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Empower Autonomous Learning through Information Competencies

Carla Basili

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Date: February 2011

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EMPATIC Partners BASILI Carla (BC) CISEK Sabina (CS) DAVIES Rob (DR) KATSIRIKOU Anthi (KA) PROCHNICKA Maria (PM) REGGIANI Lisa (RL) ROCCHI Maurizio (RM) ROWLATT Mary (RMa) SKIADAS Christos (SC) VINCIGUERRA Filippo (VF) YILMAZ Bulent (YB)

EMPATIC WP1/D1.1 Page 2 of 77

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The present report constitutes the delivery D1.1 of the Work Package 1: Desk research of the EMPATIC project. The core objectives of the EMPATIC project are to: - draw together and valorise the results of previous Information Literacy initiatives and projects across the school, university, adult and vocational learning sectors; - use this evidence to influence policy makers’ perceptions and actions to support a marked increase in piloting and mainstreaming of Information Literacy; - have a significant impact on validating new learning paradigms and strategic thinking on curriculum reform. Within the work plan of EMPATIC, the Work Package 1 is aimed to: 1. Arrive at a practical definition of Information Literacy and an assessment of current thinking on its role in learner performance and learning outcomes at each level of education, taking into account the findings of LLP projects and other European initiatives. 2. Assess to what extent Information Literacy efforts are being employed within mainstream education. 3. Identify best practices in schools, higher education, adult and vocational educational bodies in formal and non-formal settings. In view of the above, in its Section 1, the deliverable presents the state of the art in the area of information literacy, which reflects the most significant global challenges and developments in this domain. The section starts with a concise presentation of the role information literacy plays within respect to lifelong learning. Then it provides a concise overview of definitions of information learning suggested by a number of international and national bodies as well as leading researchers. The section does not aim to present a critical analysis of the views on information literacy but to illustrate how rich is this concept and how the various points of view complement each other. Special attention is paid to the definitions suggested by bodies from the library sector which address the information literacy issue as being of great relevance to the changing role of the libraries in the information age. Finally, this section offers a summary of frameworks addressing information literacy, including those suggested by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework (ANZIIL), and the UK Standing Committee of National and University Libraries (SCONUL). Section 2 provides data on the projects in the information literacy domain supported by the European Union, these activities cover the period 1994–2010 and include 79 projects. This work can be seen as a logical continuation of the efforts of EnIL (European network on Information Literacy) to collect and inform the professional community on the European initiatives in this area. The section outlines attributes which had been studied and identified for every single project and are used for initial analysis of the situation in Europe. These attributes include identification attributes (name of the initiative, acronym, URL, Leader institution, contacts); country of the coordinator if a multinational initiative; typology of the leading institution; classification of the kind of initiative; source of funding, main focus, target community, starting date and a description. Even the initial analysis provided in the deliverable identifies some essential specific features of the current situation in the EU support of information literacy initiatives. Information literacy projects are still mainly supported through national initiatives; the specialised funding programmes address them rather as an exception. This might mean that a serious debate on


the priorities of some of the funding programmes in the EU is needed to position better the work in the information literacy domain; Furthermore, the large part of the initiatives are centred around the concept of IL as a skill and are library-originated in kind. The IL policy dimension is quite neglected and therefore the cases have been selected – where possible – in the area of policy initiatives and recommendations. A further criterion adopted for data collection is to maximise the number of countries considered. Finally, Section 3 of the report synthesizes the point of view taken by the Empatic project. Since as Section 1 showed there are multiple and not always converging points of view, this section is needed to illustrate and justify the EMPATIC framework of analysis. A distinguished feature of the Empatic approach is that it identifies three dimensions of Information Literacy, each one supported by a number of argumentations, and complementing each other: Information Literacy as a discipline of study; as a social objective; and as a cognitive acquisition of individuals. This theoretical background sets the scene for the subsequent work on the policy recommendations which Empatic aims to deliver.


Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 2!

SECTION 1: STATE OF THE ART IN INFORMATION LITERACY ..................................... 5!1.1. INFORMATION LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING ......................................................... 5!1.2. INFORMATION LITERACY DEFINITIONS .......................................................................... 9!

1.2.1 INFORMATION LITERACY: INTERNATIONAL AND RESEARCH DEFINITIONS ................................... 9!1.2.2 INFORMATION LITERACY: LIBRARY DEFINITIONS ............................................................. 12!1.2.3 INFORMATION LITERACY: MAPPING WITH COUPLED CONCEPTS ............................................. 14!1.2.4 INFORMATION LITERACY AND CRITICAL THINKING .......................................................... 17!

1.3. INFORMATION LITERACY IN EDUCATION ...................................................................... 20!1.3.1 INFORMATION LITERACY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ............................ 20!1.3.2 INFORMATION LITERACY IN SCHOOLS: RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ........................................ 23!1.3.3 IL AMONG THE SKILLS FOR JOB ................................................................................ 25!1.3.4 IL IN LIFELONG LEARNING: RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ..................................................... 27!

SECTION 2: BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFICATION ....................................................... 29!2.1 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 29!2.2 LIST OF INITIAL 87 POTENTIAL INITIATIVES FOR GOOD PRACTICE SELECTION ....................... 32!2.3 DATA CLUSTERING AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 46!2.4 IL INSTITUTIONAL BODIES AND NETWORKS ................................................................. 51!

SECTION3: THE EMPATIC FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS .............................................. 53!3.1 THREE PERSPECTIVES OF ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 53!

3.1.1 INFORMATION LITERACY AS A DISCIPLINE OF STUDY ........................................................ 55!3.1.2 INFORMATION LITERACY AS SOCIAL OBJECTIVE .............................................................. 61!3.1.3 INFORMATION LITERACY AS COGNITIVE ACQUISITION OF INDIVIDUALS ................................... 64!

3.2. CONSEQUENCES OF THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK ............................................................ 65!

SECTION 4: SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................... 67!REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 71!LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 74!LIST OF GRAPHS ........................................................................................................... 74!LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 74!LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ 75!


SECTION 1: STATE OF THE ART IN INFORMATION LITERACY

1.1. Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning

Since the beginning of the development of information literacy as a global phenomenon, the Information Literacy definition – released by ALA in 1989 and credited as the earliest and most enduring definitions of information literacy – underlines a strong association between Information Literacy (IL) and Learning, particularly with respect to the dimension of autonomous learning through learning how to learn. In fact, in the ALA 1989 definition, a learning-how-to-learn perspective is explicitly proposed, as follows:

To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Producing such a citizenry will require that schools and colleges appreciate and integrate the concept of information literacy into their learning programs and that they play a leadership role in equipping individuals and institutions to take advantage of the opportunities inherent within the information society. Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand.1

As to the connection between IL and Lifelong Learning (LLL), a number of influential positions and statements explicitly recognise their reciprocal interdependence. The above mentioned ALA Report underlines that:

What is called for is not a new information studies curriculum but, rather, a restructuring of the learning process. Textbooks, workbooks, and lectures must yield to a learning process based on the information resources available for learning and problem solving throughout people's lifetimes--to learning experiences that build a lifelong habit of library use. Such a learning process would actively involve students in the process of:

- knowing when they have a need for information - identifying information needed to address a given problem or issue - finding needed information and evaluating the information - organizing the information - using the information effectively to address the problem or issue at hand.

Such a restructuring of the learning process will not only enhance the critical thinking skills of students but will also empower them for lifelong learning and the effective performance of professional and civic responsibilities2.

Similar point of view is expressed and expanded in a number of subsequent studies. For example Andretta (Andretta, 2004) suggests to promote IL “as a vehicle of enhancing critical

1 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION LITERACY. Final report 10 January 1989. Available on http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm 2 ibid.


enquiry and self-directed learning as a foundational element of broader focus on lifelong learning”3 In its report “Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework: principles, standards and practice. 2nd ed, ANZIIL – the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy – states that

Information literacy can be seen as a subset of independent learning, that in turn is a subset of lifelong learning

and illustrates the concept through the following figure:

Fig. 1. Information literacy in the context of lifelong learning. Source: BUNDI, A., ed., 2004. Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework:

principles, standards and practice. 2nd ed. Adelaide: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy.

The same ANZIIL Framework further underlines a strong connection between IL and LLL, citing the work of (Candy et al., 1994):

In 1994, Candy, Crebert and O’Leary’s report Developing lifelong learners through undergraduate education connected information literacy with lifelong learning. Its profile of the lifelong learner included the following information literacy qualities or characteristics: • knowledge of major current resources available in at least one field of study • ability to frame researchable questions in at least one field of study • ability to locate, evaluate, manage and use information in a range of contexts • ability to retrieve information using a variety of media • ability to decode information in a variety of forms: written, statistical, graphs, charts, diagrams and tables • critical evaluation of information

According to (Orr et al., 2001), IL

3 ANDRETTA, S. (2005) Information Literacy: A Practitioners’ Guide. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, as cited in CRAWFORD, J. (2006) The Culture of Evaluation in Library and Information Services, Chandos Publishing.

Information Literacy

Independent Learning

Lifelong Learning


is a vital component of lifelong learning. By ensuring that individuals have the opportunity to develop the intellectual abilities of reasoning and critical thinking, and by helping them construct a framework for learning how to learn”4.

The Information Literacy meeting of experts held in Prague on 2003 based its discussion on a number of white papers, each focused on a different IL aspect. Among them was the white paper by P.C. Candy, focused on illustrating the strong association between Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning:

“information literacy and lifelong learning are inextricably intertwined.5”

In turn, the educational goal of lifelong learning has been acknowledged as one of the main driving forces behind the development of information literacy as a global phenomenon (Bruce, 1999)6 A significant international position by the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) of UNESCO and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is THE ALEXANDRIA PROCLAMATION. The full text of the proclamation is available at www.ifla.org/III/wsis/BeaconInfSoc.html, while selected parts of it are given in fig. 2.

4 ORR, D, APPLETON, M & WALLIN, M. (2001) Information literacy and flexible delivery: creating a conceptual framework and model, Journal of Academic Librarianship, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 457-463 5 CANDY, P.C. (2002) Information literacy and lifelong learning, White paper prepared for UNESCO, the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use at the Information Literacy, meetings of Experts. Prague: The Czech Republic, pp. 1-17. Available: http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/candy-paper.pdf 6 BRUCE, C. (1999) Information literacy; an international review of programs and research. Auckland ’99 Lianza conference, 9-12 November 1999, pp.1-9. Available: http://www2.auckland.ac.nz/lbr/conf99/bruce.htm


BEACONS OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY THE ALEXANDRIA PROCLAMATION ON INFORMATION LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING [...] the participants in the High-Level Colloquium on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on 6-9 November 2005 proclaim that Information Literacy and lifelong learning are the beacons of the Information Society, illuminating the courses to development, prosperity and freedom. Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong learning. It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion of all nations. Information Literacy - comprises the competencies to recognise information needs and to locate, evaluate, apply and

create information within cultural and social contexts; - is crucial to the competitive advantage of individuals, enterprises (especially small and

medium enterprises), regions and nations; - provides the key to effective access, use and creation of content to support economic

development, education, health and human services, and all other aspects of contemporary societies, and thereby provides the vital foundation for fulfilling the goals of the Millennium Declaration and the World Summit on the Information Society; and

- extends beyond current technologies to encompass learning, critical thinking and interpretative skills across professional boundaries and empowers individuals and communities.

