 2020), that was tested using various methods, to form the MQSL. It consists of 3 interdependent layers: Basic Conditions (work conditions, L, development strategy); Quality Traits (interactive, accessible, integrated); and Outcomes (important and popular, effective) - presented in detail in Vilar & Zabukovec (2022). With MQSL, as shown in the 2nd part of the paper, we offer SL an empirically verified theoretical base for use in practice. It is useful in preparation of strategic foundations, such as a national SL development strategy, standards, and guidelines; normative acts, and in everyday work. It offers SL a foundation for firmly establishing themselves as invaluable integrated educational partners in building information literate users, since findings indicate: 1) IL skills of Slovenian pupils, and even teachers, often need strengthening; and 2) the position of the Slovenian SL should be strengthened, too, especially due to formal/systemic restraints and competence-related obstacles, often resulting in poor approaches and solutions. Both findings are tightly linked with all 3 layers of MQSL. Users’ IL skills (shown through the ‘Effective’ element of the Outcomes layer) can only be systematically and wholistically developed with firstly providing SL with adequate Basic Conditions (layer 1 in MQSL). This assures all elements of the Quality Traits layer and the perception of importance and popularity of the SL in all educational partners. We started pilot MQSL verification and validation, also reported in this paper. In December 2022 we interviewed 9 experienced school L on 3 topics: 1) Their opinions on MQSL in light of their experience: a) How does it function in practice?; b) Which additions or changes would it need?; 2) The functioning of MQSL or its particular segments: The L were asked to give examples from their practice; 3) Operationalizing MQSL into professional recommendations and official requirements: We asked the L how to use the pilot findings to plan nationwide verification of MQSL. Initial analyses indicate that MQSL points out important areas for quality work and the development of SL. Areas in need of further development include competences, assessment, strategic planning, organization, proactivity, and training. In order to firmly act as proactive and systemically integrated agents of IL development, Slovenian SL must be provided with professional standards, regulated work norms, their own financial resources, and training. We plan to enhance this pilot study with a larger sample and to give the findings wider validity by addressing these topics in more detail.

References

Todd, R. (2012). School libraries as pedagogical centers. SCAN, 31(3), 27–36. Retrieved January 21, 2023 from https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/media/documents/archive-pdfs/vol31-40_2012-2021/Scan_2012_31_3_red.pdf

Todd, R., & Kuhlthau, C. (2005). Student learning through Ohio school libraries, Part 1: How effective school libraries help students. School Libraries Worldwide, 11(1), 89–110.

Vılar, P., & Strıčevıć, I. (2014). Quality school library – how do we find out? In Libraries in the digital age (LIDA): proceedings. Assesing libraries and library users and use: Zadar, Croatia, [16–20. 6.] 2014. University of Zadar. Retrieved December 1, 2022 from http://ozk.unizd.hr/proceedings/index.php/lida/article/view/112

Vılar, P., & Zabukovec, V. (2016). Information literacy and reading literacy competences cannot develop without good school libraries. In S. Špiranec et al. (Eds.), The Fourth European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL): Abstracts, October 10-13, 2016, Prague, Czech Republic (p. 173). Prague: Association of Libraries of Czech Universities.

Vilar, P., & Zabukovec, V. (2020). Vloga šolske knjižnice pri razvoju gradnikov bralne pismenosti. In D. Haramija (Ed.), Gradniki bralne pismenosti: teoretična izhodišča. (pp. 283–303). Univerza v Mariboru. Retrieved December 1, 2022 from https://doi.org/10.18690/978-961-286-403-3

Vilar, P., & Zabukovec, V. (2022). Model kakovostne šolske knjižnice: Zasnova in uresničevanje v praksi. In T. Krapše et al. (Eds.), Pogledi na šolo 21. stoletja (pp. 222–253). Ljubljana: ZRSŠ. Retrieved December 1, 2022 from https://www.zrss.si/pdf/Pogled_na_solo_21_stoletja.pdf

Over the last twenty years, studies have shown that most university students prefer reading their academic texts in print format over electronic (e.g., Dilevko and Gottlieb, 2002; Liu, 2006; Li et.al., 2011; Mizrachi et al., 2021). But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, institutions worldwide were forced to close their campuses and move to remote learning. Libraries closed to the public and curtailed their services severely. Suddenly students had no reading format choice and had to use e-format. This study investigated how the COVID restrictions affected their reading format attitudes and behaviors. We addressed these research questions:

• What is the impact of forced remote learning on students’ academic reading format attitudes and preferences?

• Do students report changes in their reading and learning engagement strategies?

• How do students’ collective reading format preferences and behaviors compare to those documented before COVID?

We defined academic texts as textbooks, scholarly books, book chapters, and journal articles in different formats used for coursework or academic projects. Print format included texts originating on paper and printouts from an electronic source. Electronic reading was reading on any digital device.

The survey contained some original questions and others adapted from the previously validated ARFIS survey (Mizrachi, et.al, 2018). It was distributed to students at a North American research university in March 2021, at the height of the pandemic. 234 responses were received and analyzed. Descriptive analysis was generated with SPSS and Excel programs.

