How can Google Sites benefit an Academic Library in India?

Nirmal Ranjan Mazumdar,  Sanjay Kumar Singh (2012) Google Sites for Academic Library: A Practical Approach in Pub Kamrup College Library, 8th Convention PLANNER-2012, Sikkim University, Gangtok, March 01-03, 2012

With the application of information and communication technology, the library and information centers are now become more available as well as usable for all. IT based library and information center gives the maximum opportunity to the user- community to search their required information using different IT tools. The Google Sites is a service of Google where a webpage can be designed. The steps of designing a website using the Google are discussed in this paper among with the example of Pub Kamrup College Library website.

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Should Librarians teach students how to Google?

Sorensen, Charlene; Dahl, Candice (2008) Google in the research and teaching of instruction librarians, Journal of Academic Librarianship v.34, no.6, 482-488

This exploratory study assesses the differences and similarities between how instruction librarians in Western Canada use Google and how they instruct students to use it. Survey results indicate that these librarians do use Google but can be influenced by faculty to present Google negatively to students.

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Why do we need new critical approaches to information technology in librarianship?

Gloria J. Leckie, John E. Buschman (2009) Information technology in librarianship : new critical approaches, Libraries Unlimited

In the last 15 years, the ground – both in terms of technological advance and in the sophistication of analyses of technology – has shifted. At the same time, librarianship as a field has adopted a more skeptical perspective; libraries are feeling market pressure to adopt and use new innovations; and their librarians boast a greater awareness of the socio-cultural, economic, and ethical considerations of information and communications technologies. Within such a context, a fresh and critical analysis of the foundations and applications of technology in librarianship is long overdue.

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How does information literacy relate to learning?

Mandy Lupton (2008) Information Literacy and Learning, PhD thesis, Queensland University of Technology.

This thesis explores the relationship between information literacy and learning. In formal education, students are frequently required to independently find and use information to learn about a topic, and information literacy is often claimed to be a generic skill and graduate attribute. However, to date; the experienced relationship between information literacy and learning has not been investigated. My primary research question was ‘What is the experienced relationship between information literacy and learning?’ The secondary research question was “What are the generic and situated aspects of information literacy?’

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How can Libraries adopt ‘Information in Context’ structures to facilitate organizational learning?

Somerville, M.M.& Howard,Z. (2010) Information in context: Co- designing workplace structures and systems for organizational learning. Information Research, 15(4).

This paper discusses an ‘information in context’ design project at Auraria Library in Denver, Colorado which aims to collaboratively create organizational structures and communication systems with and for library employees. This project resulted in several of the co-designed knowledge initiatives being implemented within Auraria Library to enhance communication, decision making and planning systems. These included both face to face and technology enabled initiatives such as such as ‘brown bag’ lunches to a new wiki based intranet system. This project advances professional practice through better understanding how to create workplace contexts that cultivate individual and collective learning through situated ‘information in context’ experiences. An appreciative framework was developed which values information sharing and enables knowledge creation through shared leadership.

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How does informed learning go beyond information literacy?

Bruce, Christine S., Hughes, Hilary E., & Somerville, Mary M. (2012) Supporting informed learners in the 21st century. Library Trends, 60(3), pp. 522-545.

The idea of informed learning represents and advances understandings of information literacy that incorporate the broader concept of using information to learn: those understandings that go beyond the functional or generic information literacy paradigm and draw attention to the transformational, situated and critical aspects of information literacy. Using information to learn is a natural, but often implicit part of all formal and informal learning environments, and is a vital component of the lifelong learning agendas of many nations worldwide. Supporting informed learning requires conscious attention to the use of information in the learning process, by educators, managers, trainers, and policy makers in all sectors. It requires a far reaching response to policy directions involving a wide range of stakeholders.

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A developmental approach to new media literacy?

Diana Graber (2012) New Media Literacy Education (NMLE): A Developmental Approach, Journal of Media Literacy Education 4:1 (2012) 82 – 92

Waldorf-inspired schools may have a successful formula for the development of ethical thinking and new media literacy skills. By providing rich sensory experiences and social interactions for students from the time they are very young, these schools are sowing the seeds of new media literacy without any technology in sight. The challenge they face now is taking the next step. In doing so, Waldorf-inspired could be the model for Ohler’s (2010) vision of a “whole school approach to behavior that sets the entirety of being digitally active within an overall ethical and behavioral context” (145). Maybe some of these practices will even find their way into traditional schools, giving more students a chance to experience a developmental approach to new media literacy that will equip them to be creative, capable, and ethical users of today’s technology, or technologies that are yet seeds in their imaginations.

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Are Instructional Design and Educational Technology Overlooked by Academic Library Administrators?

John D. Shank, Nancy H. Dewald (2012), Academic Library Administrators’ Perceptions of Four Instructional Skills, College & Research Libraries vol. 73 no. 1 78-93

The profession is in the midst of an unprecedented paradigm shift, moving from print-based to digital-based information. This dramatic change is impacting, and will continue to impact, the academic library. Clearly, it is vital to have highly skilled employees who are able to rapidly adapt to the changes as well as drive the innovations within the field. This study raises a very big question: who is responsible for driving that process? If, as the authors suppose, library administrators are key players in facilitating the hiring of new or redefined positions, then, based on the survey data, library administrators might be restraining change within the educational role of the library because of their biases.

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How can Libraries Support Students Live and Learn with Digital Media?