Within the context of the developing Information Society, we urge governments and intergovernmental organisations to pursue policies and programmes to promote Information Literacy and lifelong learning. In particular, we ask them to support - [...] inclusion of Information Literacy into initial and continuing education for key

economic sectors and government policy making and administration, and into the practice of advisors to the business, industry and agriculture sectors;

- [...] - recognition of lifelong learning and Information Literacy as key elements for the development

of generic capabilities which must be required for the accreditation of all education and training programmes.

We affirm that vigorous investment in Information Literacy and lifelong learning strategies creates public value and is essential to the development of the Information Society.

Adopted in Alexandria, Egypt at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on 9 November 20057

Fig. 2- Excerpts from the Alxandria Proclamation on IL and LLL Furthermore, Information literacy standards for student learning, produced by the ALA in 1998, links information literacy, independent learning, and social responsibility8. The above statements and positions are only a few voices among many others pointing out how IL creates the foundation for lifelong learning.

7 GARNER, S.D. (2005) High level colloquium on information literacy and lifelong learning. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt November 6-9, 2005. Report of the meeting. Available: http://archive.ifla.org/III/wsis/High-Level-Colloquium.pdf 8 American Library Association (1998) Information literacy standards for student learning: standards and indicators, Available: http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/informationpower/InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf


The Empatic project not only recognises this link but aims to contribute to a better understanding of the European experiences and to foster future developments in this spirit.

1.2. Information Literacy definitions

Information literacy is widely recognised as covering a pivotal role in the contemporary society since it “should be a basic human right in a digital world”, as declared in a thematic debate held on April 2005 by UNESCO. The thematic debate originated by the acknowledgement of an explicit link between Information Literacy and the UNESCO’s Information for All programme, as declared on the thematic debate website:

The specific purpose of the thematic debate was to consult with researchers and other experts in the field of information literacy, both within UNESCO and within our constituent stakeholders, to identify the particular contribution that the Information for All Programme can make in helping to ensure all peoples have the opportunity to become information literate9.

This is a voice among many that acknowledges Information Literacy as strategic competence in the Information Society, nevertheless there is still no universal consensus about its definition. Seminal reviewing works are: DOYLE C. (1994). Information literacy in an information society: A concept for the information age. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology. BEHRENS, S.J. (1994) A conceptual analysis and historical overview of information literacy, College & Research Libraries, 55(4), 309-322 BAWDEN, D. (2001) Information and Digital Literacies: A Review of Concepts. Journal of Documentation, 57(2), 218-259. MUTCH, A. (1997) Information literacy: an exploration. International journal of information management, 1997, 17 (5) pp.377-86.

1.2.1 Information Literacy: international and research definitions A number of definitions of the IL concept follow. These were suggested by various influential bodies, mostly international and some national ones, as well as by leading experts in the IL field. Our aim here is not to provide a detailed analysis of the differences, but to give the readers a feeling of the different perceptions of IL recurring in the specialised literature.

UNESCO The UNESCO-sponsored Meeting of Experts on Information Literacy, held in Prague on September 2003 and organised by the US National Commission on Library and Information Sciences and the National Forum on Information Literacy, propose the following Information Literacy definition:

Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one's information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate

9 UNESCO (2005), Thematic debate on information literacy: final report, 20 April 2005. Available: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=18775&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>


information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of life long learning10.

National forum on IL (US) Patricia Senn Breivik– already chairman of the US National Forum on Information Literacy – in order to better underline the connection between IL and LLL, promotes a very effective picture of IL as an umbrella including ‘computer literacy’, ‘library literacy’, ‘media literacy’, ‘network literacy’, ‘visual literacy’, and a blank one (meant to refer to other literacies), with the words ‘critical thinking skills’ covering the whole umbrella11.

Fig. 3. Information literacy and critical thinking. Source: Senn Breivik (2001)

Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) ANZIIL proposes the following definition:

Information literate people • recognise a need for information • determine the extent of information needed • access information efficiently • critically evaluate information and its sources • classify, store, manipulate and redraft information collected or generated • incorporate selected information into their knowledge base

10 portal.unesco.org/.../ev.php-URL_ID=19634&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_ SECTION=201.html 11 SENN BREVIK, P. (2001) Information literacy and lifelong learning: The magical partnership. Proceedings of the 1st International Lifelong Learning Conference, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, pp. 1-6.


• use information effectively to learn, create new knowledge, solve problems and make decisions • understand economic, legal, social, political and cultural issues in the use of information • access and use information ethically and legally • use information and knowledge for participative citizenship and social responsibility • experience information literacy as part of independent learning and lifelong learning. (ANZIIL, 2004)

Joint Information Systems Committee, UK In the UK, the Joint Information Systems Committee sustains the concept of i-Skills:

You may not have heard the term ‘i-skills’ up to now, but probably terms such as information skills, e-literacy, information literacy, knowledge management and research skills are more familiar. This guide uses the term i-skills to encompass all of these. i-Skills are defined as: the ability to identify, assess, retrieve, evaluate, adapt, organise and communicate information within an iterative context of review and reflection12.

Information Literacy as a Liberal Art A research point of view about IL conception comes from the work of Shapiro and Hughes, in their proposal of IL as a new liberal art13, as follows:

Information and computer literacy, in the conventional sense, are functionally valuable technical skills. But information literacy should in fact be conceived more broadly as a new liberal art that extends from knowing how to use computers and access information to critical reflection on the nature of information itself, its technical infrastructure, and its social, cultural and even philosophical context and impact - as essential to the mental framework of the educated information-age citizen as the trivium of basic liberal arts (grammar, logic and rhetoric) was to the educated person in medieval society.

More specifically, Shapiro and Hughes propose that an IL curriculum should be based on a “critical conception of a more humanistic sort” and the proposed curriculum includes the following seven dimensions:

Tool literacy, or the ability to understand and use the practical and conceptual tools of current information technology, including software, hardware and multimedia, that are relevant to education and the areas of work and professional life that the individual expects to inhabit. This can be taken to include the basics of computer and network applications as well as fundamental concepts of algorithms, data structures, and network topologies and protocols.

Resource literacy, or the ability to understand the form, format, location and access methods of information resources, especially daily expanding networked information resources. This is practically identical with librarians' conceptions of information literacy, and includes concepts of the classification and organization of such resources.

Social-structural literacy, or knowing that and how information is socially situated and produced. This means knowing about how information fits into the life of groups; about the institutions and social networks - such as the universities, libraries, researcher communities, corporations, government agencies, community groups - that create and organize information and knowledge;

12 Available: www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/improvingiskills_rtf.rtf 13 HUGHES, S., & SHAPIRO, J. (1996) Information Literacy as a Liberal Art. Educom Review, 31(2). Available: http://net.educause.edu/apps/er/review/reviewarticles/31231.html


and the social processes through which it is generated - such as the trajectory of publication of scholarly articles (peer review, etc.), the relationship between a Listserv and a shared interest group, or the audience served by a specialized library or Web site.

Research literacy, or the ability to understand and use the IT-based tools relevant to the work of today's researcher and scholar. For those in graduate education, this would include discipline-related computer software for quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis and simulation, as well as an understanding of the conceptual and analytical limitations of such software.

Publishing literacy, or the ability to format and publish research and ideas electronically, in textual and multimedia forms (including via World Wide Web, electronic mail and distribution lists, and CD-ROMs), to introduce them into the electronic public realm and the electronic community of scholars. Writing is always shaped by its tools and its audience. Computer tools and network audiences represent genuine changes in writing itself.

Emerging technology literacy, or the ability to ongoingly adapt to, understand, evaluate and make use of the continually emerging innovations in information technology so as not to be a prisoner of prior tools and resources, and to make intelligent decisions about the adoption of new ones. Clearly this includes understanding of the human, organizational and social context of technologies as well as criteria for their evaluation.

Critical literacy, or the ability to evaluate critically the intellectual, human and social strengths and weaknesses, potentials and limits, benefits and costs of information technologies. This would need to include a historical perspective (e.g. the connection between algorithmic thinking, formalization in mathematics, and the development of Western science and rationality and their limits); a philosophical perspective (current debates in the philosophy of technology, the critique of instrumental reason, the possibility and nature of artificial intelligence); a sociopolitical perspective (e.g. the impact of information technology on work, public policy issues in the development of a global information infrastructure); and a cultural perspective (e.g. current discussions of the virtual body and of the definition of human being as an information-processing machine) (Shapiro- Hughes, 1996).

Information Literacy as Information Behaviour in the Information Society A further broader, not merely technical, perspective is suggested by Webber and Johnston14:

Information literacy is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society. (Webber and Johnston, 2003)

1.2.2 Information Literacy: library definitions The library sector is following particularly closely the developments in the IL field and plays a special role in the promotion and wider adoption of the concept. Below some key definitions suggested by international and national library associations are presented as they are described by the CILIP CSG Information Literacy Group15

14 Webber, S. and Johnston, B. (2003) Information literacy in the United Kingdom: a critical review. In: Basili, C. (Ed) Information Literacy in Europe. Rome: Italian National Research Council. 258-283. 15 Available: http://www.informationliteracy.org.uk/Information_literacy_definitions/Definitions.aspx


ALA , 1989

The most widely recognized and used definition of IL comes from the Final Report of the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, where is declared that:

To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

CILIP CILIP – the UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals – in 2003 defined IL as:

“Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner. This definition implies several skills. We believe that the skills (or competencies) that are required to be information literate require an understanding of:

- a need for information - the resources available - how to find information - the need to evaluate results - how to work with or exploit results - ethics and responsibility of use - how to communicate or share your findings - how to manage your findings.” (CILIP, 200316

SCONUL SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries) has a view of IL as a set of seven competency dimensions, built upon basic library and IT skills that constitute the foundation for them. SCONUL supplies a visual representation of this conception (see figure 4)17.

16 Available: http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/advocacy/learning/information-literacy/Pages/definition.aspx 17 Available: http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/seven_pillars.html


Fig. 4 - The SCONUL proposal

The definitions of IL from the library sector – evolving from the original focus on Library Instruction - are strongly connected to the operative use of information and usually do not address the larger context of learning. However some of them provide a useful finer granularity view on the specific types of skills which constitute the IL as perceived nowadays.

1.2.3 Information Literacy: mapping with coupled concepts In the specialised literature a number of concepts contiguous to IL are sustained, namely media literacy, digital or computer or ICT literacy. Those concepts are often used interchangeably or with largely overlapping meaning, therefore the task of identifying universal accepted definitions for them is not easy. Nevertheless, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) – a national US organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student – developed a Framework for 21st


Century Learning18 that can be of use in both positioning IL among the strategic competencies for 21st learners, and for better understanding the distinction between different kinds of literacy. The Framework is aimed at helping help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century. The key elements of 21st century learning are represented in the graphic in fig.5 below.