Results showed an increased dislike towards e-format, and that most students still believed print to be the best medium for focusing and remembering information. However, we cannot generalize that the increased dislike is a permanent condition. It may just be a temporary outcome of the exclusive remote learning mode during this unprecedented time. As students become more accustomed to digital learning, it is possible that comfort levels and confidence in their ability to learn using e-readings will increase; and as instructional modalities move back towards pre-pandemic norms, it is possible that students’ attitudes towards e-reading will become more favorable.

References

Dilevko, J., & Gottlieb, L. (2002). Print sources in an electronic age: A vital part of the research process for undergraduate students. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 28(6), 381–392.

Li, C., Poe, F., Potter, M., Quigley, B., & Wilson, J. (2011). UC Libraries academic e-book usage survey. Retrieved March 4, 2022 from https://escholarship.org/content/qt4vr6n902/qt4vr6n902.pdf

Liu, Z. (2006). Print vs. electronic resources: A study of user perceptions, preferences, and use. Information Processing & Management 42(2), 583¬–592.

Mizrachi, D., Salaz, A. M., Kurbanoglu, S., Boustany, J., & ARFIS Research Group. (2018). Academic reading format preferences and behaviors among university students worldwide: A comparative survey analysis. PloS one, 13(5), e0197444.

Mizrachi, D., Salaz, A. M., Kurbanoglu, S., & Boustany, J. (2021). The Academic Reading Format International Study (ARFIS): final results of a comparative survey analysis of 21,265 students in 33 countries. Reference Services Review, 49(3-4), 250–266. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-04-2021-0012

The consumption of online video keeps growing, especially during the Covid crisis and the “emergency remote education” time (Bozkurt et al., 2020) when pedagogical continuity had to be organized with the available means and resources online. The studies of primary school teachers’ information seeking behavior (ISB) and information literacy (IL) are still scarce (Virkus & Mathiesen, 2019) even though ISB and IL of teaching staff has been reported to have a strong impact on students’ information literacy (Godwin, 2005).

Objectives

The present study focuses on French elementary school teachers’ uses of online video resources. We define online video as an audiovisual resource that can be reached online asynchronously (possibly downloaded and/or modified by the user) and that was not necessarily initially designed for learning purposes. We focus here on 3 research questions: What is the place of online video in the participants’ information habits (Q1)? What learning potentialities do they attribute to online video (Q2)? What does it say about the IL of these teachers and the media and information literacy (MIL) they may provide (Q3)?

Methodology

We adopted a qualitative approach: 15 individual semi-directed interviews (6 men and 11 women, teaching from first to fifth grade in different schools). Inspired by Flanagan’s Critical Incident Technique (1954) relevant in the IL field (Cisek, 2016), each interview is based on a retrospective analysis by the teacher of a learning situation involving online video.

Outcomes

Q1: Our results show effective, albeit disparate, use of online video. Our participants locate videos mainly through other teachers’ blogs and thanks to textbooks. Their main motivation in selecting a video is that it fits their learning objectives. It seems that the primary source of a video makes no difference. The search for online videos has however an impact on their preparation work: the selection process is described as rather difficult and time-consuming.

Q2: Online video is part of these teachers’ information habits as one type of media among others. The learning objectives for using online videos in class are described in an ambivalent manner (a means to maintain students’ attention and the very reason why children’s attention fluctuates). Specific learning potentialities are associated with online video: mainly “to show”, to “emotionally impact” learners to improve their understanding and memorization. The fact that an online video can be watched at a desired pace is appreciated. As such, online video is mainly used to introduce or summarize a learning point. Q3: The videos used are tightly linked to school programs. The video rarely seems to be sought or even less studied in class for itself. Nor does it appear as an objective of MIL.

These findings inform recommendations for teacher training (to select and validate online audiovisual resources) as well as for designers and publishers of resources (for a design closer to teachers’ pedagogical needs and better visibility of resources).

References

Bozkurt, A., et al. (2020). A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1–126.

Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327–358.

Godwin, P. (2005). Making life easier for academics: How librarians can help staff weather the technological storm. Journal of Literacy, 2(2), 68–79.

Virkus, S., Mathiesen, M. (2019). Information seeking behavior of primary school teachers in Estonia: An exploratory study. In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), Information Literacy in Everyday Life, The Sixth European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL), Oulu, Finland, September 24-27, 2018,: Revised Selected Papers. CCIS 989 (pp. 317–328). Cham: Springer.

Were you taught how to ask questions? The facilitators of this session were not, even though we have learned over time to develop effective research questions when conducting our own research and helping others with theirs. The Research as Inquiry frame from the ALA Association of College & Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy centers question-asking as an essential part of the research process. However, librarians generally spend much of their time with learners focused on finding credible sources, sometimes skipping over the central role inquiry plays in the research process. We wondered if question-asking was even a skill that we could help our students develop. As it turns out, we can!

Learners often experience anxiety at the beginning of the research process (Kulthau, 2004), feeling that they will choose the wrong topic and eventually fail as a result. As long as the formulation of an inquiry is commonly conceptualized as “plucking a topic like an apple off a tree,” (Bates, 1994) the process will continue to feel risky for many. Librarians will sometimes address topic development with a concept map or a reference sources exercise but ,with limited classroom time, the inquiry portion of the research process can end up sidelined in our instruction.