C. Shoemaker, H. Martin, B. Joseph (2010) How Using Social Media Forced a Library to Work on the Edge in Their
Efforts to Move Youth From “Hanging Out” to “Messing Around,  Journal of Media Literacy Education 2:2 (2010) 181 – 184

In 2009, Mimi Ito released Hanging Out, Messing Around and Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media, a book composed of 23 related studies. These ethnographic studies interrogated how learning is being experienced by teens via informal uses of digital media. The title refers to the framework around how youth learn through digital media and networked spaces, a kind of learning that is quite often invisible to adults who often confuse it with playing, wasting time or, at worst, as undermining youth’s ethical values and social competencies. This collection of studies, however, finds that these three different modes of participation with digital media, in fact, support the development of a wide range of new media literacies. This is the challenge offered by Ito and the one recently taken up by the New York Public Library. This worked example is not designed to report the successes or failure of this pilot project. Rather, it is intended to explore and take a critical look at the obstacles encountered along the way and discuss how they were negotiated. Finally, it will leverage Ito’s framework to provide context to understand what it means to use digital media for learning and how to apply these lessons learned, both for this organization and others.

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Can engaging students in digital image tagging help them with information literacy?

Zorana Ercegovac (2012) Digital Image Tagging: A Case Study with Seventh Grade Students, School Libraries Worldwide, Volume 18, Number 1, January 2012

Results of this exploratory study suggested engaging students in digital image tagging can have analytical and educational importance. The study was designed to gauge middle school students’capacities to describe digital images from two digital libraries that they used in an information literacy activity. When describing the image attributes, students (N=81) freely chose single words and multiword phrases to describe the interpretations, feelings, and questions evoked by the images. These descriptors were used to derive conceptual categories for the seventeen digital images. Results demonstrated that students acknowledged the responsibility of indexers to choose index terms for objects in collections that enable identification, organization and retrieval. The study sheds light on the potential to improve age-appropriate access to images by means of offering a multi-tiered approach to image representation. It also introduces a transparent approach to teaching information literacy concepts through creative thinking about the meaning of resources and their relationship in a broader information cycle context.

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Quantitative vs. qualitative – do different research methods give consistent information about Library users and their space needs?

Susan E. Montgomery  (2011) Quantitative vs. qualitative – do different research methods give us consistent information about our users and their library space needs? Library and Information Research Volume 35 Number 111 2011

Assessment of how library patrons use space and the evaluation of their needs has become a “hot” topic in library research. But determining the best way to obtain information about their activity can be a challenge. Two types of data collection are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data provides a numerical count of what activities students perform within the library and therefore can be measured. Qualitative data gives personal opinions, feedback and individual perspectives regarding a topic but is not measurable. In this study, we were interested to learn if we would get substantially different results from a user observation study, a quantitative method, than from the results of asking users about their library space needs, a qualitative method. Essentially, would the results from both methods provide complementary results enabling us to obtain a comprehensive picture about our patrons’ needs and redesign the space to improve their library experience?

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How can Library Media specialists be leaders in Professional Learning Communities?

Leslie E. Brantley (2011) The Leadership Role of the Library Media Specialist in a Professional Learning Community, a research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Library Science and Information Services in the Department of Educational Leadership and Human Development University of Central Missouri

The Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept has been adopted by school districts as a model for professional development. A PLC requires strong leadership to function. The library media specialist is a natural servant-leader in school districts. The problem under study is what leadership role does the library media specialist play in a PLC? This is a review of the literature of PLC leadership and the role of the library media specialist in the PLC. The research demonstrates how the library media specialist fulfills a servant-leadership role in the daily structure of the school. The adoption of the PLC concept provides an opportunity to elevate the servant-leadership role of the library media specialist through collaboration, instructional leadership, and in the creation of a learning commons.

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How information literate are the Google generation entering university?

Fiona Salisbury, Sharon Karasmanis (2011) Are they ready? Exploring student information literacy skills in the transition from secondary to tertiary education, Australian Academic & Research Libraries

How information literate are the Google generation, and what information literacy skills do they bring to university? For university libraries, understanding student prior knowledge provides a foundation on which to introduce appropriate learning activities during the first year. In 2009, in response to a new pedagogical model in health sciences, La Trobe University Library measured and analysed the entry-level information literacy skills of first year health science students. The data was gathered during the first week of semester and 1,029 responses were collected. This paper examines the results of the survey and its implications for programs that broaden and build on students’ existing knowledge base.

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Are blogs the way to go for innovative web 2.0 Libraries?

Hanne Westh Nicolajsen, Ada Scupola, Flemming Sørensen (2010) Open Innovation Using Blog, Proceedings of IRIS33 Seminar (2010)

This article discusses the potential of involving users in service innovation through social software in the form of a blog. After a theoretical discussion of user involvement, and in particular about the pros and cons of user involvement using social software, the article reports from a field experiment at a university library. In the experiment a blog was established in an attempt to collect innovation ideas from the library users. The experiment documents, that a blog may provide for very different types of input resulting in insight into user’s perception of the library services, critics, wishes, concrete ideas etc. Additionally the experiment sheds light on the challenges using a blog to involve users in service innovation.

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How can Google Docs support an Information Literacy Assessment Program?

Ma Lei Hsieh, Patricia H. Dawson (2010) A University’s Information Literacy Assessment Program Using Google Docs, Brick and Click Libraries: Proceedings of an Academic Library Symposium (10th, Maryville, Missouri, November 5, 2010)

The Rider University academic community has adopted information literacy (IL) as one of the core learning objectives for undergraduates. The IL objectives are based on the ACRL IL Competency Standards for Higher Education. The Moore Library developed an online survey to assess students’ skills on the first IL objective—identifying various resources. The survey was administered to students who attended information research instruction sessions in fall 2009. In spring 2010, a new survey was developed to assess students’ skills on the second IL objective—developing keyword strategies and accessing relevant information from the most appropriate resources. The surveys for the IL objectives collect rich data sets to inform the University community of the IL competency of students. The information is valuable for librarians and faculty in planning and incorporating IL into the curriculum of academic departments.

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What are possible pitfalls of the 2.0 movement for Libraries?

Tanja Merčun (2010) “Libraries in the Changing Online Environment “, In: A. Belan‐Simić & A. Horvat (Eds.), Slobodan pristup informacijama : 9. okrugli stol : zbornik radova. Zagreb : Hrvatsko knjižničarsko društvo (Izdanja Hrvatskoga knjižničarskog društva, 53), p. 69‐81.

