Information literacy 1973-2002: a selected literature review - Bibliography

Library Trends, Fall, 2002 by Hannelore B. Rader

INFORMATION LITERACY AND HIGHER EDUCATION

The review of the literature indicates that the majority of the publications address information literacy in higher education. During the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, academic and school librarians developed the concept of information skills instruction from library orientation to library instruction to course-integrated user instruction. Librarians developed teaching materials, guides, teaching methods, library skills tests, Web-based tutorials and other online teaching modules. Although the information skills teaching units were often separate from the academic curriculum and not integrated into total instructional programs for students, librarians have continually tried to integrate the teaching of information skills modules into the curriculum.

Throughout this period librarians have worked diligently to form partnerships with faculty and teachers in teaching and learning, but success has often eluded them. In isolated instances, private liberal arts colleges were able to develop strong faculty-librarian partnerships for course-integrated information literacy instruction.

USER INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS

The literature indicates that school librarians and school media specialists have shared academic librarians' concern to teach students information skills from kindergarten through high school. Media specialists had to address situations similar to their academic colleagues but they have begun to be more successful in these endeavors in recent years. The emergence of "Information Power," a document outlining information skills needs and appropriate instruction for students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade, has had a major impact on information skills instruction in schools. State education agencies and school districts continue to mandate information skills instruction as part of the curriculum.

USER INSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES

As documented through the library literature, past user instruction in public libraries has been minimal. However, during the last decade, the infusion of information technology and the development of the Internet have created many needs and demands in the public libraries for information and technical skill instruction. New demands for information support related to distance education and information support for students from K-12 have been growing and public librarians have to address these new training needs.

USER INSTRUCTION IN SPECIAL LIBRARIES

Based on the published literature, special libraries in business environments tend to do very little instruction for their users because special library users expect to receive from their librarians information ready to use. Librarians in medical, law, and other professional libraries provide very specific and intense information skills instruction to their users as shown in the literature. Excellent course-integrated modules have been developed by these special librarians to aid their library users in learning necessary information skills.

INFORMATION SKILLS TRAINING IN THE WORKPLACE

In this new century it is becoming apparent that most employees in the workforce have to deal with both a constantly increasing volume of information and constantly changing technology. To be successful in the information-rich work environment, employees need continual training and development related to information literacy. Employers are beginning to realize that new information skills training is necessary for their workers and librarians could become leaders in this endeavor.

ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION LITERACY

During the past three decades the evaluation of user instruction outcomes was minimal. During the first two decades, measurement concerns related to how librarians performed as teachers, and what the students gained from the instruction in terms of finding information, compiling good bibliographies and using appropriate references in term papers. During the last decade there has been more concern with evaluating student learning outcomes and students' research products as well as students' acquisition of information skills, which will enable them perform productively in the work environment.

THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Although, during the first two decades reviewed, many of the publications are in the English language, they include publications from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries where articles and books were published in English. These countries shared the concerns of librarians in the United States regarding information skills instructions and many noteworthy programs are in existence in many of these countries. It is interesting to note that, in the formerly Eastern bloc countries, such as Russia and East Germany, the teaching of library skills was required. This has also been the case in China. During the last decade the interest in and concern with teaching of information skills has truly become an international concern. This can be seen in terms of publications and national conferences held on the topic of information literacy.