We maintain that centering the art of question-asking from the beginning of and throughout the research process, as opposed to starting the process with thesis-statement-writing or finding credible sources, can lower the stakes for failure? among learners while encouraging them to express their creativity and curiosity. In teaching Research as Inquiry, librarians at the University of New Mexico have relied on adaptations of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a relatively simple approach that helps learners generate questions and improve their question-asking skills.

Over time, we have adapted the QFT to work with high school, undergraduate, and even graduate students. We use it alone, as an exercise to develop question asking muscles, and with related lessons on topic development and finding background information. We sometimes ask questions about topics related to the subject of a particular course and other times topics of personal interest. We have also shared the QFT with general education instructors in workshops about research as inquiry and some instructors have incorporated it into their teaching.

In this session participants will experience different versions of the QFT, adapted for different learners, disciplines, and instructor preferences. We will also discuss our experiences working with students and faculty on the art of question-asking. Then participants will work together in pairs or small groups to develop a lesson plan using QFT for their own context.

Learning Objectives

Participants will experience the Question Formulation Technique as students in order to identify the major components of the QFT and determine topics they can use for their QFT.

Participants will review iterations of the QFT in order to create a customized QFT for their classroom.

Time: 90 minutes (this is negotiable)

Materials needed: projector, computer with internet access, paper and pens for participants

References

Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Bates, M. J. (1994). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services by Carol Collier Kuhlthau. Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 64(4), 473–475.

Right Question Institute. (2023). The Question Formulation Technique (QFT). Retrieved from https://www.rightquestion.org

In this workshop, we will share our experience, in the UK, of developing a national coordination body to advocate for media and information literacy (MIL), encourage capacity-building and help to build the MIL evidence base. We would like to compare our approach with similar or related initiatives in other countries and to use the workshop as to discuss with participants the ways of building awareness, across society, of MIL as an indispensable contribution to lifelong learning, citizenship, health and everyday life. The workshop will address lessons learnt from the UK and from participants’ own countries. It should point to ideas about how best to generate interest in MIL among diverse stakeholders (within and beyond the information professions) and, ultimately, contribute to the elaboration of public policy and practice, including educational practice.

The workshop will draw from the work undertaken by the UK’s Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA). This was set up in October 2021, following the publication of the UK Government’s Online Media Literacy Strategy (Online Media Literacy Strategy, 2021), which covers both media literacy and information literacy. One of the challenges identified in the Strategy is the lack of cross-sector coordination and collaboration between the wide range of stakeholders in the UK. MILA seeks to address this, in the first instance by generating a dialogue with a multiplicity of players. These include, for instance, Ofcom (the UK’s media regulator), Health Education England, the Association for Citizenship Teaching, Wikimedia UK, The Royal Society of Arts, as well as individuals and organisations representing higher education, public libraries, school libraries and policymakers.

The workshop will discuss the dynamics of building a national MIL initiative from scratch, and participants will be asked to cover questions such as:

• What are the approaches to persuading stakeholders (public, commercial and third-sector) of the relevance and importance of MIL?

• What are the most effective mechanisms and strategies for developing a network or alliance?

• What are the concrete activities that a national MIL might best undertake (e.g. undertaking research, building communities of practice, advocacy, etc.)?

• In a context where MIL is often seen as a protectionist measure against threats such as disinformation, how can stakeholders and society also be made aware of the empowering potential of MIL?

• How might such initiatives be resourced (money, people), in environments where funding is not always easily available?

The extent and scale of national MIL policies and practices, particularly in the educational world, varies from country to country (Frau-Meigs, et al., 2017). It is almost 10 years since UNESCO issued their Media and information literacy policy and strategy guidelines (2013), so we would like to discuss what impact these might have had around the world. The workshop will enable participants to consider good practice internationally, to compare experiences and to provide insights into what collaborative interventions are effective to help foster national MIL policies. The facilitators will use world cafe style discussions to capture outputs from the workshop and share these with delegates after the session. Participants will work in groups, each of which will cover the questions outlined above, drawing from their own national/international experiences, and focusing on the steps and mechanics for building a national alliance and the ways of developing and maintaining momentum.

References

Frau-Meigs, et al. (2017). Public policies in media and information literacy in Europe. Routledge.

Media and Information Literacy Alliance. Retrieved June 14, 2023, from https://www.mila.org.uk

UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (2021). Online media literacy strategy. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-media-literacy-strategy

UNESCO. (2013). Media and information literacy: Policy and strategy guidelines. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000225606

The evaluation process of school libraries, developed by the Portuguese School Libraries Network (RBE), has been carried out through the application of a self-evaluation model (MABE). This evaluation seeks to establish a relationship between processes, the impact or value they generate, and the prospects for future development (Bastos, Martins & Conde, 2011). The model contemplates four domains, which constitute parts of analysis and evaluation in harmony with the main axes of work of the school library (SL). The instrument used by teacher librarians (TL) is based on a set of elements, including the collection of data through questionnaires applied to students of different schooling levels.