In the last few years, libraries have been faced with a rapidly changing online environment that offered users a number of engaging and competitive services. This, together with the fact that more and more users are moving and interacting online, has forced libraries to start thinking about their role and presence in this virtual world. Although applying the Web 2.0 concepts has been repeatedly proposed as a solution for many of the libraries’ problems, it now seems that it may not be enough. We will look at the advantages and possible pitfalls of the 2.0 movement and ask ourselves of the future prospects it may offer in the context of virtual library environment. We will also discuss on what the 2.0 and future movements really mean for libraries and librarians and how the new concepts have been accepted and employed in Slovenia.

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Can the move to a Digital Library be Informed by the Technology Acceptance Model?

Jade Miller, Otto Khera (2010) “Digital Library Adoption and the Technology Acceptance Model: A cross-country analysis”, EJISDC (2010) 40, 6, 1-19

In this article, we examine, through the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), some of the features that inform user acceptance of a digital library system implementation at agricultural universities in two developing countries: Kenya and Peru. This is a study not only examining factors contributing to adoption of this offline digital library, but also a cross-site comparison, meant to examine the functionality in the developing world of a theoretical model developed in and based on conditions in the developed world. As we unravel predictors of technological acceptance of a digital library implementation in the developing world, we simultaneously investigate a broader question: not just questions regarding improved research in the developing world, but on it as well.

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How is ICT Changing Libraries in Nigeria?

Speirs, M. (2010) “The Development of Information and Communication Technologies in Nigerian Libraries”, e-prints in library & information science

The development and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in the libraries of Nigeria has been a slowly emerging process involving many successes and failures over the past decades. This chapter examines the history of this process while reviewing the challenges to this development that many libraries face because of inadequate infrastructure, and budgeted funding, as well as a lack of leadership and training for capacity building. Strategies for the way forward towards the effective and sustainable inclusion of technology in Nigerian libraries are suggested.

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How can library resources be embedded into learning management systems?

Emily Daly (2010) “Embedding library resources into learning management systems: A way to reach Duke undergrads at their points of need”, College Research Libraries News (2010), Volume: 71, Issue: 4, Pages: 208-212

The article describes the effort of the library management at Duke University to make the university’s library easily accessible to students. Four librarians started to work in 2007 to add Library Links to Blackboard course sites, which received positive feedback from both faculty and students. The Subject Portals Task Force was created to create a more user-friendly template for the Libraries’ subject guides. Then, they decided to automate the inclusion of Library Guides. The author reveals that majority of students find the automatically and manually linked Library Guides to be useful to their research.

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Can Blogs and other Web 2.0 tools Enhance Cataloging?

Sherab Chen, (2009) “Can Blogging Help Cataloging?: Using a Blog and Other Web 2.0 Tools to Enhance Cataloging Section Activities”, Library Resources Technical Services (2009) Volume: 53, Issue: 4, Pages: 251-260

In response to the ongoing conversation about Library 2.0, which has focused on user participation and emphasizes efficiency in delivering library services to users, this paper draws attention to a practical application in technical services: using Web 2.0 tools to enhance performance in the cataloging department. From his position as the coordinator for non-Roman cataloging in a large academic library, the author shares his experience using a blog and other Web 2.0 tools to improve section management and professional activities.

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How can we deal with Plagiarism in a Complex Information Society?

Debbie Wheeler, David Anderson, (2010) Dealing with plagiarism in a complex information society, Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Vol. 3 Iss: 3, pp.166 – 177

Academic integrity is not something innate, it is something that needs to be learned. Efforts to deal with plagiarism must be systematic, equitable, process-oriented and pervasive at all institutional levels otherwise there is a risk that punitive measures may seem unpredictable, and so will not send a clear message to stakeholders. If this is the case, students are even less likely to appreciate the centrality of academic integrity in the educational context.

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How do librarians view innovation in academic libraries?

Ronald C. Jantz (2012) Innovation in academic libraries: An analysis of university librarians’ perspectives, Library & Information Science Research 34 (2012) 3–12

Through a series of structured interviews, university librarians at six institutions provided their perspectives on innovation in academic libraries. The literature on leadership styles and organizational change provides insight into the roles of these leaders in the innovation process. Leadership was cited by many researchers as being a critical factor for organizations to innovate. University librarians revealed a commitment to innovation, some distinctively nontraditional innovations, and a concern for how to encourage risk-taking behavior. Further insight into the innovation process was sought by interpreting the interview data within a larger theoretical context. Although leadership and management can foster innovation in a library, researchers have reported other factors that can influence the ability to innovate, including organizational aspects – size and complexity – and environmental factors. Beyond the organizational aspects, the individual and the norms of the profession appear to create a framework with certain boundaries, some of which may impact the ability to innovate.

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What are the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism?

Rebecca Bartlett, Biddy Casselden (2011) An investigation into the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism of HE students, Library and Information Research Volume 35 Number 110 2011

This research paper aims to report an investigation into the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism of higher education students in the United Kingdom (UK), particularly with regard to how they define Internet plagiarism, their perceived role in combating this phenomenon, and the skills and techniques they have or will adopt to achieve this.

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What are the strengths of digital library education programs?

Elena Macevičiūte (2011) Education for digital libraries: library management perspective, Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS), University of Borås

The paper examines three Master’s programmes in digital libraries: Digital Library Learning (Oslo University College, Tallinn University, and University of Parma), Digital Library and Information Services, and Digital services – culture, information and communication (Swedish School of Library and Information Science). The author uses her direct experience of developing one of the programmes, collaborating with another and evaluating the third, for comparison of their conceptual basis, goals, curricula, students admission and study process, teachers experience, and several aspects of the students’ satisfaction. The author concludes that all three programmes build their programmes on the notion of change management, either through innovation, organizational change or project implementation. This perspective cultivated in library management for several decades since introduction of computer technology into libraries unites all three programmes on the common foundation of library management.

