Information literacy

Time for another blog.... finally have five minutes to sit at a computer and blog. I have been doing a course on Autism which I have found fascinating and realise because this is what I work with it is relevant to me. i have had so much difficulty wrapping my head around the TL because I do not work in a library and have had limited exposure to it. I have been in Special Ed for over 6 years why am I not doing my Masters in Special Ed one will never know. Anyway my folder with notes and readings in it, has become my best friend, it comes with me everywhere I go in case I get five minutes waiting in the car whilst picking up my daughter to read and make more notes.

Information Literacy and the need to be information literate has changed the role of the librarian dramatically. Gone were the days of looking up a book in the catalogue flipping through the cards till you found the right book, searching the shelves, only to find someone has put the book you want on another shelf. Now when we want to find information we use the computer, type in the subject and there is all the information you need right before your eyes and you have not even left your chair. So how does the Librarian fit into the process.... I guess it is the TL that will teach our learners how to process and locate this information. Anyone can give students Literacy models but it will be the TL who will teach, explore and develop the Literacy models for learners. Langford 1998 confers that information literacy is understood as something that is teacher librarian orientated and not part of the general curriculum.

Herring a Critical Investigation of Students and Teachers Views of the Use of Information Literacy Skills in School Assignments gives the reader a number of definitions on what Information Literacy are. They are as follows;

1) Doyle (1994) Information Literacy is "the ability to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources, to recognise when information is needed, and to know how to learn".

2) The National Forum on Information Literacy (2004) states information literacy as "The ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand"

3) Moore (2002) States it is a dynamic concept which extends basic reading, writing and calculating skills for application in information and technology rich environments,

4) Kuthlthau (2001)... for the purpose of learning and solving problems.

5) Herring (2004) "the skills which pupils use ti identify the purpose of, locate, process and communicate information concepts and ideas and then reflect upon the effective application of these skills"

There are many more definitions but it would take me forever to list them all. So to get information literate we use the information literacy models to assist us in getting there, more on these later.

Baby awake, must get out of study mode and into mummy mode (only took me an hour to get into study mode) that's alright maybe I will get some more time tonight.

Reference,

Herring James, Critical Investigation of Students'and Teachers' View of Information Literacy Skills. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume9/informationliteracy.cfm