Therefore, in the framework of an agreement between Universidade Aberta with the RBE for research purposes, we examine the responses obtained through the surveys carried out in that context, to students from the Portuguese districts of Évora, Leiria, Setúbal and Vila Real, in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The analysis is focused on activities related to MIL, considering that primarily it concerns with competencies and skills, but can also be devised as the basis for a democratic society in which all citizens can participate (Haider and Sundin, 2022, p. 15). According to the orientations published by RBE (2017), students need to critically engage with media and information, namely in digital settings, and it is of the utmost importance to identify how students evaluate SL’s action and to realize whether the SL is achieving its goals in this area.

This study is based on a mixed methods approach and crosses the four regions (representative of different geographic and social contexts) and the three indicated time periods, verifying the incidences and contrasts in the dimensions studied in the observed universe. We want to understand how students face the contributions of the school library in the development of their skills in information and media literacy by means of a statistical analysis of the answers given to MABE surveys. These data are crossed with the Improvement Reports, from 2016 and 2018, in particular the strengths and weaknesses pointed out by the TLs. From this analysis it is possible to identify what has been the role of SL in the development of MIL skills, as well as the constraints and improvements in the action of libraries during this period of time. Being widely considered that MIL is the answer to today’s information crisis and that schools have an important role to play in this context, we think that SLs are right at the center of this process. This study is particularly relevant as it analyzes unpublished data collected by RBE, especially considering that the SL evaluation model has become an instrument to guide good practices, monitoring and evaluating the different intervention areas, certifying processes and results, and informing decision-making.

References

Bastos, G., Martins, R., & Conde, E. (2011). A self-evaluation model for school libraries in Portugal. In L. Marquardt & D. Oberg (Eds.), Global Perspectives on School Libraries: Projects and Practices (pp. 11–21). Berlin: De Gruyter Saur.

Haider, J., & Sundin, O. (2022). Paradoxes of media and information literacy: the crisis of information. New York: Routledge.

RBE. (2017). Aprender com a biblioteca escolar. Lisboa: Rede de Bibliotecas Escolares.

An essential component of the information society is intellectual property (IP) knowledge, in particular copyright and related rights. IP has become even more relevant with the increasing openings allowing people to create and promote their work in online media.

There are a lot of different versions of copyright surveys in Social Sciences in Bulgaria because the specialists in this field find their spheres of realization in different public institutions. As cultural and information institutions where using or producing information resources is the basis of their activity, specialists need to be well informed on IP protection, especially copyright (Trencheva & Denchev, 2016; Todorova & Trencheva, 2014; Todorova et al. 2014). However, a survey dedicated to copyright awareness among future media specialist had not been performed.

The paper presents the methodology and results of a survey which aims to establish, systematize, and analyse the current level of awareness about copyright issues among trainees in the media field.

The survey instrument was developed by the authors in order to collect data, regarding students’ knowledge, awareness levels and attitude of copyright issues. The questionnaire consists of 40 main questions in four panels.

The survey was conducted in nine universities in Bulgaria, among students in the public communications and information sciences, with specialties such as journalism, media, public relations, arts, and creativity. It was conducted from 1st April – 26th May 2021. The general aggregation, consists of 449 effectively surveyed Bulgarian students in Bachelor, Master and Ph.D degree programs. The study was done on the principle of systematic random selection with stratification to 10% of the students in the mentioned professional field. Data collection was carried out by Google survey.

The survey provides information on copyright literacy and the attitudes of young people to IP and was conducted at a time when the rights of authors and journalists were in focus and their value emphasized. In this sense, it can be assumed that the answers of the respondents indirectly influence the public debate on the IP topic. The analyzed information serves as a starting point for a model for increasing copyright literacy among future media specialists.

References

Todorova, T., Тrencheva, T., Kurbanoğlu, S., Doğan, G., Horvat, A., & Boustany, J. (2014). A multinational study on copyright literacy competencies of LIS professionals. In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), Information Literacy, Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century, Second European Conference on Information Literacy, ECIL 2014, Dubrovnik, Croatia, October 20–23, 2014: Proceedings. Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) 492 (pp. 138–148). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Todorova, T., & Trencheva, T. (2014). Copyright literacy in memory institutions: Findings from scientific research project in Bulgaria. In Proceedings of the 3th International Conference on NPSE (pp. 169–172). Florence: PIXEL.

Trencheva, T., & Denchev, S. (2016). Intellectual property awareness of sulsit’s students: Survey results and curricula reflection. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of E-Society (pp. 79–86). Vilamoura, Algarve: Portugal.

Recently, the global information and educational space has been constantly and intensively enriched with new phenomena and forms of their presentation that needs to be comprehended and analyzed. Over the past few months the authors of the article have chosen a specific segment of Facebook network and have tracked a small part of this global phenomenon. In our first publication we pre sented a content analysis of individual information and educational Facebook Pages. That study aroused public interest, prompting us to conduct a comparative analysisof related objects and phenomena. It should be noted that all educational pages on Facebook are professionally oriented and serve to develop the professional and medical competence of the interested educational community.

We attempted to compare thematic pages created or moderated by authors by means of content analysis. We give for comparison the statistical data of two author multi-thematic FB-pages.