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Do Libraries need to move to fully mobile websites?

Bridges, Laurie; Rempel, Hannah Gascho; Griggs, Kimberly (2010) Making the case for a fully mobile library web site: from floor maps to the catalog, Reference Services Review, Volume 38, Number 2, 2010 , pp. 309-320(12)

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of worldwide mobile usage; mobile technologies; libraries’ use of mobile technologies including a review of library mobile catalog options, both vendor-suplied and in-house created; perspectives from current library leaders and innovators on the importance of incorporating the libraries’ resources into the mobile environment; and future directions for mobile library services. The paper presents a useful source of information for both libraries wishing to create a proposal for a mobile library site, and for libraries that simply want an overview of the current state of mobile use and technologies.

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How can Libraries use iPads to survey students?

Jennifer Link Jones, Bryan Sinclair (2011) Assessment on the Go: Surveying Students With an iPad, Library Innovation Volume 2, Issue 2, 2011

Ongoing assessment in academic libraries, particularly the measurement of student perceptions, preferences, and satisfaction, can be a challenge to schedule and execute. This paper describes a pilot project at Georgia State University Library that combined assessment with the portability of the tablet computer. A tablet computer–in this case, Apple’s iPad–loaded with survey software became a digital clipboard with the added benefit of automatic data compilation. Subjects were surveyed quickly in the library buildings, maximizing convenience for both subjects and researchers alike. The result was a model that other libraries, as well as campus student services divisions and classroom instructors, can easily adopt. Methodology, benefits, lessons learned, and ideas for future projects are discussed.

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How can Librarians prepare for mobile technology?

Angela Dresselhaus and Flora Shrode (2012) “Mobile Technologies & Academics: Do Students Use Mobile Technology in their Academic Lives and are Librarians Ready to Meet this New Challenge?” Information Technology and Libraries Forthcoming (2012)

In this paper we report on two surveys and offer an introductory plan that librarians may use to begin implementing mobile access to selected library databases and services. Results from the first survey helped us to gain insight into where students at Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah stands regarding their use of mobile devices for academic activities in general and their desire for access to library services and resources in particular. A second survey that we conducted with librarians gave us an idea of the extent to which responding libraries offer mobile access, their future plans for mobile implementation, and librarians’ opinions about whether and how mobile technologies may be useful to library patrons. In the last segment of the paper, we outline steps librarians can take as they “go mobile.”

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How can School Librarians be Technology Integration Leaders?

Melissa P. Johnston (2011) School Librarians as Technology Integration Leaders: Enablers and Barriers To Leadership Enactment, Florida State University, A dissertation submitted to the School of Library & Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2011

The highly technological environment of 21st century schools has significantly redefined the role of school librarians by presenting the opportunity to assume leadership through technology integration. School librarians are continually directed to evolve as leaders in order to address the needs of today’s learners and ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. The purpose of this study is to identify the enablers and barriers that accomplished practicing school librarians, or those who are National Board Certified, experience in relation to crafting a leadership role in technology integration.

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How should Libraries prepare for eBooks and mobile devices?

Mandy Callow and Kaye England (2011)  Preparing your library for mobile devices m-libraries Conference, 11 – 13 May, 2011

This paper had its beginnings in a discussion at the USQ Library about the necessity, or not, to provide information on the Library‟s website about how eBooks can or cannot be used on mobile devices, specifically eBook readers. Varying sides in the discussion had differing opinions about our students‟, and staff, abilities in using mobile devices and eBooks. The systems team, who were involved in the development of a mobile Library interface, and were themselves proficient users of technology, felt that students and staff needed no instruction, whilst Information Services staff felt that they did.

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How can Information Literacy be assessed?

Megan Oakleaf (2008) Dangers and Opportunities: A Conceptual Map of Information Literacy Assessment Approaches, Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 8, No. 3 (2008), pp. 233–253.

The culture of assessment in higher education requires academic librarians to demonstrate the impact of information literacy instruction on student learning. As a result, many librarians seek to gain knowledge about the information literacy assessment approaches available to them. This article identifies three major assessment approaches: (1) fixed-choice tests, (2) performance assessments, and (3) rubrics. It maps the theoretical and educational assumptions on which these options are grounded and charts the dangers and opportunities of each assessment approach.

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Why is it more difficult for students to conduct research in the digital age?

Head, A.J. & Eisenberg, M.B. (2009). Finding context: What today’s college students say about conducting research in the digital age, Project Information Literacy Progress Report, February 2009

So far, we have found that no matter where students are enrolled, no matter what information resources they may have at their disposal, and no matter how much time they have, the abundance of information technology and the proliferation of digital information resources make conducting research uniquely paradoxical: Research seems to be far more difficult to conduct in the digital age than it did in previous times. In this progress report we share some of the perceptions that led to this conclusion and several of the trends in problem-solving strategies that have emerged. The findings and analysis presented here should not be viewed as complete, but rather as part of our ongoing research that will be explored further and tested more rigorously.

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Is there an international framework to measure Information Literacy?

Catts, Ralph; Lau, Jesus (2008) Towards information literacy indicators, UNESCO 2008

UNESCO, through its Information for All Programme (IFAP), decided to engage in the development of an international framework for measuring information literacy in order to demonstrate achievements at both international and national levels, and to better focus future efforts. A considerable effort has already been invested by many international organizations in “measuring the information society”. IFAP’s goal is not to replicate their work but to identify additional indicators to measure the development of knowledge societies and then to collaborate with organizations currently engaged in measurement activities in order to develop a coherent set of indicators. This paper provides a conceptual framework for the identification of indicators of information literacy (IL) and proposes a pathway for cost effective and timely development. It includes a definition of IL; a model that links information literacy with other adult competencies, including information and communication technology (ICT) skills; and a description of IL standards in education. Issues of IL equality and the implications of cultural diversity are also identified.