Fig. 5 - 21st Century Skills. Source: Parnership for 21st century skills

The graphic represents both 21st century skills student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and 21st century skills support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom), namely the systems that must be aligned to produce 21st century outcomes for today’s students. While the graphic represents each element distinctly for descriptive purposes, the Partnership views all the components as fully interconnected in the process of 21st century teaching and learning. The elements described below are the critical systems necessary to ensure 21st century readiness for every student. Twenty-first century standards, assessments, curriculum, instruction, professional development and learning environments must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st century outcomes for today’s students19. 18 Available: http://www.p21.org/index.php 19 Source: http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=119


The skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century (Twenty-First Century Student Outcomes) are grouped into four classes, as listed below.

1. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes 2. Learning and Innovation Skills

Creativity and Innovation Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Communication and Collaboration

3. Information, Media and Technology Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy ICT Literacy

4. Life and Career Skills

Fig. 6 21st century skills - source: P21 Focussing on class number 3 “Information, Media and Technology Skills” in fig.6, it is evident the positioning of IL among the strategic skills and its distinction from other contiguous literacies. In fact, looking into more detail into the descriptions of each literacy can help in understanding their differentiation.

Information Literacy Access and Evaluate Information

Access information efficiently (time) and effectively (sources) Evaluate information critically and competently

Use and Manage Information

Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand Manage the flow of information from a wide variety of sources Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information

Fig. 7 - Information Literacy within 21st Century Skills (Source P21 framework)


Media Literacy Analyze Media

Understand both how and why media messages are constructed, and for what purposes Examine how individuals interpret messages differently, how values and points of view are included or excluded, and how media can influence beliefs and behaviours Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of media

Create Media Products Understand and utilize the most appropriate media creation tools, characteristics and conventions Understand and effectively utilize the most appropriate expressions and interpretations in diverse, multi-cultural environments

Fig. 8 - Media Literacy within 21st Century Skills (Source P21 framework)

ICT Literacy Apply Technology Effectively

Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information Use digital technologies (computers, PDAs, media players, GPS, etc.), communication/networking tools and social networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate, evaluate and create information to successfully function in a knowledge economy Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information technologies

Fig. 9 - ICT or digital Literacy within 21st Century Skills (Source P21 framework) Besides the usefulness in setting the scene for IL as strategic skill and for its differentiation from other (and equally strategic) literacies, the P21 framework has been selected since among the P21 partners is the American Association of School Librarians, responsible for the release in 2007 of the "Standards for the 21st Century Learner", a document where is given a very effective description of IL as intrinsically connected to critical thinking.

1.2.4 Information Literacy and Critical Thinking The strong connection between IL and Critical Thinking is well described in the "Standards for the 21st Century Learner" developed by AASL that identifies the following four classes of skills:


1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge. 2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge. 3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society. 4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

Fig. 10 - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007 Each class is described with further details and the first group of strategic skills “Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge” is specified as follows.

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge. 1.1 Skills 1.1.1 Follow an inquiry- based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this process in own life. 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding. 1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions. 1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context. 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 1.1.7 Make sense of information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions, main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias. 1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry. 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.-

Fig. 11- Class1 skills - - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007


1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge. 1.2 Dispositions in Action 1.2.1 Display initiative and engagement by posing questions and investigating the answers beyond the collection of superficial facts. 1.2.2 Demonstrate confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the selection of resources and information. 1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats. 1.2.4 Maintain a critical stance by questioning the validity and accuracy of all information. 1.2.5 Demonstrate adaptability by changing the inquiry focus, questions, resources, or strategies when necessary to achieve success. 1.2.6 Display emotional resilience by persisting in information searching despite challenges. 1.2.7 Display persistence by continuing to pursue information to gain a broad perspective.

Fig. 12 - Class1 Dispositions in Action - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge. 1.3 Responsibilities 1.3.1 Respect copyright/ intellectual property rights of creators and producers. 1.3.2 Seek divergent perspectives during information gathering and assessment. 1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information. 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 1.3.5 Use information technology responsibly. 1.4 Self-Assessment Strategies 1.4.1 Monitor own information-seeking processes for effectiveness and progress, and adapt as necessary. 1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or weaknesses. 1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.

Fig. 13 -- Class1-Responsibilities - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007 The set of shaded sub-skills in figs. 10÷13 provides for IL a description of a finer granularity with respect to the IL definitions most commonly cited in literature (see §1.2 in this section) and further underlines how strongly IL and critical thinking are intrinsically interrelated.


1.3. Information Literacy in Education

A recent publication analyses and discusses how IL is a multidimensional phenomenon crossing the borders of both Information and Education policies20.

The cross-borders view of Information Literacy – between Information and Education policies – widens the concept of Information Literacy, traditionally limited to the Information policy scope.

Such a wider perspective is required due to a number of influential factors arising from the full establishment of the so-called Information Society, such as the mass access to information, the uncontrolled production process of large amounts of information, the constraints imposed on Higher Education by the market and by a new kind of demand from the labour market (Basili, 2008)21.

Already in 1975, the Unesco NATIS Programme released a set of guidelines for National Information Policies, aimed at developing national information infrastructures, where users are considered the fulcrum of the whole infrastructure.

An adequate system to provide access to information should include the following features:

• potential users would be regarded as part of the system. Their education would assist them to diagnose their problems and be such that they would not fear revealing their ignorance when seeking assistance.

• The educational system would recognise, as Johnson said, that: “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it”22.

The last point cited from (Urquhart, 1975) can be used as an effective synthesis of the need to integrate IL into the whole educational system, namely from schools to university, but the whole set of NATIS indications includes also the generic user of information, namely adults and workers. These needs are even more pressing today and a number of developments have occurred since 1975 in each educational area. Among them, the most meaningful are set out in the following paragraphs.

1.3.1 Information Literacy in Higher Education: relevant developments Information Literacy as a graduate attribute The ALA 1989 definition has had a great impact on the Higher Education sector.

20 Information Literacy at the crossroad of Education and Information Policies in Europe, Carla BASILI (ed.), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, 2008, 301 pp. 21 Basili, C., 2008, Information and education policies in Europe: key factors influencing information literacy academic policies in Europe . In: Information Literacy at the crossroad of Education and Information Policies in Europe, pp. 18-32 22 Urquhart, D.J. (1975). Developing a National Information Policy. A NATIS guideline. Unesco, 24 pp: The issue of user education is at the top of the list of priorities for “Developing the Information Plan”: 1. improving the education of potential users; 2. the training of librarians and information officers; 3. improving access to existing services; 4. improving and expanding existing services; 5. creating new services.


In the USA the already mentioned ACRL IL standards for Higher Education23 were defined in 1999 by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and translated into: Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Iranian. In Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy released the second edition of the Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework24 in 2004. The educational philosophy underpinning the Australian IL standards strongly promotes the idea that IL should be tightly integrated into teaching and learning activities. The standards suggest that all academic curricula be reformed in line with its recommendations as a matter of university-wide policy. A major policy parameter in the assessment exercise of Australian universities is the set of graduate attributes that each university must declare in its mission statement. According to (Barrie, 2004):

… generic graduate attributes in Australia have come to be accepted as the skills, knowledge and abilities of university graduates, beyond disciplinary content knowledge, which are applicable to a range of contexts. It is intended that university students acquire these qualities as one of the outcomes of successfully completing any undergraduate degree at university.

This statement has been widely acknowledged and IL has been included among the set of graduate attributes, so that, already in 2004, 53.8% of Australian Universities had included IL among the graduate attributes declared in their mission statement. One example among many others is the University of Sydney, which in 2002 started a project for revising its graduate attributes policy, according to a multidimensional classification of attributes.

The revised policy specifies two levels of attributes. There are three overarching graduate attributes – Scholarship, Lifelong Learning, and Global Citizenship – which reflect the research intensive nature of the University, its scholarly values in relation to research-led teaching, and the place of its graduates in a global society.

These overarching attributes represent combinations of five clusters of more specific attributes, which can be interpreted or contextualised differently in different disciplinary domains. These are in turn supported by generic foundation skills and abilities underpinned by basic competencies. (Barrie, 2004)

23 Association of College and Research Libraries, Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, Jan 2000 Available: http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.cfm 24 http://www.anziil.org/resources/Infolit2ndedition.pdf


Fig. 14. Graphical representation of graduate attributes and their functional aims (Barrie,

2004).

Furthermore, Barrie refers to the definition by the HE Council of 1992, from which most of the definitions for “graduate attributes” derive:

These are skills, personal attributes and values, which should be acquired by all graduates regardless of their discipline or field of study. In other words, they should represent the central achievements of higher education as a process. (HEC, 1992, p. 20)

As to the European context, the commitment to skill development of graduate attributes has been adopted by the European Union policies on Higher Education under the name of “learning outcomes” and officially recommended in 2005 at the meeting in Bergen of the Ministers of the Bologna Process signatory states. The Bergen Communiqué, in fact, officially adopted the “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area”. The Guidelines - produced by the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA)25 – recognise the fundamental role of the learning attributes approach in achieving transparency and comparability of competencies within the European Higher Education Area. The Empatic vision of IL integration into the HE system - which is strictly connected to the scope of the European network on Information Literacy26 launched in 2001 - is oriented towards a policy inspired by the Bologna process for Higher Education in Europe. The Bologna process, aimed at establishing a European Higher Education Area, operates along a number of action lines. In the reasoning about the institutionalisation of IL within the Higher Education context, of particular interest are the “Bologna” activities of curriculum design and harmonisation, together with the introduction of the concept of learning outcomes. The first series of activities are now being carried out through the “Tuning Educational Structures in Europe” project, which is aimed at; • "Tune" educational structures in Europe, and thereby aid the development of the European

Higher Education Area;

25 ENQA (2005) Report on Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, Helsinki, ENQA. 26 http://www.ceris.cnr.it/Basili/EnIL/index.html


• Open up a debate on the nature and importance of subject-specific and general competences, involving all stakeholders, including academics, graduates and employers;

• Identify and exchange information on common subject-based reference points, curricula content, learning outcomes and methods of teaching, learning and assessment;

• Improve European co-operation and collaboration in the development of the quality, effectiveness and transparency of European higher education by examining ECTS credits and other suitable devices to enhance progress.

Among the Tuning project activities, it is useful to recall the analysis – for each course of study and disciplinary sector –of the differences existing among the curricula of the universities in Europe, in order to make more comparable (and therefore transferable) curricula of the same subject area. The concept of learning outcomes is strictly related to the quality assessment procedures of universities, which are asked to demonstrate the efficient achievement of these, particularly in response to calls for accountability27. It is a concept quite new in Europe, while elsewhere, for example in Australia and the USA, is among the well-established criteria for universities to obtain government funds. In fact, in Australia and the USA, the learning outcomes are explicitly declared into the mission of the single university and constitute the set of competencies that graduates are expected to acquire. They must be measurable in order to give evidence of the successful completion of a cycle of study. It is worth to note that in most Australian universities, IL is included among the learning outcomes (or graduate attributes as they are also known in the USA)28. EMPATIC suggestion is to include IL among the learning outcomes, specifically among the generic competencies defined by the Tuning project.

1.3.2 Information Literacy in Schools: relevant developments The rationale behind the need of diffusion IL in schools is well summarised by Plotnick:

Educational reform and restructuring make information literacy skills a necessity as students seek to construct their own knowledge and create their own understandings. - Educators are selecting various forms of resource-based learning (authentic learning, problem-

based learning and work-based learning) to help students focus on the process and to help students learn from the content. Information literacy skills are necessary components of each.