“Медіашкола професора Ганни Онкович”, “Media School of Professor Ganna Onkovych” had 2,000 registered participants, URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/898909013519964/about). Освіта за спеціальністю “Нафтогазова інженерія та технології”, Education by profession “Oil and Gas Engineering and Technology”, had registered 1,200 participants (URL: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/145315129579851/about). They are led by professors G.V. Onkovych from the department of Ukrainian and Latin languages of Kyiv Medical University, where a special course “Professional-oriented media education” is offered , and V.S. Beletsky, professor of the department “Oil, Gas and Condensate Extraction” of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”.

Every page has associated statistics, that are automatically updated continuously. A comparative analysis of Facebook informational and educational pages provides opportunities for obtaining versatile information that can be useful in the processes of monitoring and regulating information flows and in particular, professional information.

In this interactive workshop, participants will develop strategies rooted in informed learning for partnering with disciplinary instructors in higher education courses to advance students’ information practices and learning. Informed learning is an approach to information literacy that describes how students may use information in situation-specific ways to learn (Bruce, 2008). Highlighting how information-focused learning activities are an integral part of the learning process, informed learning emphasizes the need for students to learn about using information at the same time they are learning about subject content. A curriculum design model for developing instruction grounded in informed learning, informed learning design supports the development of curricular partnerships between librarians and classroom instructors that recognizes the vital role information plays in disciplinary learning (Maybee, Bruce, Lupton and Pang, 2019). This approach to embedding information literacy into curricula has been successful in a faculty development program–with research suggesting relationships between how students use information, academic success, and levels of motivation (Flierl, Bonem and Maybee, 2021).

Participants in this interactive workshop will be academic librarians interested in collaborating with classroom instructors to integrate informed learning into course curricula. Led by experienced facilitators, participants will work in small groups to uncover opportunities in their own contexts and compare ideas and practices with others. They will use the informed learning design model (Maybee et al.) to envision partnerships with instructors to develop information-rich learning activities reflective of their shared expertise. Examples of successful collaborations will be shared with participants from a grant-funded project in which 30 librarians and instructors at three large universities in the United States participated in a 4-week program in which they used informed learning design to develop information literacy coursework. Participants will learn strategies for collaborating with classroom instructors to teach students to use information to support disciplinary learning, including: 1) identifying opportunities within their institutional context for partnering with instructors; 2) recognizing how their own experiences of collaborating with instructors aligns with research-based conceptions of collaborative information literacy work; and 3) determining ways they can apply informed learning design to successfully partner with instructors and contribute to the development of information literacy in curricula.

References

Bruce, C. S. (2008). Informed learning. American Library Association.

Flierl, M., Bonem, E., & Maybee, C. (2021). Developing the informed learning scale: Measuring information literacy in higher education. College & Research Libraries, 82(7), 1004–1016. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.7.1004

Maybee, C., Bruce, C. S., Lupton, M., & Pang, M. F. (2019). Informed learning design: Teaching and learning through engagement with information. Higher education research & development, 38(3), 579–593. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1545748

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to present the main ethical challenges of information literacy as an ethical experience based on analyses of selected theoretical concepts of information literacy, information experience and on the results of a Delphi study focused on information ethics. The main research question is articulated as follows: Which ethical components can be decisive for developing the concept of ethical information literacy as a human experience?

Methodology and Related Research

Selected models of ethical issues of information literacy have been analysed, including moral literacy (Tuana, 2007), ethical strands of ANCIL (Secker and Coonan, 2013), metaliteracy (Mackey and Jacobson, 2019) and others. The background is related to qualitative innovative studies of information as experience (Bruce et al., 2014, Lloyd, 2021) and to the concepts of information ethics (Floridi, 2013), context (Agarwal, 2020) and value-sensitive design (Friedman and Hendry, 2019). A Delphi study focused on information ethics in digital environment was undertaken in 2021-2022 with selected experts from the Czech Republic and Slovakia (19 experts: 1st round, 6 experts: an online discussion: 2nd round). The disciplines included information science, computer science, media sciences, psychology, political science, management, or social informatics. The data was analysed using the content analyses, discourse analysis and conceptual modelling.

Findings

Findings of the Delphi study are visualized in three conceptual models representing the ethical challenges of information literacy. A final model is interpreted as an ethical information literacy experience in the academic context. The ethical components include social rules, epistemic and social values of information, and intercultural differences. Results confirmed the interconnected strata of the ethical information literacy experience based on social rules, personal characteristics, value tensions (ICT bias and social contexts), education and values of utility and truth.

Conclusions

We recommend including ethical components based on the findings of the Delphi study into innovative frameworks of academic information literacy, namely personal experience in ethically informed information use and production, social and intercultural rules, value tensions and epistemic and social values of information, (e.g. the utility and truth). The proposed model and recommendations can be used for further qualitative research of ethical information literacy experience, value-sensitive design of digital services and information literacy courses. We stress moral imagination, affective background, metaliteracy, metacognitive and participatory factors, context and accountability. Information literacy needs further conceptual development based on related experiential ethical dimensions.

References

Agarwal, N. K. (2022). Exploring context in information behavior. Seeker, situation, surroundings, and shared identities. Cham: Springer Nature.

Bruce, C., Davis, K., Hughes, H., Partridge, H., and Stoodley, I. (Eds.) (2014). Information experience: Approaches to theory and practice. Bingley: Emerald.