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To be truly effective, should Information Literacy (IL) and Media Literacy (ML) be pursued as complementary concepts?

Nieves Gonz ́alez Fernandez-Villavicencio (2010) Helping students become literate in a digital, networking-based society: A literature review and discussion, The International Information & Library Review (2010) 42, 124e136

Without necessarily taking sides in the debate, although expressing a preference for complementarity, the author contends that it is absolutely essential that all persons (not just students) learn to become both Information Literate and Media Literate in this digital world in which we now find ourselves. Additionally, the author contends that Web 2.0 and Social Networking tools, such as Facebook, Tuenti (in Spanish context), MySpace and Twitter, including the rich portfolio of applications they encompass, can substantially assist people in achieving that goal. The author presents a number of case examples to support her thesis, drawn largely from Spanish libraries and Spanish educational institutions that already are using Web 2.0 and Social Networking tools extensively to train people to become digitally competent.

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How do high-school students use information literacy skills to find and evaluate scientific information?

Heidi Julien , Susan Barker (2009) How high-school students find and evaluate scientific information: A basis for information literacy skills development, Library & Information Science Research

This study examined the relationship between curricula in secondary-level science classrooms, which support development of information literacy skills, and actual student skills. A vast body of research reflects deep concern with the level of information literacy skill development among secondary and post-secondary students. But even when educational curricula mandate skill development, many students are unable to demonstrate sophisticated information searching and critical evaluation skills. The findings of this study, which we based on analyzing information seeking tasks and conducting interviews with students in three biology classes in a large urban high school, demonstrated a similar lack of skills. Pressure on teachers to “teach to examinations”—that is, to focus on substantive content rather than on information literacy skills and information literacy skills deficits among teachers themselves—is a possible explanation for these results. The study is of particular interest to teachers of the curriculum applicable in the study context, but the broader implications of repeated indications of gaps in students’ information literacy skills are a significant indicator that schools must assume a larger responsibility for information literacy instruction. Leaving skill development to the post-secondary environment will not ensure that citizens are sufficiently skilled to participate fully in 21st century life, in workplaces or in their personal life contexts.

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What does a flexible multi-layered approach to information literacy look like?

Sophie McDonald, Jemima McDonald (2011) Information Literacy For Ubiquitous Learning,  in Information Online 2011 ALIA 15th Conference and Exhibition, 1-3 Feb 2011 

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) Library is developing a new approach to delivering information literacy (IL). This paper will discuss the 2010 UTS Library Fun Day and the strategic use of informal information literacy activities such as games, trivia and treasure hunts incorporating the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These give new and ‘old’ clients an opportunity to explore the Library and get involved with our dynamic new learning environment. The paper will also provide insight into how we are supporting researchers across the research life cycle, embedding ourselves in faculties and using Web 2.0 technologies in training to equip twenty first-century researchers with effective IL skills.

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Why should Librarians be on Twitter?

Forrestal, Valerie(2011) ‘Making Twitter Work: A Guide for the Uninitiated, the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic’, The Reference Librarian, 52: 1, 146 — 151

This article highlights the advantages of librarians and libraries establishing a professional or institutional presence on Twitter. This basic introduction to the web service also discusses innovative ways to shape your Twitter account into a successful professional development, reference, and outreach resource.

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How do Search Engines Impact Literacy Learning?

Jann Carroll (2011) From Encyclopaedias to Search Engines: Technological Change and its Impact on Literacy Learning, Literacy Learning: the Middle Years, Volume 19, Number 2, June 2011

The concept of search engines opening up new worlds of information to our students is an exciting prospect, as long as we realise that the benefits are conditional and rest capriciously on a range of political, economic, technical and personnel related factors. It becomes, therefore, even more important that teachers of literacy equip students with online reading comprehension skills, critical thinking skills and continually provide opportunities for rich, varied and authentic literacy learning, to set students up for the successful future they deserve.

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How Can the Contextual Integrity Model of Privacy Be Applied to Personal Blogs?

Frances S. Grodzinsky and Herman T. Tavani (2010) Applying the “Contextual Integrity” Model of Privacy to Personal Blogs in the Blogosphere, International Journal of Internet Research Ethics Vol. 3 (12/2010)

In this paper, we analyze some controversial aspects of blogging and the blogosphere from the perspective of privacy. In particular, we focus on Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of privacy as “contextual integrity” and apply it to personal blogs, in general, and the case of the “Washingtonienne” blogger, in particular. We examine the question of whether personal blogs that are not password protected can be considered “normatively private contexts” according to Nissenbaum’s principles of privacy. We argue that they cannot. Using Nissenbaum’s original model, we conclude that privacy expectations for those who disclose personal information in such blogs are unrealistic. We also suggest that Nissenbaum’s expanded theory (see Nissenbaum, 2010) can inform the contemporary debate about privacy and blogging in a wide variety of newer technological contexts, in addition to personal blogs, and we encourage researchers to apply Nissenbaum’s model in those contexts.

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How can blogs help Librarians prepare for a Web 2.0 World?

Joanne de Groot, Jennifer Branch (2009) “LEARNING TO SPEAK WEB 2.0”: TEACHER-LIBRARIANS PLAYING WITH 21ST CENTURY TECHNOLOGIES, Asia-Pacific Conference on Library & Information Education & Practice, 2009

This paper presents the initial findings of a study that looked at students’ experiences with and reactions to learning about Web 2.0 tools. The research questions guiding this study were: How effective is a graduate-level course in helping teachers and teacher-librarians learn about and integrate new Web 2.0 technologies? And, What are the knowledge, skills, and attributes that these teachers and teacher-librarians develop as a result of undertaking this inquiry? Participants were students enrolled in a graduate-level technology course offered through the Teacher- Librarianship by Distance Learning program at the University of Alberta. The major assignment for the course was an inquiry on Web 2.0 and students were required to write blog posts as they explored 10 new tools. The major source of data for this paper came from the first blog posts, which were analyzed and then categorized into four main themes: feelings, experiences, design of the blog, and challenges. Although this paper only reports on the initial stages of the study, early analysis of all the data indicates that this course has been a great success in helping teachers and teacher-librarians learn about and integrate new Web 2.0 technologies into their personal and professional lives.

