A world of contrasts: information literacy in the digital world

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A world of contrasts information literacy in
the digital world
Lynne Brindley, Chief ExecutiveThe British
LibraryLILAC Conference, 29 March 2006
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Introduction and structure of talk

• The digital information context
• The Millenial Generation
• A world of contrasts the spectrum explored
• Implications for IL
• A new agenda beyond IL

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Digital information context
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Plenty more to come.

• Desktop search
• Wikis and blogs
• Information architecture
• Folksonomies
• Social Networks and bookmarks
• Mash-ups

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The Millenial generation b 1982 -2002

• Socially Disconnected
• Assume technology is part of their natural
  environment
• Inhabit the digital world for all aspects of
  life
• Think theyre better at the internet than their
  teachers
• Classroom technologies not as good as games.

• Digital Disappointment
• Think analogue is static and dull
• Gaps in critical thinking and research skills
• Poorly versed in technology tools or Web
  resources needed for academic work
• Ill-acquainted with concepts of intellectual
  property, plagiarism.

• Digitally Connected
• Do rather than know
• Internet better than TV
• Zero tolerance for delays
• Multitasking way of life
• Blurred delineation between consumer and
  creator.

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Reconnecting with our heritage
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The spectrum exploreda world of contrasts
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Requirements for a knowledge society
KNOWLEDGE SOCIETIES
Universal Access
Freedom of expression
Quality education
Culture diversity
Pluralism
Human needs and rights
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Framework for IL in UK today
Expert Proficient Competent Advanced
Novice
Beginner
INFORMATION LITERACY
Distinguish ways of addressing gap
Recognise information need
Construct strategies for locating
Locate and access
Compare and evaluate
Organise, apply and communicate
Synthesise and create
Basic literary skills
IT skills
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A New Agenda beyond IL

• Wider significance
• Digital divide
• New themes

IL advocacy and redefinition

• Integrity, unbiased, authentic
• Evaluation of sources, kitemarking
• Stay close to users
• Advertising and marketing

Promoting and redefining the quality library brand

• Economics
• Information creation
• IRs for digital asset management
• Discipline characteristics

Addressing the changing nature of scholarly
communications
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A New Agenda beyond IL

• Public interest test
• Supporting creativity
• Respecting rights
• Plagiarism

Operating at the fulcrum of the IP debate

• Not teachers but enablers
• Reconnect digital natives with digital
  immigrants
• Working together for a social justice agenda
• We must lead the charge

New role for LIS professionals

• Students upskill professors
• Active participants in e-learning design

Are the students the teachers?
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Information professionals for an information
world

• Open up our libraries and our skills
• Reposition ourselves with our students and on a
  wider, even political, stage
• We are fluent in the language of the new world
  and the skills of the old
• We know the value of information is measured in
  its quality, not its quantity
• We must get out there and lead