Floridi, L. (2013). The ethics of information. Oxford: University Press.

Friedman, B., and Hendry, D. G. (2019). Value sensitive design. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Lloyd D. A., (2021). The qualitative landscape of information literacy research. Perspectives, methods and techniques. London: Facet.

Mackey, T. P., and Jacobson, T. R. (2019). Metaliterate learning for the post-truth world. Chicago: ALA.

Secker, J., and Coonan, E. (2013). Rethinking information literacy: A practical framework for supporting learning. London: Facet.

Tuana, N. (2007). Conceptualizing moral literacy. Journal of Educational Administration, 45(4), 364–378.

In this article I provided a framework for the discussion of ethical repercussions of concepts and technologies created or used in information sciences upon animal life. The information super highway (the internet) made the dissemination of “content” on all possible topics easily accessible. These new “informational liberties” opened the way for various interdisciplinary research avenues between fields of interest we might never had considered compatible in the past. One of these discursive possibilities presents itself within the analysis of information sciences and its link to animal life. This link extends to broader ecological issues that arise from the application of technologies created or used in information sciences.

As a starting point, I presented possible issues that arise for information professionals, specifically while dealing with preservation, organization, and dissemination of information. Traditionally, information professionals deal with print material. Contemporary society’s needs demand new approaches in view of the fact that electronic, visual, audio, and other digital media dictate a different mode of data storage than conventional libraries. Animal welfare is conditioned by human impact in the biosphere. In this concrete example I talked about the data and information infrastructure. Taking data storage facilities as the first example, I discussed how the overheating issue and carbon emissions of these facilities change the biodiversity of the surrounding areas. For example, while the cooler fans are struggling to keep the various machines from overheating they have a secondary pollutant: constant noise. These examples served as an introduction to the discussion of other possible negative effects that practices in information sciences have on animals.

As these examples opened up the debate, I moved from the idea of green libraries (Aulisio, 2013) to possible issues with the most self-reflective part of information sciences: information literacy. I analyzed current research on green information literacy (Kurbanoğlu & Boustany, 2014) to address the key question: What is the status of moral reflection in green information literacy conceptualizations? I used the ethical framework of contemporary bioethics to access the issue. While bioethics are a developing field with various definitions and approaches to problem resolution, they are also most compatible with interdisciplinary research. Thus, bioethics had a greater potential than particular ethical positions such as consequentialism, different narrative ethics, contractualist or other approaches. The main question in this debate was whetherthe critical capacity of information literacy included value judgments, especially morally sound judgments. In other words, I explored whether the normative dimension of contemporary information literacy definitions and models included moral reflection of the impact their procedures and products had upon animal life.

References

Aulisio, G. J. (2013). Green libraries are more than just buildings. Electronic green journal, 1(35).

Kurbanoğlu, S., & Boustany, J. (2014). From green libraries to green information literacy. In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), Information Literacy, Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century, Second European Conference on Information Literacy, ECIL 2014, Dubrovnik, Croatia, October 20–23, 2014: Proceedings. Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) 492 (pp. 47–58). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Since the availability of the chatbot ChatGPT in 2022, there has been a heated discussion, especially in didactics and media education science, about what conclusions should be drawn (Baidoo-Anu & Owusu Ansah, 2023) from letting students complete tasks through the chatbot. In this paper, we will turn this idea ethically. Namely, not only the writer’s truthfulness but also the source’s truthfulness and accuracy is an information ethical requirement. Therefore, there is a claim on the author to account for the sources’ quality. However, the realization of this claim is bound to an explicit competence, in this case, information literacy. When using autonomous writing engines, however, this competence is shared: The user of this machines usually does not apply his information literacy but leaves the source responsibility to the AI. This delegation of information literacy can only succeed when the machine can possess information literacy itself. This has information ethical consequences for the use and for the development of such technology: autonomous writing machines must be information literate to meaningfully and efficiently find information that it has been trained to use, for example, from the Internet, according to a given task or question, and then combine it according to the given task or question.

Let us imagine that such machines like ChatGPT will be increased or even widely used in the future. Applications creating research reports or journalistic reports are already a reality today (Pavlik, 2023). In the future, machines will independently search for information online to process multiple queries. It is important to remember that not only correct and up-to-date information can be found on the web, but also intentionally or accidentally incorrect, tendentious, or falsified sources are also widely available. It is part of successful information literacy to constantly check the sources for their truthfulness and reliability. If the old phrase “one bad apple spoils the whole barrel” is true, then the ability to distinguish good apples from bad is an information core competency. After all, if the increasingly used autonomous machines take over rotten apples and incorporate them into their texts, not only will these texts become rotten and wrong, but the net itself will become infested with this rot since, because of increasing digitization, machine texts will be increasingly present.

This paper discusses what information ethical requirements must be placed on design, programming, and use of autonomous writing machines so that they themselves can actively seek out and avoid the rotten apples. It is not about technology but more fundamentally about explicitly normative demands on the development and use of autonomous writing machines.