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How can Informed Learning and Informed Learners by supported?

Bruce, Christine S., Hughes, Hilary E., & Somerville, Mary M. (2012) Supporting informed learners in the 21st century. Library Trends, 60(3). (In Press)

This paper elaborates the concept of informed learning and locates it in educational, workplace and community settings. Drawing from existing research into people’s experience of information literacy, it identifies critical experiences of informed learners in each of these three settings. It also explores the support required in educational, community and workplace contexts which makes informed learning possible. Recognising strong implications for policy makers in different sectors, the paper presents a set of guiding principles for developing informed learning and learners.

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Evidence-Based Practice for Libraries: Evolution or Revolution?

David V. Loertscher (2009) Evidence-Based Practice: Evolution or Revolution? Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2009, 4:2 

For some years, school library media specialists, like other educators, have been urged to raise their sights from the work-a-day world to the think-a-day world of reflective practice. The concepts of evidence-based practice and action research along with the general educational ideas of data mining, data-based decision making, diagnostic assessment, and a host of other terms encourage everyone to concentrate on results or the impact of actions and programs on teaching and learning. Perhaps the true EBP strategies must operate simultaneously in both an evolutionary manner and a revolutionary manner simultaneously

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Do school Libraries need to be flipped?

David Loertscher (2008) Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution, Not Evolution, School Library Journal

What has to happen for school libraries to become relevant? One of the biggest business battles of our time is between Microsoft and Google. The two have very different business models. Microsoft believes that if they build it, we will come—and buy their product. Google’s approach is different: if they build it, we will integrate it into our lives. We use Microsoft products on their terms, but we use Google products—from iGoogle to GoogleDocs—on our terms, to construct whatever we want. What does this have to do with school libraries? A lot. If we want to connect with the latest generation of learners and teachers, we have to totally redesign the library from the vantage point of our users—our thinking has to do a 180-degree flip. In short, it’s time for school libraries to become a lot less like Microsoft and a lot more like Google.  With this notion in mind, I collaborated with two of my colleagues, Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwaan, Canadian educational consultants, to develop an idea we’re calling the school library learning commons.

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How can Libraries develop strategies for phones, ipads and other mobile devices?

Munro, K., Stevenson, K., Stenson, R., Walker, W. and Fisher, C. (2011) Planning for the mobile library: a strategy for managing innovation and transformation at the University of Glasgow Library. Serials: the Journal for the Serials Community, 24 . S26-S31.

Modern mobile devices have powerful features that are transforming access to information. Lippincott1 argues that as mobile devices such as smartphones become ‘key information devices’ for our users, libraries will want to have a significant presence in offering content and services that are suitable for this medium. This article outlines the process of development and implementation of a mobile strategy at the University of Glasgow Library. The most popular devices our users had were smartphones such as the iPhone, BlackBerry and those with the Android operating system, and also the iPad. What began as an investigation into a mobile interface to the library catalogue evolved into a comprehensive strategic review of how we deliver services now and in the future in this rapidly changing mobile environment.

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Should Information Literacy be reframed as a Metaliteracy?

Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson (2011) Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy, College & Research Librairies vol. 72 no. 1 62-78

Social media environments and online communities are innovative collaborative technologies that challenge traditional definitions of information literacy. Metaliteracy is an overarching and self-referential framework that integrates emerging technologies and unifies multiple literacy types. This redefinition of information literacy expands the scope of generally understood information competencies and places a particular emphasis on producing and sharing information in participatory digital environments.

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What skills do students, teachers, and librarians need to build media literacy?

Jennifer M. Henson (2011) Media Literacy, Department of Educational Leadership and Human Development University of Central Missouri

An important aspect of application of media literacy for teaching and learning is for teachers to step back, support, and encourage students to be inventive and creative with such tools. Beginning media literacy education in early childhood and including parents is critical, as parents are their teachers at home. Young children are exposed to media literacy though television commercials, hand held games, the Internet, and even movies. Parents are the fist people to explain to children what they see, hear, and understand from these different types of media. An important aspect of application of media literacy for teaching and learning is for teachers to step back, support, and encourage students to be inventive and creative with such tools. Teachers should be knowledgeable in media literacy skills and how to integrate them into the curriculum. The librarian has a key role in supporting the integration of media literacy into the curriculum. School librarians partnering with other educators to identify and teach the media literacy will enable students to be effective digital learners.

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How can information literacy impact social capital?

Stuart Ferguson (2010) Social capital, lifelong learning, information literacy and the role of libraries, ANZCA Conference

The role of libraries in lifelong learning is examined, with specific reference to information literacy. The paper discusses the concept of social capital and the significance of lifelong learning to theories of social capital, which address issues of democratic health and civic participation, as distinct from economic issues such as the need to reskill the workforce. It argues that information literacy is a strong component of the learning process and that, if lifelong learning is to be fostered, so too must information literacy, which is part of the mission of many libraries, especially in the educational sector. The paper examines some of the most relevant issues facing libraries, such as the increasing reliance of many clients on Google, the relative lack of information literacy skills, even among younger clients with strong digital literacies, and the uptake of Web 2.0 for information literacy instruction. It concludes with a discussion of areas of research, such as evaluation of information literacy programs and questions about the transferability of information literacy skills from one context to another.

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How can blogs be used to develop students’ Information Literacy?

