INFORMATION COMPETENCIES:

A BRIDGE TO NARROW THE NORTH-SOUTH KNOWLEDGE GAPS 

 

Mortenson Distinguished LectureMortenson Center for International Library Programs

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,Urbana, Illinois, USA, September 23, 2003

www.library.uiuc.edu/mortenson 

Jesús Lau, Ph.D.Director, USBI Veracruz Library, and UV Virtual Library Coordinator

Veracruz, Méxicojlau@uv.mx / jlau@uacj.mx

Personal: http://bivir.uacj.mx/lauInstitutional: www.uv.mx

Topics

The North-South knowledge gaps Southern socio-economic development Information literacy challenges Indicators of information growth The role of education and pedagogy in

information literacy

Decision Making - Information Cancun, the sunny beach resort World Trade Organization, 5th. Ministers Meeting / 2003 Information is needed for

Negotiation Planning

International negotiations have a great impact on local economies

Agriculture is a trade battle arena between developed and developing economies

International negotiations cannot be based on just good will Leaders require information about decision alternatives

International Trade Competition

The world is not a charity planet, it is a highly competitive place

International trade competition is fierce Developing countries require information

intelligence Southern leaders seldom come to a negotiating table

with background information Their information competencies tend to be limited

Leaders Need Information Competencies

Governments need to know about: Competitors and potential allies New goods and products entering to the world market New technologies New entrants to the economy

Information/knowledge is essential to compete Maquila industry is moving to China China has taken 15 years to become a world industrial

power, but Mexico did not notice it until now

Information Competencies

Socio-Economic and political development is best advanced by people who recognize their need for information, and identify, locate, access, evaluate and apply the needed information.

North – South

World Social Stratas

Poor

Very poor

Middle class

Wealthy

Wealth/Poverty Connotations

1. Income Gross National Income per Capita

2. Basic needs Food Health Housing Education Employment

3. Capability Information competencies Research Management

Population 2002 (World Bank, 2002)

World 6,201,303Low income 2,495,033

Middle income 2,741,531

Low & middle income 5,236,564

High income 964,739

Developing Regions (World Bank, 2002)

East Asia & Pacific 1,823 900Europe & Central Asia 475 1,970Latin America & Caribbean 524 3,580

Middle East & North Africa 301 2,220South Asia 1378 450

Population GNP per Capita

Regions

2

Knowledge Gaps

Internet: A great Venue for Information

Internet is opening access to information Great amounts of resources are available Some information aggregators are giving

information away However, low use capacity limits information

benefits in Southern populations

Information Development in the Southern Hemisphere

Publishing is limited Scientific serials are just a few Nobel prizes are not from developing

countries Reference publications are also scarce

Information/Knowledge Chain

2. Packaging •Editor•Databases/electronic

media companies•Information aggregators

1. Production•Authors•Inventors•Researchers

4. Storage/Distribution•Bookstores•Libraries •Information services

3. Use/Demand•Researchers•Academics•Students•Companies

Researchers (Unesco, different years)

Country ResearchersAfrica 71,308America 71,308Asia 4,483,881Europe 1,892,307Oceania 60,066

Canada 80 510Japan 651,099

United States (12, 13)

962 700

Notes

15 Data for researchers refers to full-time equivalent. Data are from OECD

-12 Not including data for law, humanities and education

-13 Data refer to researchers only

Serials (ISSN, 2003)

Country ISSN RecordsAfrica 7,064

Asia 37,369

Europe 584,632

Latin América/Caribbean 27,842

Oceania 51,691

Canada 111,618

J apan 30,947

United States 161,031

National Libraries / Collections (Unesco, different years)

General note

For general explanations and definitions, please

refer to the beginning of this chapter.

17       Data refer only to books.

18       Data refer only to gramophone records.

19       Data refer only to the number of visits to reading rooms.

 

Country Libraries VolumesAfrica 13 2,920America 10 20,560Asia 26 45,992Europe 63 278,194Oceanía 1 2,441

Canada 1 6,387J apan 1 5,528

Public libraries / Collections (Unesco, different years)

Africa 358 6,271America 2,060 18,231Asia 22,741 597,394Europe 127,271 2,568,421

Canada (2) 1,045 70 077J apan 2,172 195 390

Country Unit Volumes 

Newspapers / Circulation (Unesco, different years)

Number of Circ Total per 1,000

Dailies (000) (millions) inhabitants

World total 8 391 548 96Africa 224 12 16America 2 939 111 141Asia 3 010 229 66Europe 2 115 190 261Oceania 103 6.4 227

Developed countries 3 972 276 226Developing countries 4 419 272 60Least developed countries 172 3.9 8