- The process approach to education is requiring new forms of student assessment. Students demonstrate their skills, assess their own learning, and evaluate the processes by which this learning has been achieved by preparing portfolios, learning. (Plotnick, 199929)

The first formal initiative pointing out the need of Educating students to information date back to 1988, when the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) published “Information Power: Guidelines for school library Media Programs” in collaboration with the Association for

27 BARRIE, S.C. (2005) Rethinking Generic Graduate Attributes, HERDSA News, Draft, 5 March 2005 28 www.caul.edu.au/surveys/info-literacy2004.doc 29 PLOTNICK, E. Information Literacy. ERIC- digest. ED427777


Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)30. This publication, along with its follow-up published in 1998, is widely recognised as providing an extremely helpful road map to guide educators into the next century. The guidelines, in fact, provide standards for information literacy learning, as well as indicators for each standard. These standards create goals for all educators. Subsequent results by AASL are the following families of standards:

Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, 199831 Standards for the 21st Century Learner, 200732 Outside the library community, the Big6 model is largely known and used approach to teaching IL. From the Big6 website33:

Developed by educators Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz, the Big6 is the most widely-known and widely-used approach to teaching information and technology skills in the world. The Big6 is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools – K through higher education. Some people call the Big6 an information problem-solving strategy because with the Big6, students are able to handle any problem, assignment, decision or task. Here are the six stages we call the Big6. Two sub-stages are part of each main category in the Big6 model:

1. Task Definition 1.1 Define the information problem 1.2 Identify information needed

2. Information Seeking Strategies 2.1 Determine all possible sources 2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access 3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically) 3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information 4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch) 4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis 5.1 Organize from multiple sources 5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation 6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness) 6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

30 AASL and Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (Chicago: ALA, 1988) 31 American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, 1998 Available: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=203 32 Already mentioned in § 1.3.4 of this Report Available: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf 33 http://www.big6.com/


Specifically devoted to IL in schools are the books by Eisenberg and Berkowitz: Eisenberg, M. B.- Berkowitz, R. E. (1999). Teaching information & technology skills: The Big6 in elementary schools. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing. Eisenberg, M. B.- Berkowitz, R. E. (2000). Teaching information & technology skills: The Big6 in secondary schools. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing.

1.3.3 IL among the skills for Job A major starting point for the discussion of IL in the workplace is that of the “intelligent organisation” illustrated by Choo in 1995 as follows: The intelligent organization is able to mobilize the different kinds of knowledge that exist in the organization in order to enhance performance. It pursues goals in a changing environment by adapting behaviour according to knowledge about itself and the world it thrives in. The intelligent organization is therefore a learning organization that is skilled at creating, acquiring, organizing, and sharing knowledge, and at applying this knowledge to design its behaviour. Organizational learning depends critically upon information management -- the capacity to harness the organization's information resources and information capabilities to energize organizational growth. Information management is a cycle of processes that support the organization's learning activities: identifying information needs, acquiring information, organizing and storing information, developing information products and services, distributing information, and using information. 34 From the above definition it is evident how much the role of information in the intelligent organisation is strategic and, consequently, how much necessary is the ability to dominate the universe of information located both inside and outside the organisation. Kirton and Barham provide a review of IL in the workplace, focussing on the need for IL awareness within organisations35.

With the exponential increase in information, its management and use have become an important issue in the workplace, yet knowledge management or information literacy is not adequately addressed by most organisations or professions (Abell 2000; Candy 1998; O'Sullivan 2002; Winterman, Skelton and Abell 2003). A report by TFPL Ltd (1991) however did find that chief executives valued knowledge management second only to globalisation as essential for their organisations. Lloyd (2003) states that in the

...knowledge economy, the ability of the individual to become information literate and to engage effectively the operations skills of information literacy are attributes in which organisations should invest, in terms of both recruitment and training.

A report by KPMG Consulting (2000) found that companies risked wasting their investment in the technology used to manage information if they did not tackle the 'human' aspect, which has been identified as an essential focus in knowledge management (Abell 2000). Employees continued to have problems with information overload, information anxiety, disinformation or misinformation, insufficient time, inadequate technological skills to share knowledge, to have difficulty locating information and were frequently 'reinventing the wheel'. While information is highly valued within most organisations (Candy 1998), many members of the workforce are unable to deal effectively

34 CHOO, C.W. Information Management for the Intelligent Organization: Roles and Implications for the Information Professions. In: Proceedings of the Digital Libraries Conference, March 27-28, 1995, Singapore. Available: http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/fis/respub/dlc95.html - CHOO, C. W. (1995). Information Management for the Intelligent Organization: The Art of Scanning the Environment. Medford, NJ: Information Today. 35 KIRTON, J.- BARHAM, L. (2005) Information Literacy in the Workplace. The Australian Library Journal, 54(4) p.365-376


with it in their everyday work (De Ruiter 2002; O'Sullivan 2002; Rader 2002; Winterman, Skelton and Abell 2003).

In their review of the specialised literature, Kirton and Barham also cites the work from Cheuk to underline that:

[....] Cheuk's UNESCO White Paper (2002) provides examples of the lack of information literacy skills in the workplace and how this affects the productivity of employees, suggests practices to improve performance and discusses the barriers to promoting information literacy in the workplace and how to overcome these, as well as the relationship between knowledge management and information literacy.

Even the term “Information Literacy” is not used in the workplace where

Synonyms such as 'working smarter', 'information skills', 'information resources training', 'information discovery', and 'information management' have been used. (Kirton-Bahram, 2005)

Surprisingly, the analysis by Kirton and Bahram does not include the concept of “environmental scanning”, namely representing the need for a company to compete within a market context which must be known to the company. Moreover, a major point arising from the Kirton- Bahram analysis is the character of complexity that IL assumes into the context of the knowledge (or intelligent) organisation:

Winterman, Skelton and Abell (2003) also identified barriers to the development of such programs in the workplace. They found that the scope and content of the concept was not well defined or detailed, with the degree of agreement as to exactly what skills were relevant and which levels of these were needed varying widely between organisations.

[....]

Bawden and Robinson (2002) found that information literacy must be contextualised, relevantly illustrated, and presented in ways reflecting the needs of the range of learners found in the individual workplace.

A meaningful initiative for IL in vocational education is the SCANS report, produced by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) – a commission appointed in 1990 by the Secretary of Labour of the US Department of Labour, to determine the skills our young people need to succeed in the world of work. The commission's fundamental purpose was to encourage a high-performance economy characterized by high-skill, high-wage employment. Although the commission completed its work in 1992, its findings and recommendations continue to be a valuable source of information for individuals and organizations involved in education and workforce development..36 Table 1 below illustrates the set of skills for job identified by the SCAN commission.

36 http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/


SCANS Competencies

Resources Allocates Time

Allocates Money

Allocates Material and Facility Resources

Allocates Human Resources

Information Acquires and Evaluates Information

Organizes and Maintains Information

Interprets and Communicates Information

Uses Computers to Process Information

Interpersonal Participates as a Member of a Team

Teaches Others

Serves Clients/Customers

Exercises Leadership

Negotiates to Arrive at a Decision

Works with Cultural Diversity

Systems Understands Systems

Monitors and Corrects Performance

Improves and Designs Systems

Technology Selects Technology

Applies Technology to Task

Maintains and Troubleshoots Technology

Tab. 1 - Skills and Tasks for Jobs: A SCANS Report for America 200037 The SCANS Report is of particular interest for the goals of the EMPATIC project , since it constitutes a gateway between school learning and workplace efficiency. Therefore, the SCANS Report will be object of further analysis by WP-4 of EMPATIC.

1.3.4 IL in Lifelong Learning: relevant developments In § 1.1 of this section the connection between IL and LLL has been already pointed out. Nevertheless, here it is important to recall that in 2006 the European Union recommends that Member States develop the provision of key competencies and use the ‘Key Competences for Lifelong Learning — A European Reference Framework’, that defines the set of key competences described in fig.15 below.

37 What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America 2000, U.S. Department of Labour, June 1991


Key Competences Competences are defined here as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. Key competences are those which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment. The Reference Framework sets out eight key competences: 1) Communication in the mother tongue; 2) Communication in foreign languages; 3) Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology; 4) Digital competence; 5) Learning to learn; 6) Social and civic competences; 7) Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; and 8) Cultural awareness and expression. The key competences are all considered equally important, because each of them can contribute to a successful life in a knowledge society. Many of the competences overlap and interlock: aspects essential to one domain will support competence in another. Competence in the fundamental basic skills of language, literacy, numeracy and in information and communication technologies (ICT) is an essential foundation for learning, and learning to learn supports all learning activities. There are a number of themes that are applied throughout the Reference Framework: critical thinking, creativity, initiative, problem solving, risk assessment, decision taking, and constructive management of feelings play a role in all eight key competences38.

Fig. 15 - Key Competences for Lifelong Learning — A European Reference Framework Compared with the set of competencies in fig.15, IL includes those shown in bold, in such confirming how deeply related are IL and LLL, de facto, even if not explicitly declared.

38 (30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 394/13) Available: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:394:0010:0018:en:PDF


SECTION 2: BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFICATION

The earlier and most diffused IL initiatives are those developed in the US since 1989 and in the Australian and new Zealand (ANZ) area since 1999. Both in US and ANZ, in fact, a widespread recognition of the IL importance gave rise to national policies aimed at setting coherent and enabling contexts for IL developments. On the contrary, Europe has not yet matured the awareness of the role that IL can assume, independently – even if in synergy – from other literacies, such as computer literacy or digital literacy or media literacy. As a consequence of being a neglected policy issue, European IL initiatives have been developed in a fragmented and episodic manner (Basili, 2003)39. This recognition was the rationale behind the launch in 2003 of the European network on Information Literacy (EnIL), aimed at both setting a common research agenda among IL researchers in Europe and diffusion a Culture of Information in Europe40. A more detailed comparison of the European situation with respect to US and ANZ will be part of the Empatic final report, aimed at streaming the IL issue within the attention of policy makers. In view of the above, his section of the report is aimed at pursuing both the following tasks: - providing a first systematically gathered information about how the EU funding activities

have been addressed IL; - collecting a set of best practices to be further analysed by the next phases of the Empatic

project.

2.1 Methodology

The process of collecting data on IL initiatives have taken into account the nature of the Empatic project as an action transversal to all the four areas of the EU Lifelong Learning programme (Erasmus, Comenius, Grundtvig, Leonardo) segmented by educational level (university, school, adult and vocational). Therefore, a first step has been to analyse the databases of EU funded projects, and more specifically, the following sources: ADAM (Advanced Data Archive and Management System) - Leonardo da Vinci Projects and Products Portal http://www.adam-europe.eu/adam/homepageView.htm ISOC - SOCRATES Projects Database (until 2004 ) http://www.isoc.siu.no/isocii.nsf CORDIS - Community Research and Development Information Service http://cordis.europa.eu/ These were the natural source of information, but the project also gathered information on other projects funded in a range of programmes such as FP3-FP7, ESF, etc. . 39 Basili, C. (ed.). (2003). Information literacy in Europe. A first insight into the state of the art of information literacy in the European Union. Roma: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche 40 http://www.ceris.cnr.it/Basili/EnIL/index.html


The national initiatives have been derived mainly from: The European Observatory on IL Policies and Research http://www.ceris.cnr.it/Basili/EnIL/gateway/gatewayhome.htm a source produced by the CNR-Ceris within the research activities of the European network on Information Literacy. The EnIL Observatory covers a set of European countries41, and therefore the Empatic list of best practices concentrates on the 10 countries there represented: Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Spain. UK initiatives have been chosen based on their meaningfulness, while the Turkish and Polish initiatives have been identified, respectively, by Jagu and TDK Empatic partners. Besides these intrinsic project constraints, a set of representation criteria were identified in the Empatic’s desk research work package. The guiding logic was to represent each initiative through a set of attributes which will be functional to the next steps, and – more specifically – to the activities concerning the analysis of best practices and the formulation of policy recommendations. The representation criteria identified are listed and described in the figure below.