Christopher Chan, Dianne Cmor (2009) Blogging toward Information Literacy: Engaging Students and Facilitating Peer Learning, Reference Services Review (2009) Volume: 37, Issue: 4, Pages: 395-407

The purpose of this paper is to describe how a course-integrated blog is used to facilitate the learning of information literacy skills. It also reports on how the effectiveness of the blog is evaluated.  The blog is made the centerpiece of library support offered to a first-year politics course. With the support of the faculty member involved, students are required to post answers to weekly library research skills questions posted to the blog. The quality of student responses is examined using a simple assessment rubric. Also, a survey is administered to students to determine perceived usefulness. Findings The evaluation of blog posts shows that the quality of answers is generally very good. Students put effort into their responses and most give accurate and thorough answers. The results of the survey indicate that most students feel the blog is useful to their learning, both in terms of general information skills, and in terms of helping research the term paper for the course. These results reflect just one course at a single university, therefore it is not possible to use the findings to make generalizations. The study could serve as a starting point for further inquiry into the evaluation of blogs as a support tool. While others have reported on using blogs in a similar manner, this study also attempts a thorough evaluation of the efficacy of the blog in helping students learn. Given the positive results of this evaluation, librarians could consider using blogs and other Web 2.0 tools to engage students in their own learning.

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What lies behind the rather different yet now converging approaches of Media Literacy and Information Literacy?

Sonia Livingstone, Elizabeth Van Couvering, and Nancy Thumim (2008) Converging Traditions of Research on Media and Information Literacies: Disciplinary, Critical and Methodological Issues, Department of Media and Communications London School of Economics and Political Science.

As broadcast, audiovisual, and print media converge with telecommunications, computing, and information systems, research on media literacy and information literacy could hardly remain separate. Indeed, despite their contrasting disciplinary backgrounds, theories, and methods, these research traditions have an increasingly similar object of inquiry: the public’s understanding of and effective engagement with media, information and communication technologies of all kinds. We advocate a converged or at least dialogical concept of media and information “literacies”, arguing that each tradition has much to learn from the other, although we accept that some differences must remain. Our focus is on two dominant approaches, media literacy and information literacy. What can each tradition learn from the other? Are they compatible? What methods and directions should be prioritized? In what follows, we compare these approaches in terms of definitions, origins, focus, methods, findings and purposes, our aim being to sketch the agenda for research on these converging literacies.

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What is the best way to Authentically Assess an Information Literacy Program?

Karen R Diller, Sue F Phelps (2008) Learning Outcomes, Portfolios, and Rubrics, Oh My! Authentic Assessment of an Information Literacy Program, portal Libraries and the Academy (2008) Volume: 8, Issue: 1, Publisher: John Hopkins University Press Journals Division,Pages: 75-89

Librarians at Washington State University Vancouver helped the campus develop a method of assessing its General Education Program, a program based on university learning goals, one of which is information literacy. The assessment method, which relies on an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) along with rubrics to evaluate work in the ePortfolio, enables the librarians to evaluate their information literacy program based on ACRL best practices guidelines, authentic assessment techniques, and the tenets of phenomenography. This paper will describe the library’s use of this assessment method, while looking at the advantages and disadvantages of this process for assessment.

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Do students need Information Literacy skills when they have Google?

Karl Kingsley, Gillian M Galbraith, Matthew Herring, Eva Stowers, Tanis Stewart, Karla V Kingsley (2011) Why not just Google it? An assessment of information literacy skills in a biomedical science curriculum, BMC Medical Education, Volume: 11, Issue: 1, Publisher: BioMed Central, Pages: 17

The emerging networked technologies comprising the participatory Web, also known as Web 2.0, have profoundly changed the way information is produced, distributed, and consumed. Wikis, blogs, pod casts, video sharing, social networking sites, and other online applications offer innumerable opportunities for user generated content (UGC) and information sharing through what has been called an “architecture of participation”. Although these new participatory technologies provide rich opportunities for information sharing, they also pose new challenges for information seekers. Torrents of unfiltered information are uploaded to, and downloaded from, the Internet every day. In addition, users generate, remix, repurpose, store, and then share this digital information. As a result, Web users must continually balance the need for easy to find, readily available, reliable information and to avoid questionable, inaccurate, incomplete or deceptive online information.

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Why do we need to move towards a Transformative Pedagogy for School Libraries 2.0?

Marlene Asselin,  Ray Doiron (2008) Towards a Transformative Pedagogy for School Libraries 2.0, School Libraries Worldwide – Volume 14, Number 2, July 2008, 1‐18

Today’s students are no longer the people our education system was designed to teach. (Prensky, 2001). As more and more educators face the impact of Web 2.0, and as we see emerging what could be called a Learning 2.0 environment, it becomes urgent to extend teaching to meet the literacy and learning needs of the Net Generation. These ‘new’ learners and their expanding literacy needs have major implications for current models of school library programs which are largely focused on reading promotion and information literacy skills. We join others in recognizing the need to critically question long held tenets of school libraries and to create a new research‐based vision that will accord with the current economic and social directions driving educational change. This paper contributes to that process by proposing a framework for the work of school libraries in new times based on research in new literacies, today’s learners, and emerging concepts of knowledge.

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How can librarians use audience response technology to teach academic integrity

Christine Bombaro (2007) Using audience response technology to teach academic integrity, Reference Services Review Vol. 35 No. 2, 2007 pp. 296-309

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore the successes and challenges associated with teaching first-year students a session on plagiarism avoidance through the use of an audience response system. Design/methodology/approach – An audience response system was used to test first-year students’ knowledge of plagiarism. Quiz questions about academic honesty and plagiarism were administered, and were answered anonymously with hand-held remote control devices. The reporting feature of the technology was used to gather results of the answers to these questions, which will be used to improve the session in future years. Findings – Data gathered from the sessions indicated that this session helped students retain knowledge of plagiarism rules. Comments solicited about the session indicated that the students enjoyed the lesson, that they were better able to recognize problem areas in their own writing, and that the interactivity kept them focused on the lesson. Research limitations/implications – The session will have to be repeated over a number of years to determine whether there is a link between it and the number of plagiarism incidents on campus. Practical implications – This paper provides a practical and relatively inexpensive approach for teaching academic integrity to large groups of students.