References

Baidoo-Anu, D., & Owusu Ansah, L. (2023). Education in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI): Understanding the potential benefits of ChatGPT in promoting teaching and learning. Retrieved February 14, 2023 from https://ssrn.com/abstract=4337484

Pavlik, J. V. (2023). Collaborating with ChatGPT: Considering the implications of generative artificial intelligence for journalism and media education. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator,78(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/10776958221149577

Objectives

Across the globe, competencies that facilitate critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and fluency with digital tools that support these competencies, top the inventories of employability skills (Klegeris, 2021; Matuszewska-Kubicz, 2021). Humanities and social science (HSS) programs appear to generate effective employees for the growing business services sector (BSS), which seeks job candidates with interpersonal and communication skills to address the various needs of clients and to work in sustainable multidisciplinary teams (Muller & Doloreux, 2009; Multan, 2020). Digital literacy skills appear to constitute some of the learning outcomes (Sparks et al., 2016) that the business sector expects university graduates to attain and to feel empowered in as they enter the labor market. Our study examines the psychological empowerment of recent HSS alumni after attending four different digital literacy courses at the Jagiellonian University in Poland. The goal was to examine the extent to which this empowerment differed depending on the type of digital literacy skill training—information, data, visual, or communication and collaboration—these alumni completed.

Methodology

Six months after graduation, HSS alumni who in their final year of study completed a digital skills course designed to support their entrance into the labor market, and who were employed in business services, completed a psychological empowerment survey based on Spreitzer’s (2007) framework. The sample for this quasi-experiment consisted of 202 responses (information literacy, n = 52; data literacy, n = 54, communication and collaboration, n = 54; visual literacy, n = 42). Bayesian statistics were used to examine differences in empowerment self-reports between alumni who completed the four digital literacy courses.

Outcomes

Students who completed courses in information literacy and data literacy reported higher workplace empowerment compared to those who completed courses in visual literacy, and communication and collaboration. Despite the study’s limitations concerning the Polish context, the research findings suggest curricular design implications that are relevant to a wider, international workplace context. Firstly, students would benefit from digital skills training opportunities provided within HSS programs. Secondly, certain digital skills appear to be more advantageous for students pursuing careers in the business services sector than others.

References

Klegeris, A. (2021). Mixed-mode instruction using active learning in small teams improves generic problem-solving skills of university students. J. of Further and Higher Education, 45(7), 871–885. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1826036

Matuszewska-Kubicz, A. (2021). Key competencies in the labour market from the perspective of higher education students. E-Mentor, 92(5), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.15219/em92.1541

Muller, E., & Doloreux, D. (2009). What we should know about knowledge-intensive business services. Technology in Society, 31(1), 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2008.10.001

Multan, E. (2020). Adjusting students’ competences to the needs of modern business services sector. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 7(3), 2326–2349. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2020.7.3(58)

Sparks, J. R., Katz, I. R., & Beile, P. M. (2016). Assessing digital information literacy in higher education: A review of existing frameworks and assessments with recommendations for next-generation assessment: Assessing digital information literacy in higher education. ETS Research Report Series, 2016(2), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12118

Spreitzer, G. M. (2007). Toward the integration of two perspectives: A review of social-structural and psychological empowerment at work. The Handbook of Organizational Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Background & Objectives

A turquoise organization is a concept crafted by Belgian business practitioner Frédéric Laloux. It is a rarely implemented, high maturity demanding model based on three pillars: sense of mission; wholeness of humanity; self-management (Bartosiewicz, 2017; Laloux, 2014; Tabaszewska-Zajbert & Sokołowska-Durkalec, 2019; Wasiluk, 2022). Accumulating information and collective transforming it into knowledge is considered to be its fundamental success factor (Januszko-Szakiel, 2020). Despite scarce evidence on this point, it may reasonably be inferred that, in practice, this flexible and individually empowering model, invests every employee with an equal load of responsibility for the organization’s prosperity. It engenders specific information needs and patterns of information behaviors as well as requires a particular form of information literacy. The authors, one of whom runs an information brokering company based on the turquoise scheme, inspected LIS students’ receptivity to the very idea of a turquoise organization and, subsequently, their readiness to develop skills needed to work with? such an entity.

Our objectives are defined as follows: 1) to measure, using mixed-method approach, LIS students’ receptivity to key principles of turquoise organizations. We define receptivity as capacity, grounded in already acquired knowledge, to project oneself in the turquoise settings and anticipate the type of information work and skills to be mobilized; 2) to assess mental and operational readiness of LIS students to integrate turquoise entities once graduated. In other words, to assess whether students demonstrate competences such as autonomous and self-responsible information sharing, discovering and encoding tacit knowledge within organizations, self-managing and improving the quality of data and information generated, sustainably archiving, and preserving information resources of the company for further reuse; 3) to suggest adding relevant content to existing LIS academic curricula in order to better equip future employees of turquoise organizations.

Methodology & Outcomes

For the study we used both quantitative and qualitative approach, the former being an online survey questionnaire. For he latter we conducted a series of individual semi-structured in-depth interviews, the full transcripts of which we analyzed conjointly by the prism of the affordance theory and the actor-network theory. We administered the survey to a group of 90 students of master in information management, from which we recruited 12 volunteer interviewees.