41The European Observatory on IL Policies and Research Available: http://www.ceris.cnr.it/Basili/EnIL/gatewayhome.htm


Identification attributes: name of the initiative, acronym, URL, Leader institution, contacts;

Country: the one of the coordinator if a multinational initiative;

Leader institution typology:

Government/Parliament, Ministry, National Authority/Committee, Local Authority/Committee, University, Department, Research Institution, Professional Body, International organisation, NGO

Kind of initiative: policy, position & recommendations, strategy, R&D project, survey, resource(s)/tool(s) for learners/teachers/users, curriculum, promotion/support/awareness/debate/culture

EU frame: COMENIUS, ERASMUS, GRUNDTVIG, LEONARDO, MINERVA, Transversal, FP3, FP4, FP7 / FP6, European Structural Funds, National, EU, International.

Context or main focus: Information Literacy, Media Literacy, Digital Literacy, Information/Digital Literacy, Information/Media Literacy, Digital/Media Literacy, Science Literacy, Statistical Literacy

Target community: Schools, HE, Adults, VET, mixed (the target community can be larger with respect to the LLL frame (COMENIUS, ERASMUS, GRUNDTVIG, LEONARDO);

Start date : this field is not always available, but it is meaningful in order to understand how timely the leader institution realised the importance of IL.

Fig. 16- representation format of IL best-practices .


2.2 List of initial 87 potential initiatives for good practice selection

Below are listed the 87 initiatives identified, from which 20 will be selected as good practice cases for deeper analysis in the next phases of Empatic

Initiative short name or acronym

Initiative full name Author / Coordinator name

Contact(s) Country Launch year

End year

Initiative frame

Target Sector(s) / Segment(s)

ALCE ALCE Animation for reading and comprehension at school

Fundación Tomillo Capto - Centro de Actividades Pedagógicas, Spain

[email protected] - Luis RUIZ DEL ÁRBOL T +34.915.61.16.03 F +34 915 63 97 84

Spain 1998 1999 COMENIUS Schools

Alfin-EEES Alfin-EEES - Skills and competencies in information management for learning to learn within European Higher Education

Universidad de Granada. Facultad Biblioteconomía y Documentación, Spain

María Pinto Molina Tel.: 34 958 243 933 Fax: 34 958 243 490

Spain 2006 ongoing National HE

CHILIAS Children in Libraries: improving multimedia virtual library access and information skills

Stuttgart City Library, Germany

Ingrid BUSSMANN Tel:+49-711-2165710/5730 Fax:+49-711-2165701

Germany 1996 1998 FP4 Schools

CIL CIL: basic IL tutorial of the CIB- Inter Library Centre, University Libraries System of Bologna University

CIB - Inter Library Centre, University Libraries System of Alma Mater Studiorum, Bologna University

Alina Renditiso Department of Education Sciences - Library Tel. 051 20 98540

Italy Latest ed 2009

National users





End year

Initiative frame


Compulsory schooling obligation until the age of 16 years: the new key competences

Compulsory schooling obligation until the age of 16 years: the new key competences - Synthesis of the Italian Minister of Public Education's speech (Original in Italian)

Ministry of Public Education, Italy

Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione - Viale Trastevere, 76/A 00153 Rome Italy - Tel.: 06 5849.1

Italy 2007 ongoing National Schools

DEDICATE Distance Education Information Courses through Networks

Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

Nancy FJÄLLBRANT Tel:+46-31-7723754 Fax:+46-31-168494

Sweden 1997 1998 FP4 VET

DELCIS Distance Education for Librarians; Creating an Information-Competent Society

Vilnius University, Department of Communication, Lithuania

[email protected] Lithuania 2000 2002 LEONARDO VET

Diliweb Diliweb - The shortest way to the Net

The University of Le Havre

Pierre-Yves Cachard [email protected]

France 2000 ongoing International HE

The DOTEINE research group

The DOTEINE research group

Library & Information Science Department - Carlos III University of Madrid

Miguel Ángel Marzal García-Quismondo (Director) - Professor at the Library & Information Science Department of the Carlos III University of Madrid - Tel.: 91-6249219 91-8561251

Spain 2003 ongoing National HE

The DOTEINE project

Documentation and information technologies for education: instruments for information literacy and the organization of educational resources

Library & Information Science Department - Carlos III University of Madrid

Miguel Ángel Marzal García-Quismondo (Director) - Professor at the Library & Information Science Department of the Carlos III University of Madrid - Tel.: 91-6249219 91-8561251

Spain 2003 2006 National HE





End year

Initiative frame


E-learning and Integrated Education

E-learning and Integrated Education

Department of Education Sciences Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Padua

Luciano Galliani (course director) Tel. 049/8278956 Alessandra Dal Corso (organizational secretary) Tel. 049/8278964

Italy 2004 2005 National VET

E-meryt E-meryt - programme for social integration and e-inclusion of people 50+

LUTW - the Lodz Third Age University

[email protected]; Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.

Poland 2009 2009 ESF Adults

EDUCATE End-user courses in information access through communication technology

University of Limerick, Ireland

Patrick KELLY Tel:+353-61-333644 Fax:+353-61-338044

Ireland 1994 1997 FP3 HE

Educational Psychology proseminars: Information Literacy

Educational Psychology proseminars: Information Literacy

Library of the Faculty of Psychology - Vienna

Michaela Zemanek (Head) Tel.: +43(1) 4277-16830 Fax: +43(1) 4277-16839

Austria 2005 2005 National HE

EEE-European methods of e-teaching and e-learning

EEE-European methods of e-teaching and e-learning

Zespó! Szkol nr 24 im. prof. S. Bryly, ul. Ks. Janusza 45/4 Warszawa

[email protected]; person: Ewa Gutowska

Poland 2004 2005 COMENIUS Schools

ENTITLE Europe’s New libraries Together In Transversal Learning Environments

MDR Partners www.entitlelll.eu international 2008 2009 Transversal common

EU Media Trainer EU Media Trainer Bürgermedienzentrum Bennohaus, Germany

[email protected] Germany 2003 2005 LEONARDO VET

EU-Trainer for ICT- and Media competencies

EU-Trainer for ICT- and Media competencies

Bürgerhaus Bennohaus - Arbeitskreis Ostviertel e.V., Germany

Benedikt Althoff Tel.: ++49 (0)251 609673 Fax: ++49 (0)251 6096777 - [email protected]

Germany 2008 ongoing LEONARDO VET





End year

Initiative frame


The Evaluation of the Information Literacy of the Candidate Teachers in Primary Schools

The Evaluation of the Information Literacy of the Candidate Teachers in Primary Schools

Ba"aran, M. Turkey 2005 2005 National VET

FORM-IT Form - it "Take part in research"

Austrian Institute for Applied Ecology, Austria

Marie Céline LOIBL Tel:+43-1/523610529 Fax:+43-1-5235843

Austria 2006 2008 FP7 / FP6 VET

From Information Literacy to Life Long Learning II. National School Librarians' Conference:

II. National School Librarians' Conference: From Information Literacy to Life Long Learning

Özel Üsküdar American High School, #stanbul School Librarians' Group, Türkish Librarians' Association

Turkey 2009 2009 National VET

Global Imperative

A Global Imperative - The Report of the 21st Century Literary Summit

The New Media Consortium

t 512 445-4200 f 512 445-4205; www.nmc.org

International 2004 2005 International common

The Google Generation

The Google Generation JISC - Joint Information Systems Committee; BL - British Library

[email protected] United Kingdom

2007 2007 National VET

Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching (HILT)

Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching (HILT)

Cardiff University [email protected] United Kingdom

2005 ongoing National VET





End year

Initiative frame


HERON - Adults Training on basic knowledge and skills in New Technologies

HERON - Adults Training on basic knowledge and skills in New Technologies

The Institute of Adult Life Long Learning (IDEKE), which belongs to the General Secretariat of Life Long Learning (GGDVM).

http://www.emil-network.eu/res/

documents/resource/HERON%20-%20Adults%

20Training%20on%20Basic%

20Knowledge%20and%20Skills%20in%

20New%20Technologies.pdf

Greece 2005 2008 Adults

HÜBO Hacettepe Üniversity Information Literacy Program

Hacettepe University - Department of Information Management - Education Faculty

http://www.bby.hacettepe.edu.tr/ eng/yandaleng.asp

Turkey 2010 National common

I Curriculum - The Knowledge and Information Skills needed for living in the Digital Age

I Curriculum - The Knowledge and Information Skills needed for living in the Digital Age

Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas - Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Greece

[email protected] Greece 2002 2004 MINERVA common

ICT as a tool to activate seniors education

ICT as a tool to activate seniors education and their personal development - exchanging experiences, ideas and good practices

Fullness-of-Life Academy Association, Poland, Krakow

[email protected]; tel. +48 12 294-81-35, tel./fax +48 12 294-81-36

Poland 2008 2010 GRUNDTVIG Adults

ILIPG Innovative Library Initiatives Promotion Group

#stanbul Technical University - Library and Documentation Branch

http://www.library.itu.edu.tr/ ilipg/pt03_uyeler.html

Turkey 2007 2009 National common





End year

Initiative frame


Improvement of the information literacy for Life Long Learning in Primary School

Improvement of the information literacy for Life Long Learning in Primary School

Raziye Demiralay; $irin Karadeniz

[email protected]; [email protected]

Turkey 2008 ongoing National Schools

Information For All Programme - IFAP

Information For All Programme - IFAP

UNESCO [email protected]; [email protected]

International 2000 ongoing International common

Information Literacy

Information Literacy Aberdeen Business School - Robert Gordon University


ongoing National HE

Information Literacy and Active Education: A Practice Model

Information Literacy and Active Education: A Practice Model

Serkan KOÇ; Özgün Ko"aner

[email protected] Turkey 2005 ongoing National HE

Information literacy courses

Information literacy courses at the Library of the Kaunas University of Technology

Kaunas University of Technology. The Library

Gene Duobiniene (Director) tel. 300650, tel./fax. +370-37-323590 Vanda Dovydaityte (Deputy director) tel. +370-37-300651

Lithuania 1999 2003 International HE

Information Literacy Curriculum Project 2004-2006

Information Literacy Curriculum Project 2004-2006

University of Helsinki, Finland

Kaisa Sinikara - Director of Library and Information Services Development, University of Helsinki - P.O. Box 33 - FI-00014