Continents

Continents Production Consumption Consumption

groups of countries (MT) (MT) per inhabitant

(kg)World total 36 35 6.1Africa 0.4 0.5 0.7America 17 14 18Asia 6.8 10 2.9Europe 11 9.4 13.1Oceania 0.8 0.8 28.2

Developed countries 31 27 21.9

Less developed countries 5 8.5 1.9

Least developed countries 0.04 0.1 0.2

Newsprint Paper

Patents (´000) (WIPO, 2002)

Africa 432

America  2 577.754

Asia 726.236

Europe 2 736.178

Oceania  279

World Total Canada 2%

Japan 11.50%

USA 40%

Internet(www.blues.uab.es, 2003)

USA, Canada, Japan, and West Europe90% Demand 70% Computer servers

English Language60-80% Internet content 60 % English speakers users

8 % English speakers of total world population

3

Knowledge Bridge

Education - Development

Education enables people to be better citizens It helps economic mobility of individuals It determines national progress Education access is a challenge Education quality is even a greater one Information development is related to education Education fosters information competencies

Teacher-Centered Education

Equips students with static knowledge Teaching to the test Reproducing texts Students are classroom-bound Predominates in developing countries

Information Literacy - Hurdles

Hurdles

Professors´course notes Textbooks

Professor lecture-

based learning

Rote learning

Memorization

Learner-Oriented Education

Fosters: Information competencies Knowledge construction by learners Life long learning Independent students Creativity and innovation Open-horizontal management Contributes to create a base for democracy

Learning Is Changing(Goldfarb, 1999)

• Internet summarizes and orders information in a hierarchical order

• The book-reader interaction has changed because “words become pictures and pictures become words”

• Readers “gain information from bytes and text fragments that are not organized in a straight line from beginning to end or from left to right”

• Successful books that have appeal to new cyber readers are non-linear, similar to computer formats: “graphics in exciting new forms and formats¨

4Information

Competencies

Information Age (Kuhlthau, 1999)

It is characterized by instability and uncertainty because of constant state of innovation and development

Society is shifting from scarcity of resources to an abundance of resources

Computer technology is changing learning environments, communication and the way people create

Information Literacy: A Must for Socio-Economic Development

Workers need to be learning constantly, jobs are for a short time-span The work place is moving from routine to rich-thinking activities Education for future citizens is focusing on learning how to learn in

information-rich environments New education models are based on inquiry approach to learning rather

than on transmission approach to teaching Education´s new paradigm is to prepare students to know and to be able

to do Information competencies are a critical life skill

Competencies / Skills

Reading Numerical Writing Information Computer Research

Professional Competencies(Evers, Et al)

A. Mobilizing Innovation and Change:Conceptualizing as well as setting in motion ways of initiating and managing change that involve significant departures from the current mode.

- Ability to conceptualize- Creativity, innovation, change- Risk-taking

B. Managing People and Tasks: Accomplishing the tasks at hand by planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling both resources and people

- Coordinating- Decision-making- Leadership and influence- Managing conflict- Planning and organizing

C. Communicating: Interacting effectively with a variety of individuals and groups to facilitate the gathering, integrating, and conveying of information in many forms (for example, verbal, written)

- Interpersonal- Listening- Oral communication- Written communication

D. Managing Self: Constantly developing practices and internalizing routines for maximizing one’s ability to deal with the uncertainty of an ever-changing environment

- Learning- Personal organization and time

management- Personal strengths- Problem-solving and analytic

Information Core Competencies

INFORMATION

Identify

Locate

Access

Evaluate

Apply

5Library Role

Information Competencies (American Asocciation School Libraries)

”Information users should have both information-gathering strategies and the critical thinking skills to select, discard, synthesize, and present information in new ways to solve real-life problems.”

Information Literacy Actors

ParentsTeachersProfessorsLibrarians/Information

ProfessionalsManagers

The Librarians´ Role

Librarians provide essential expertise: Access to information, Selection of information resources, and Facilitating the use of information in learning process

Librarians and information specialists´ new roles: Knowledge facilitator Instructional facilitators

Libraries´ Role in Information Literacy

Libraries´ new paradigm is to prepare users to know and to be able to do Libraries have the leading position of focusing on learning Libraries are

knowledge repositories and offer a wealth of information Libraries should be learning-centered institutions Libraries are or ought to be information literacy centers Libraries ought to be:

An extension of the classroom Integrated into the curriculum Providing opportunities and resources to students´ inquiry process

Cancún: An Example of the Importance of Information

.

Conclusions

The North-South knowledge gaps can be bridged by information competencies

Individuals of all ages need information literacy competencies

Good decisions are based on good information Education needs pedagogical changes in developing

countries Librarians are information experts who can

advocate information development in Southern countries