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Is it possible to develop Information Literacy without Technological Competencies?

Sharkey Jennifer, Brandt D Scott (2008) Digital Literacy Tools and Methodologies for Information Society, Publisher: IGI Global

Sharkey and Brandt start on the analysis from the traditional difference between Technology and Information Literacy. The first one seems to be wider, referring to general skills in acting with and through technology; the second one, on the contrary, is more focused on computer, Internet, and the other digital devices. According to the authors, in the so called Information Age, it is necessary to develop both of these literacies. In fact, most of the technological skills are involved with information and, on the contrary, it seems really impossible to develop informational skills without technological competencies. The result of the mediation between them is an integrated solution of Technology and Information Literacy; this could be considered as the condition starting from which to imagine the space and the role of what in this book is named: Digital Literacy.

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How do teachers understand and develop information literacy skills?

Elizabeth Probert (2009) Information literacy skills: Teacher understandings and practice, Computers & Education 53 (2009) 24–33

This article reports on a project, involving three New Zealand schools, which investigated teachers’ understanding of information literacy and their associated classroom practices. Recently published work, while lamenting school students’ lack of information literacy skills, including working with online resources, provides little research investigating classroom teachers’ knowledge of information literacy skills and their related pedagogical practice. The findings of this project indicate that while some of the teachers in this project had a reasonably good understanding of the concept of information literacy, very few reported developing their students’ information literacy skills.

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How are librarians involved in guided inquiry?

Carol Collier Kuhlthau (2010) Guided Inquiry: School Libraries in the 21st Century, School Libraries Worldwide, January 2010, Volume 16, Number 1, 17-28

The 21st century calls for new skills, knowledge and ways of learning to prepare students with abilities and competencies to address the challenges of an uncertain, changing world. Some think that an Internet connection in the classroom is all that is needed to transform a 20th century school into a 21st century learning space. If only it were that simple. Some have assumed that the Internet makes school libraries obsolete. Research shows that this is definitely not the case. A new way of learning is needed that prepares students for living and working in a complex information environment. Our research shows that school libraries are an essential component of information age schools. School librarians are vital partners in creating schools that enable students to learn through vast resources and multiple communication channels. Teachers cannot do this alone. School librarianship has evolved from emphasis on library skills to information skills in the 1980s, to information literacy in the 1990s, to inquiry as a way of learning in the first decade of the 21st century.

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Can phenomenography be a conceptual framework for information literacy in education?

Susie Andretta (2007) Phenomenography: a conceptual framework for information literacy education, ASLIB Proceedings (2007) Volume: 59, Issue: 2

By exploring learning from the learners point of view, and by focusing on the relationship between user/learner and information, the relational model proposes an holistic evaluation of learning exemplified by the qualitative changes in the way a person conceives and interacts with the world, rather than the testing of the amount of knowledge, or measuring the set of skills a learner acquires. The relational model promoted by Bruce et al. (2006), explores the dynamic relationship between learner and information within the context of information literacy, although the conceptual framework of the six frames of information literacy could be applied to any subject-specific scenario. This perspective necessarily calls for a shift of emphasis in Higher Education provision away from a learning what approach and towards a learning how attitude. To facilitate this shift Bruce et al. (2006) suggest that the relational model can be used to moderate other approaches to information literacy, thus promoting a pedagogy based on variation of learning that fosters independent and lifelong learning attitudes.

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How does a Library laptop checkout program work?

Arthur Gutierrez, Terri Pedersen Summey (2011) The Wireless Library:  An Assessment of a Library Laptop Program, CULS Proceedings, Volume 1, 2011

Approximately five years ago, the library at Emporia State University started a laptop checkout program to provide laptops for students and faculty members to checkout and use while they are in the library.  The program has been highly successful with students often waiting in line to be able to check out a laptop.  In 2009, the library purchased eight Netbooks to see how they would be received by the individuals using the laptop checkout program.  With the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester, some modifications were made to the laptop checkout program including reducing the fines for late returns and extending the checkout period.  Because the program has been in place for some time, the librarians at the Emporia State University Libraries would like to assess the program by surveying the individuals that check out laptops from the library.  In this article, the authors will explore laptop programs in a variety of library settings, present details on the ESU Libraries Laptop Checkout program, discuss the survey results, present what the library faculty and staff have learned, and potential future modifications to the program.

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How is Information Literacy Integrated in Laptop Classrooms?

Mark Warschauer (2007) Information Literacy in the Laptop Classroom, Teachers College Record

Technological and economic changes have put a high premium on developing students information literacy and research skills. Previous attempts to deploy educational technology toward these ends have proved disappointing because K12 teachers have difficulty integrating shared computers into instruction. In response, numerous schools and districts have piloted one-to-one programs, in which each student has access to a laptop computer connected wirelessly to the Internet throughout the school day. Purpose/Objective: This paper analyzes the information literacy and research practice in a purposely stratified selection of 10 one-to-one laptop K12 schools in California and Maine. Research Design/Data Collection and Analysis: Sources of data in this multisite case study include observations, interviews, surveys, and teacher- and student-produced materials. Findings/Results: The study found that students in all the laptop schools learned to access information, manage it, and incorporate in into their written and multimedia products. However, the focus on evaluating information, understanding the social issues surround- ing it, and analyzing it for the purpose of knowledge production varied widely across schools. Some schools succeeded in promoting scholarly approaches to working with informa- tion, whereas other schools mostly limited themselves to teaching procedural functions of computer and Internet use. Examples of these differences are given through a comparison of three diverse schools in Maine. Conclusions/Recommendations: The study concludes that one-to-one wireless laptops offer important affordances for promoting information literacy and research skills but that socioe- conomic context, visions, values, and beliefs all play a critical role in shaping how laptop programs are implemented and what benefits are thus achieved.

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