Finland 2004 2006 National HE

Information Literacy- Educational Seminars

Information Literacy- Educational Seminars

University of Macedonia -Library & Information Center

http://www.lib.uom.gr/index.php?lang=utf-8

Greece 1999 ongoing National HE





End year

Initiative frame


Information Literacy module

Information Literacy module

NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork

Isolde Harpur, Trinity College Library Dublin

Ireland ongoing National HE

Information Literacy for Teachers

Information Literacy for Teachers

Evgenidis Foundation-Library

[email protected] Greece National VET

Information Literacy Project

Information literacy project

Staffordshire University


ongoing National HE

Information literacy skills

Information literacy skills - the link between secondary and tertiary education

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)

[email protected]; [email protected]

United Kingdom

2004 2008 National Schools

Informatyka+ Informatyka+: the interregional programme for the development of the secondary school students' qualifications in Information Communication Technology

Wy%sza Szko!a Informatyki (The Academy of Informatics) in Warsaw

Project's office – Wy%sza Szko!a Informatyki, Lewartowskiego St. / 17 0-169 Warsaw / Poland

Poland 2008 2012 National Schools

ISIC 2008 Information Seeking in Context (ISIC) 2008

Vilnius University. Faculty of Communication. Department of Information and Communication

Dr. Erika Jani&nien' (contact person) tel. +370 5 2366119

Lithuania 2008 2008 International HE

Learning by doing: ICT since early years

Learning by doing: ICT since early years

Szkola Podstawowa Nr 31, Aleja Zwyci(stwa, Dabrowa Gornicza-Zabkowice

[email protected], person: Miroslaw Pyplacz

Poland 2005 2006 COMENIUS Schools





End year

Initiative frame


Learning Objects Web

Learning Objects Web Aalborg University Library - Aalborg

Niels Jørgen Blaabjerg, Tel.: 9635 7304 [email protected]

Denmark 2006 ongoing National HE

Library - community public information centre

Library - community public information centre

Lithuanian Regional Research Institute, Kaunas

Antanas Alvikas (Director) Drs. Jurga Bu)ait' (Project manager) Edita Naujokaityt' (Project manager)

Lithuania 2003 2004 EU VET

MA in Information Literacy

MA in Information Literacy

University of Sheffield [email protected] United Kingdom

2010 ongoing National HE

Medienpass (Media portfolio: blended learning course on media literacy for language teachers)

Technische Universität Dresden, Lehrzentrum Sprachen und Kulturen, Germany

[email protected] Germany 2006 ongoing LEONARDO VET

Mile Mile - Model for information literacy education

Aalborg University Library, Denmark

[email protected] Denmark 1999 2001 National HE

The multimedia school library

Project: the multimedia school library

Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture (BMUKK) Vienna

Prof. Mag. Werner Schöggl (Project co-ordination) Service centre for school libraries - AHS Vienna Tel. 43-1/ 523 62 22 - 93278 Fax 43-1/523 62 22 99 93 210

Austria ongoing National Schools

Net Communication for Learning

Net Communication for Learning Course for students of Pedagogical Sciences (Master's Degree)

Faculty of Education Sciences "Roma Tre" University, Rome

Prof. Francesco Susi (Dean) Tel.: 06 49229323 Fax: 06 4463722

Italy 2006 National HE





End year

Initiative frame


"ORION" Information Literacy Tutorial Reference Services,

Reference Services, "ORION" Information Literacy Tutorial

Library of A.T.E.I. of Thessaloniki

[email protected] Greece ongoing National VET

Project IL I / Projekt IK I

Information Literacy Project I (IL I) / Projekt Informationskompetenz I

The Library of the University of Konstanz, Germany

Oliver Kohl-Frey - Tel.:++49 - (0)7531 - 88 - 2835 - Fax: ++49 - (0)7531 - 88 - 3082

Germany 2003 2005 National HE

Project Information Literacy II

Joint Project on Comparative Research in Information Literacy for advanced students and staff members

The Library of the University of Konstanz, Germany

Bernd Schmid-Ruhe Tel: ++49/(0)7531/88-2804 - Fax: ++49/(0)7531/88-3082

Germany 2005 2007 National HE

PUZZLE Increasing and supporting the individual demand for education in the Information Society

Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris

[email protected] - Tel.: 33 1 55 65 67 90 - Fax: 33 1 55 65 66 94

France 2001 2004 GRUNDTVIG VET

Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning

Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning

European Parliament & Council of the European Union, European Union

Tel.: (32-2) 281 61 11 - Fax: (32-2) 281 69 34

European Union

2006 EU Schools





End year

Initiative frame


Recommendation for universities for including information literacy competency in the new degree structures

Recommendation for universities for including information literacy competency in the new degree structures

University of Helsinki, Finland

Anne Lehto tel (09) 191 23958 Finland 2004 National HE

Regional Public Library Seminars

Regional Public Library Seminars

Hacettepe University i Prof. Dr. Bülent Yılmaz

Turkey 2002 ongoing National VET

Retrieving and accessing scientific and technical information

Accéder à l'information scientifique et technique (=Retrieving and accessing scientific and technical information)

Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maitres d'Aquitaine "Academie de Bordeaux"

[email protected] Tel. +33.5.56.12.67.68 Fax: +33 5 56 12 67 99

France 2000 2003 COMENIUS VET

SAPRISTI! SAPRISTI! – Access paths and tracks to search for scientific and technical information on the Internet

Doc’Insa Lyon Monique Joly [email protected] France 1996 ongoing National HE

School-documentalist teacher training

School-documentalist teacher training (AY 2005-2006): distance course

Department of Education Sciences Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Padua

Prof. Donatella Lombello (course director)

Italy 2005 2006 National VET

The School on the Net

The School on the Net Faculty of Education Sciences "Roma Tre" University, Rome

Ornella Martini Tel.: 06 49229247 Fax: 06 491627

Italy 2005 ongoing National VET





End year

Initiative frame


Searching for and processing information - A high school project

Searching for and processing information - A high school project

“E. Fermi” Technical High School for Surveyors - Pistoia

Prof. Roberto Cadonici (coordinator) Tel. 39-573-452638

Italy 2000 ongoing National Schools

SEEKS - Adult Information Seeking Strategies in the Information Society

SEEKS - Adult Information Seeking Strategies in the Information Society

MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY, UK

[email protected] - Telephone +00 44 161 275 7255 - Fax +00 44 161 200 3505

United Kingdom

2001 2003 MINERVA VET

Sieciaki.pl Sieciaki.pl – get to know the safe side of the internet

Fundacja Dzieci Niczyje (Nobody's Children Foundation)

[email protected], [email protected].

Poland 2005 --- National Schools

SLAM SLAM - School Libraries as Multimedia Centres

PEDAGOGISK SENTER - KARMØY KOMMUNE - SKOLE- OG KULTURETATEN, Norway

Per FAGERLAND tel.: +47 52811445 fax: +47 52855327 - [email protected]

Norway 1999 2000 MINERVA VET

Statistical Literacy

International Statistical Literacy Project

International Statistical Institute

[email protected] International 1994 ongoing International common

A Study on Equipping Students with Information Literacy Skills

A Study on Equipping Students with Information Literacy Skills

Serap Kurbano*lu; Buket Akkoyunlu

[email protected] [email protected]

Turkey 2001 2002 National Schools

Study and information skills

Study and information skills

University of Ioannina - Central Library

[email protected] Greece National HE

SWIM SWIM - Streaming Webbased Information Modules

Aalborg University Library - Aalborg

Maj Rosenstand Tel.: 9635 9349 Niels Jørgen Blåbjerg Tel.: 9635 7304

Denmark 2001 2003 National HE





End year

Initiative frame


SWIM tutorial SWIM - information search strategy

Aalborg University Library - Aalborg

Maj Rosenstand Tel.: 9635 9349 Niels Jørgen Blåbjerg Tel.: 9635 7304

Denmark 2001 2003 National HE

Szkolenia - to si( op!aca

Database of training offers

PARP - the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development

[email protected]; www.parp.gov.pl; phone +48 22 432 80 80, +48 22 432 71 25

Poland 2010 2011 ESF VET

Television News on Europe - Project on media education for compulsory schools in Europe

Television News on Europe - Project on media education for compulsory schools in Europe

KULTURRING IN BERLIN E.V. - Kulturring Institute, Germany

Armin HOTTMANN Email [email protected] T +49.30.513.97.49 F +49 30 513 97 55

Germany 1999 2002 COMENIUS Schools

UNESCO Information and Media Literacy

Information and Media Literacy

UNESCO [email protected] International ongoing International common

UNESCO International Conference Information Literacy

The 2003 International Conference of Information Literacy Experts - Prague

UNESCO [email protected] International 2003 2003 International common

UNESCO International Colloquium Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning

The 2005 High-Level International Colloquium on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning

UNESCO, NFIL, IFLA [email protected] International 2005 2005 International common





End year

Initiative frame


UNESCO Teacher-Training Curricula for Media and Information Literacy

Teacher-Training Curricula for Media and Information Literacy

UNESCO [email protected] International 2008 ongoing International VET

UNESCO Training of Information Professionals

Training of Information Professionals

UNESCO [email protected] International 2002 2009 International VET

UNESCO

Training-the-Trainers in Information Literacy

Training-the-Trainers in Information Literacy

UNESCO [email protected] International 2007 2009 International VET

UNESCO Training of Media Professionals

Training of Media Professionals

UNESCO [email protected] International 2002 ongoing International VET

University of Crete: User's Training

User's Training Library and Information Center of the Technical University of Crete

[email protected] Greece ongoing National HE

University of Thessaly: Training & Information Support

Training & Information Support

Library & Information Center - University of Thessaly

[email protected] Greece ongoing National VET

Using the Internet for Non-work Information Seeking

Using the Internet for Non-work Information Seeking

Department of Information Studies Tampere University

Ari Haasio Finland ongoing National common





End year

Initiative frame


Value of data The value of data: to know more, to decide better

ISTAT [email protected] Italy 2002 ongoing National Schools

VERITY Virtual and Electronic Resources for Information skills Training

University of Sunderland, UK

Jo AITKINS Tel:+44-191-5153915 Fax:+44-191-5152904

United Kingdom

1998 2000 FP4 Schools

Web-Seal Web Searching, Information Literacy and Learning (Web-SeaL)

University of Tampere - Department of Information Studies, Finland

Eero Sormunen tel. +358-03-3551 6972 (office) tel. +358-50-362 8781 (mobile)

Finland 2006 2009 National HE

wkluczamy.PL wkluczamy.PL ("self e-inclusion"), the initiative to "upgrade" 50+ Silesians in the information society

Association "Silesian Gallery of Ideas"

[email protected]; tel. +48 32 276 42 20; tel. gsm +48 604 476 069; www.galeriaidei.pl

Poland 2009 ongoing Regional Adults

The working group "The multimedia school library"

The working group "The multimedia school library"

Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture (BMUKK) Vienna

Werner Schöggl (co-ordinator) Service centre for school libraries - AHS Vienna Tel. 43-1/ 523 62 22 - 93278 FAX 43-1/523 62 22 99 93 210

Austria National Schools


2.3 Data clustering and analysis

A first analysis based on those single attributes give rises to the following results (see graphs 1 to 8).