Results showed that students exposed ambivalent attitudes towards turquoise organizations, ranging from naïve approval to acute suspiciousness. Their nearly unanimous declarations of readiness to be hired by a turquoise entity, are mitigated, if not contradicted, by the results of individual interviews. Students showed some difficulties in properly identifying information affordances and networking connections (ANT theory) in turquoise settings. They seemed to be intimidated by the high level of autonomy and responsible personal involvement in information management processes embedded in the turquoise model. Since information is the major asset in turquoise organizations, LIS graduates are, a priori, predisposed to seek employment in such environments and there is merit in verifying their capacity to be actually recruited and to deliver proper work. These preliminary outcomes still need to be nuanced and processed in view of transforming them into actual proposals of curricula enrichment.

References

Bartosiewicz, S. (2017). Turquoise companies, future or utopia. Central and Eastern J. of Manag. and Econ., 5(3), 393–397.

Januszko-Szakiel, A. (2020). Turkusowy model komunikowania i informowania w organizacji biznesowej: Studium przypadku. In P. Korycińska (Ed.), Horyzonty informacji (pp. 123–140). Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Biblioteka Jagiellońska. Retrieved March 11, 2023 from https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/261425

Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing organizations: A guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage of human consciousness. Brussels: Nelson Parker.

Tabaszewska-Zajbert, E., & Sokołowska-Durkalec, A. (2019). Towards a turquoise organization–personal change of employees and its socio-cultural barriers. Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego We Wrocławiu, 63(9), 200–210.

Wasiluk, A. (2022). On the way to turquoise organizations and turquoise leadership. Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Śląskiej. Organizacja I Zarządzanie, 647–661.

In today’s healthcare there is a strong focus on evidence-based scientific information. The evidence-based movement states that healthcare should be based on scientific research. Hospital librarians have a role as key actors when it comes to facilitating information seeking and use of scientific evidence within healthcare (Chaturvedi, 2017; Egeland, 2015). In recent years, with demands for evidence-based practice, the main role of hospital libraries has gradually shifted from serving patients with literature to becoming medical libraries for healthcare professionals. This change has transformed the role of hospital librarians into specialists focused on clinical librarianship and research support. This paper is part of a research project started in 2020 on information practices of hospital librarians, with previous studies focusing on information work of hospital librarians (Hanell & Ahlryd, 2023) and documentary practices in evidence-based medicine (Ahlryd & Hanell, 2021). The often invisible information practices of hospital librarians can be visualized through the application of the concept of information work (Hanell & Ahlryd, 2023). Lloyd (2013) frames information literacy practices, such as facilitating access to information, as critical for solving workplace problems and consequently as a critical practice of information work. For healthcare professionals there is a need for specialized information literacy. Previous research shows how information practices in healthcare connect to both a science-oriented medical discourse and a holistically oriented nursing discourse (Johannisson & Sundin, 2007), and that information literacy practices of hospital librarians need to balance between an understanding of information literacy as either generic or embedded (Sundin, Limberg & Lundh, 2008). Against this background, this paper investigates the information literacy enacted and developed by hospital librarians as they work to support evidence-based practice. The main research question guiding this investigation is: what is the nature of information literacy practices constructed, negotiated, and enacted by hospital librarians as part of their information work? This study is informed by a practice-oriented perspective framing information literacy as a situated practice (e.g. Lloyd, 2013) and includes 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with hospital librarians and hospital library managers between 2020 and 2022. The analysis shows how information literacy practices of hospital librarians are situated within a multi-polar discursive field and characterized by three main hospital library practices: clinical practices, information seeking practices, and a health technology assessment practice (cf. Hanell & Ahlryd, 2023). Within the healthcare sector, hospital librarians need to navigate between generic and situated views on information literacy as well as epistemologically conflicting understandings concerning the nature of scientific evidence. The different views on information literacy make it possible to discuss different epistemological approaches within healthcare and how hospital librarians respond to these. With the growing importance of evidence-based medicine, we find that information literacy practices of hospital librarians tend to be positioned and shaped by a science-oriented epistemology. Drawing on this analysis, possible future directions for information literacy practices within hospital librarianship are elaborated.

References

Ahlryd, S., & Hanell, F. (2021). Documentary practices of hospital librarians in evidence-based medicine. Proceedings from the Document Academy, 8(2), 12. https://doi.org/10.35492/docam/8/2/12

Chaturvedi, K. (2017). Evidence-based library and information practice & educational needs of health librarians: National and international trends. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 37(1), 24–29.

Egeland, M. (2015). Hospital librarians. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 15(1), 65–76.

Hanell, F., & Ahlryd, S. (2023). Information work of hospital librarians: Making the invisible visible. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 55(1), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211063202

Johannisson, J., & Sundin, O. (2007). Putting discourse to work. The Library Quarterly, 77(2), 199–218.

Lloyd, A. (2013). Building information resilient workers: The critical ground of workplace information literacy. What have we learnt? In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), Worldwide Commonalities and Challenges in Information Literacy Research and Practice, European Conference on Information Literacy, ECIL 2013, Istanbul, Turkey, October 22–25, 2013: Proceedings. Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) 397 (pp. 219–228). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03919-0_28

Sundin, O., Limberg, L., & Lundh, A. (2008). Constructing librarians’ information literacy expertise in the domain of nursing. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 40(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000607086618