5

2

4

3

1

3

1

2

2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

COMENIUS

GRUNDTVIG

LEONARDO

MINERVA

FP3

FP4

FP7 / FP6

EU

ESF

Graph. 1 - IL initiatives by EU funding Programme


Graph. 2 - IL initiatives by institution


Graph. 3- IL initiatives by Country


Graph. 4 - IL initiatives by initiative-type Low number of curriculum project while this area needs to be addressed better since there are no common views; training in the situation of lack of curricula might not be efficient

Graph. 5 - IL initiatives by literacy area The granularity of literacies still needs to be understood better; it seems a bit worrying that the area is fragmented and not approached in a holistic way


Graph. 6 - IL initiatives by year of launch

Graph. 7 - IL initiatives by Country and year of launch


Graph. 8 - IL initiatives by target community

2.4 IL Institutional Bodies and Networks

Specific mention is due to Institutions and on European network focussed on IL.

National Forum on Information Literacy (United States) http://infolit.org Established in 1989 under the auspices of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, the National Forum on Information Literacy’s mission was to promote information literacy. After operating as a volunteer organization for the last 20 years, the National Forum on Information incorporated as a 501c3 non-profit organization, based in Massachusetts, in 2009. Engaging collaborative partnerships with community based organizations servicing the diverse needs of middle and low income populations in the U.S. is at the heart of how we view our mission moving forward (source: the Institutional website).

Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) http://www.anziil.org/ ANZIIL was established in 2000 with the mission to support organisations, institutions and individuals in the promotion of information literacy and, in particular, the embedding of information literacy within the total educational process. The ways in which ANZIIL can achieve this mission is by the identification, facilitation, fostering and support of best practice in information literacy education through professional development, promotion, marketing and advocacy, and research. ANZIIL's activities and initiatives will primarily target vocational and higher education. It is intended that the Institute will collaborate with a range of national and international organisations, forums and groups to complement their existing information literacy aims, objectives and initiatives. In particular, ANZIIL will work closely with CAUL, the Council of New


Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), NWGTLS (National Working Group for TAFE Library Services) and Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) (source: the Institutional website).

European Network on Information Literacy (EnIL) http://www.ceris.cnr.it/Basili/EnIL/index.html EnIL (European network on Information Literacy) is a research initiative of the Institute for Studies on Scientific Research and Documentation (Isrds), within the Italian National Research Council, started in 2001. The idea of opening a European discourse on Information Literacy stems from the evident absence of a "European voice" in the IL debate, where USA initiatives appear to dominate. Among the EnIL aims are the establishment of an aggregation and discussion place among European IL experts (the EnIL network); the definition within the network on a common research agenda; the development of a system for the assessment and certification of information skills of the Higher Education students in Europe; the experimentation of a European Information Driving License (EiDL), analogous to the European Computer Driving License (EcDL)through a number of EiDL pilot projects in different countries. The philosophy underlying the EnIL programme is based on common strategies, exchange of results, and production of comparable data. Common, sharable and comparable results, in fact, will give a Europe-wide methodological value to all the EnIL actions. Furthermore, operating as a network, EnIL will empower the promotion of its goals (source: the Institutional website).

International Alliance for Information Literacy (IAIL) http://infolit.org/international-alliance-2/ Upon a recommendation from the Prague Conference of Information Literacy Experts held September 20-23, 2003, the following organizations are committing to creating an International Alliance for Information Literacy. The evolving purpose for the Alliance is to facilitate the sharing of information and expertise on information literacy across regions and nations of the world. The ultimate goal of the Alliance is to facilitate people’s participating effectively in the Information Society, as part of the basic human right of life long learning. The Alliance will consist of organizations that act as nodes around the world. Member organizations will generally be regional or national organizations that are broadly based, including representation from the economic development, education, health, human services, librarianship, public policy, and information and communications technology sectors. Founding Members of IAIL: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) European Network on Information Literacy(Europe) National Forum on Information Literacy (United States) NORDINFOlit (Scandinavia) SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy (United Kingdom)


SECTION3: THE EMPATIC FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS

3.1 Three perspectives of analysis

The universe of discourse on Information Literacy (IL) can be stratified into different layers. The proposed stratification can be of use both for a theoretical systematisation of the issue and for identifying a sequence of measures aimed at an effective propagation of a Culture of Information. The proposal presents a mathematical-like approach, which starts proposing the definitions of some basic concepts and then proceeds with 10 propositions or theses, each supported by a number of argumentations. The proposed theses are generated by the following perspectives of analysis of the Information Literacy phenomenon, and accordingly grouped:

a) DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE: analysis of Information Literacy as Culture of information and as a form of study of information; b) SOCIAL/POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE: analysis of Information Literacy as an educational policy goal; c) COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE: analysis of Information Literacy as a form of personal competence.

As a consequence of the proposed theses, the following foci of the Information Literacy discourse are identified:

• Information Literacy rationale (theses 1,2,3); • Policy awareness (theses 4,5,6); • Planning and implementation (theses 7,8,9); • Individual development (thesis 10).

Against this background, it can be explored how the distinction between different stratifications – by trying to give an order to the reasoning about the issues concerning literacy in information – can facilitate the identification of a set of variables to be taken into account in defining a coherent strategy towards making Information Literacy legitimate within the European Higher Education context. Nearly twenty years after the historical ALA report42, the configuration of discourse about the IL phenomenon appears focused around the following key issues: the promoter community of the IL problem is the librarian one; in the Library and Information Science (LIS) field a large consent about IL importance do exists, but a universally accepted definition of the concept is still lacking; outside the LIS community a very scarce awareness of the question and of the distinction between the concepts of “Information” and “Informatics” persists and prevails; a great number of tools of self-teaching has been developed, in the form of tutorials, mostly by initiative of libraries; a great amount of specialised literature about IL is available, however it’s

42 ALA Presidential Committee on IL, Final Report on IL, 1989. Available: http://www.infolit.org/documents/89Report.htm


IL

universe of discourse

Culture of Information

Disciplinary perspective

Information skills

Information literacy

Cognitive perspective

Socio-political perspective

needed an agreement about concrete actions, agents and ways for an effective embodiment of the IL objective. The IL territory has been ironically defined as "the IL land of confusion"43. In view of the above, we strongly believe that coherent pragmatic decisions can derive from coherent theoretical premises. Therefore, with such intent, we want to propose here several theses, which, supported by adequate argumentations, could be useful in differentiating among discussion levels that, despite their differences, in the literature appears to be undifferentiated. In fact, our conviction is that the lack of a separation between different “stratifications” of reasoning represents one of the main causes of confusion about IL discourse and, consequently, that this obscures the way towards concrete and coordinated policy measures. “Information Literacy” is a complex phenomenon, which can be analysed from several perspectives; here we have chosen to analyse it from the following points of view (see fig.17): 1. disciplinary, as a form of study of information (Culture of Information); 2. social/educational, as a form of literacy (Information Literacy); 3. cognitive, as a form of individual competency (information skills or i-skills).

Fig. 17 - Perspectives of analysis of the Information Literacy discourse Reasoning about IL definitions 43 http://lorenzen.blogspot.com/


The complexity of the IL concept exceeds the literal meaning of the expression, nevertheless, the practice of going back to the literal meaning of the term "literacy" can be of use. As resulting from the etymological and philological analysis of the English term “literacy”, this refers to a status, a condition, and in English there is not a verb analogous to the Italian “alfabetizzare”, with a similar meaning of “making people to become literate”44. For the purposes of this paper it’s fundamental to distinguish two meanings of the term literacy: the status (to be literate) and the process (to make someone becoming literate). DEFINITION. Information Literacy (as process): educational process, of political derivation, that aims at spreading in a population a minimum level of competencies for the retrieval, evaluation and exploitation of information from a variety of sources. DEFINITION. Information Literacy (as status): social objective of educational policy; state or condition, result of a process; to have acquired the competence to retrieve, evaluate and use information from a variety of sources. The distinction between the process and its result is essential for the purposes of this paper. In fact, the reasoning on the result articulates around variables like:

• expected competency level; • aims of learning; • assessment procedures;

while reasoning about the process articulates around other variables, like: • planning of actions, • target communities; • curriculum design; • course configuration; • teaching methods.

The theses described in the following paragraphs are strictly connected with the definitions here provided: some of them represent a justification of the proposed definitions, particularly for terms in italic, while others are consequences of them. Other theses provide the rationale of our reasoning and thus are described as first in the next section.

3.1.1 Information Literacy as a discipline of study

Thesis 1: The culture of information falls within the disciplinary field of documentation-information science

Firstly, we want to place in a definite disciplinary field the knowledge transferred during the process of IL. This perspective of analysis regards IL as a form of study of information, as a branch of knowledge and therefore as a subject of study, which we will call “Culture of Information”. We refer to the seminal work of Fritz Machlup and Una Mansfield8 for a deepening and a comparison between nine disciplinary fields, whose study object, principle or secondary, is information:

44 In fact, the English verb “to alphabetize” means “to put in alphabetical order”.


“cognitive sciences, computer and information science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, library and information sciences, cybernetics, information theory, mathematical system theory and general system theory”.45

In the same work the authors explain the debate about the suitability of the connotation as “science” for some disciplines, an issue outside the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, it is worth to underline the existence of cultural differences in the study of information, even in the limits of the LIS (Library and Information Sciences) field. The common theoretical matrix of the various documentary disciplines – Archival Science, Library Science, Bibliography, Documentation or Information Science46 – is undeniable. However, those elements, which at a theoretical level represent a partial difference, in the purposes of the single disciplines constitute a relevant distinction. By accepting such significant common matrix, the Culture of Information inherits methodologies and tools from Bibliography, Library Science, Documentation, Scientific Research Methodologies and Computer Science.47 However, from Documentation three fundamental elements are additionally and specifically inherited:

- the ability of mapping heterogeneous sources, - a critical sense and evaluation ability, - and – most important – the typology of results.

In fact, by limiting the comparison between Documentation and Library Science in other papers we have underlined that:

“In comparison with the result of the reference service, which points out and refers to information sources, the result of the documentation service is a synthetic processing of various sources; it is the answer and not just a medium to achieve it.”48

As to the comparison between Library Instruction and Information Literacy, the first one is limited to sources and services provided by the library and it is addressed to library users, while the second one relates to every form of explicit, codified and recorded information, and it is addressed to everyone who needs information for study or practical purposes. As a disciplinary field, IL can therefore be considered as a branch of the Information Science, as this one affects much more IL aims. The relation between Culture of Information and Information Science or Documentation can be better described through an analogy with the relation between Computer Literacy and Computer Science; reasoning about this analogy on the one hand is useful to put an accent on the distinction between the concepts of Information Literacy and Computer Literacy, on the other hand to better understand the disciplinary placement of IL. The disciplinary matrix of Computer Literacy is Computer Science, as well as that one of IL is Information Science.

45 MACHLUP, F. , MANSFIELD, U. (1983) The study of information. Interdisciplinary messages, Wiley & Sons. 46 Hereafter the terms Documentation and Information Science will refer to the same discipline, since the former – in use until 1969 - is the older name of the latter. 47 the list is merely in alphabetical order, without any attribution of relevance as to the influence on IL of the various disciplines. 48 BASILI, Carla. L’assetto disciplinare della Documentazione. Alcune riflessioni, "AIDA Informazioni", 18(2000), n. 3/4, p.30-35


Therefore we could point out a derivation relation between matrices and branches as follows:

branch X : matrix X = branch Y : matrix Y

which in the analysed case appears as follows:

Information Literacy : Information Science = Computer Literacy : Computer Science

A first consequence of this relation is that in both couples the matrix is a discipline, which forms the professionals of that subject (respectively documentalist and the so called computer specialists), while the branch is a discipline, which forms the user, respectively of information and of computers. This can be synthetically represented as:

Information Science : Information Professional = Computer Science : Computer Professional

Information Literacy : Information User = Computer Literacy : Computer User

A second consequence relates to the inheritance of basic characteristics from the matrix: the branch inherits the main characteristics of the matrix from which it derives. Should we place the different concepts in a thesaurus, the relation between terms could be represented as follows:

Information Science Computer Science NT Information Literacy NT Computer Literacy

And vice versa: Information Literacy Computer Literacy BT Information Science BT Computer Science

Therefore - we want to stress again - Culture of Information is aimed at educating the information user, and it is distinguished from the education of the information professional.

Thesis 2: The Culture of information is a knowledge independent from every application domain The definition of “discipline” provided by Machlup and Mansfield, that we entirely report:

“Disciplines (sciences, academic areas of research and teaching) are orderly arrangements (metaphorically called bodies) of coherent thoughts, formulated as propositions, about things (sense-objects or thought-objects) deemed worthy of being known (i.e., being believed with some degree of confidence) and being passed on. (Machlup-Mansfield, p.3)”

is enough clear and simple for the scope of our reasoning. In addition, most scientific disciplines present a theoretical and an applicative component. This is affirmed by Borko in relation to Documentation, at the moment of the epochal transition from “Documentation” to “Information Science” in 196849.

49 This change of denomination is considered as officially ratified in 1969 with the new denomination of the American Documentation Institute, which became American Society for Information Science.


“Information Science [ ... ] is concerned with that body of knowledge relating to the origination, collection, organisation, storage, retrieval, interpretation, transmission, transformation, and utilisation of information. It has both a pure science component, which enquires into the subject without regard to its application, and an applied science component, which develops services and products. (Borko,196850)”

Ancient philosophers already made a distinction between !"#$%&µ& (epistéme) – science or scientific cognition - and '()*& (téchne) – art, skill or ability, instrumental, context and practical knowledge. Aristotle’s position, in particular, has been understood by modern science as basis of the distinction between theory (possession of knowledge) and practice (the field of craft, profession)51. Because of its derivation from Documentation (compare Thesis 1), the Culture of Information inherits the same components. The theoretical component is based on a set of general principles, logical constructions and standardised methodologies, inheritance of the Information Science52, which represent the theoretical basis for structuring, representing and organising information. Objects of study, just citing some of them, are: architecture of a system for information retrieval, structure of an apparatus for indexing, methodologies of evaluation of sources, criteria for analysis of sources, techniques for production of dossiers. Besides these we find general principles and context knowledge such as: concept of bibliographic control, processing of the documentary chain, information life cycle, and ethical use of information. Such theoretical foundation is completely independent from its applicative context, which permits to place the Culture of Information among the other disciplines of study. The theoretical component, in other words, constitutes the property of transversality of the Culture of Information with respect to subject (or vertical) disciplines like Astrophysics, Geology, Medicine, and so on (see Thesis 3 below). On the other hand, only the applicative component of the Culture of Information can – but not necessarily must – be intended as functional for a specific domain or field of study. It comprises the study of services and information resources of interest for a specific subject field. The applied component can be integrated into various vertical disciplines (compare Thesis 3 below), through the indication of specific sources and description of particular reference systems, also with support of the library staff. Another important distinction is between the concepts of education and training. In previous papers we already underlined the need of establishing a Culture of Information53, that means to infuse values as to the importance of information and its ethical use, while training is mainly concerned with instructions for using tools and information resources. The specialised literature distinguishes different kinds of knowledge:

50 BORKO, Harold (1968) Information science: What is it? Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 19, 3-5. 51 PARRY, Richard, "Episteme and Techne", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2003 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Available: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2003/entries/episteme-techne 52 This set of general principles constitute the theoretical foundation of Information Science as a scientific discipline 53 BASILI, C. (2000), “Information literacy”: un concetto solo statunitense? (Information literacy: a issue only in the USA?). “AIDAinformazioni”, 19 (2001), n. 2


• know-why: is the knowledge of general principles and laws, which govern nature, human mind and society;

• Know-what: is the knowledge of facts (contiguous, as regards its meaning, to that which is commonly defined “information”)

• Know-how: refers to the skill and competence in doing something. With a view to such distinction and considering the large proliferation of courses and IL tutorials, most of which is designed for auto-instruction, we want to stress that IL is mainly "knowledge", not only "ability". This view is supported by Shapiro’s and Hughes’s concept, who include IL among the liberal arts, as already mentioned (see § 1.2.1 in Section 1 of this report) "Information and computer literacy, in the conventional sense, are functionally valuable technical skills. But information literacy should in fact be conceived more broadly as a new liberal art that extends from knowing how to use computers and access information to critical reflection on the nature of information itself, its technical infrastructure, and its social, cultural and even philosophical context and impact - as essential to the mental framework of the educated information-age citizen as the trivium of basic liberal arts (grammar, logic and rhetoric) was to the educated person in medieval society." 54

Thesis 3: The Culture of information is a kind of transversal knowledge In the specialised literature often recurs the distinction between subject disciplines and cross-curricular disciplines, where the former– which we call here “vertical” – are focused to a particular field of study and research, while the latter – which we call “horizontal” – have methodological character, independent from a specific scientific sector. The Culture of information, as Informatics and Second Language, is transversal to every intellectual activity, and thus it can be introduced in any course of study. In fact, it can be counted among the methodologies of scientific research and it has been defined as the basis for “learning how to learn”. Furthermore, the competencies acquired (information skills) are defined in the European Education Thesaurus as included in the Basic Education17, as follows:

54 SHAPIRO, Jeremy J. and HUGHES, Shelley K. (1996) Information Literacy as a Liberal Art: Enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum. «Educom review». 31 (2), 31-35. Available: http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/review/reviewArticles/31231.html)


basic education MT (10) content of education da: grunduddannelse de: Grundbildung el : +,-./0 1/2,.314-1

es: educación básica fi : perusopetus fr : éducation de base it : educazione di base nl : fundamenteel onderwijs pt : Educação de base sv: grundutbildning SN instruction in subjects of elementary education, social skills and community responsibilities UF fundamental education NT1 computer literacy NT1 information skills RT basic training RT content of education RT minimum competencies

Thesis 4: The Culture of information is distinct from the Informatics culture In 1983 F.W. Horton pointed out the distinction between Information Literacy and Computer Literacy – affirming that:

“Computer literacy has to do with increasing our understanding of what the machine can and cannot do. There are two major components of computer literacy: hardware and software.

… Information literacy, then, as opposed to computer literacy, means rising the level of awareness of individuals and enterprises to the knowledge explosion, and how machine-aided handling systems can help identify, access and obtain data, documents and literature needed for problem-solving and decision-making. [Horton, 1983]55”

As a matter of facts, today all the secondary information and an increasing part of the primary is available in electronic format. Correspondently, a great variety of search software exists and therefore its functionality as computer application has to be understood and studied. 55 HORTON, Forrest Woody Jr. (1983), Information literacy vs. computer literacy. “Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science”, Vol. 9, No. 4, April 1983


Nevertheless, the large part of the study should concern the general logic of the internal design of this class of packages, and its strong relation with the underlying information architecture.

3.1.2 Information Literacy as social objective

Thesis 5: Information Literacy is a requisite of the Information Society The reasons supporting this thesis can be found in the introduction of nearby all articles dealing with the issue of Information Literacy, therefore we will just cite the most recurring slogans related to well-known problems and needs of the current Information Society:

• information overload; • information smog; • learn how to learn; • active citizenship; • information divide.

The only remark we want to underline is a kind of graduality in the different purposes of Information Literacy. In the literature it seems to exist a large consent about the close relation between Information Literacy and processes like problem-solving and decision-making. However, these purposes can be conceived as one end of a spectrum, where the opposite end is the enlargement of individual knowledge. With Fig.18 we try to provide a graphic representation of this concept.

Activity Goal Context

Decision Decision-making problem-solving

Lifelong learning

Investigation - interpretation

Dossier/report Scientific research/ vocational education

Study Enlargement of individual

knowledge Formal Education

Fig. 18 - Aims and contexts of Information Literacy exploitation


Thesis 6: Information Literacy is an objective of educational policy In previous paragraphs we defined information literacy as an educational policy goal. In the following ones we will give a number of argumentations supporting this thesis. Firstly, the original meaning of term “literacy” – i. e. “to be able to read and write” – historically originates as political objective aiming at solving the question of illiteracy. Furthermore, Zurkowsky56 himself, to whom – as already remembered - the coin of the expression “information literate” has been attributed, characterizes it as an intervention of political matrix. This cannot be recognized in the sentence intensively cited in the literature as follows:

“People trained in the application of information resources to their work can be called information literates. They have learned techniques and skills for using the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in molding information solutions to their problems [Zurkowski, 1974]“.

but rather in the abstract of his paper found in the Eric database57:

“The relations of the National Program for Library and Information Services to information literacy and the information industry are discussed. Private sector information resources are identified in several categories. The traditional relations of libraries and with the information industry are described, and examples are given of situations where traditional roles of libraries and private sector information activities are in transition. It is suggested that the top priority of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science should be directed toward establishing a major national program to achieve universal information literacy by 1984. (PF)”

In fact, in the abstract – as we can see – is clearly mentioned Zurkowsky’s hope that a national program would be started, aiming at achieving universal information literacy within a decade.

Thesis 7: Information Literacy implies a massive operation The definition of information literacy proposed in section 2. implies the concept of “target population” of the Information Literacy process. As we understood this expression and according to the character of Zurkowsky’s paper, target population is every citizen who is in condition of information illiteracy. However, it is necessary to consider those cases where the educational objective is pursued for a limited universe in comparison with that of a whole nation: a region, a province, a municipality, a university, a school. The case of studying population of universities is of particular interest to our analysis. The IL process, anyway, implies the idea of a mass-operation, according to its policy connotation (see theses 6). This aspect can be easily recognised even in the denomination of international initiatives like the UNESCO “Information for all Programme”.

Thesis 8: Information Literacy refers to a minimum amount of competencies The concept of literacy has been extended from its original meaning, i. e. “ability to read and write”, to that of competencies of general character, dispensed to individuals which are

56ZURKOWSKI, Paul (1974), The information service environment: Relationships and priorities. Washington, DC : National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Government Printing Office, 1974 (Report ED 100391). 57 ED100391: The Information Service Environment: Relationships and Priorities. Related Paper No. 5.


completely or nearly completely incompetent in that matter58. This is opposite, we underline this concept, to the professional training of information specialists (see Thesis 1). We can consider three levels of competence:

Basic Advanced Specialised

In fact, besides the literal meaning of the term “literacy” - which calls for an educational strategy informed to a “minimum common denominator” - it could be useful to consider also both advanced and specialised levels of competence, particularly in the Higher Education context. Our vision of the three levels of IL competency is outlined below. Basic IL competencies:

• Fundamental concepts: value of information, a general picture of the information universe

• Basic theoretical level: information mapping, Information Retrieval basics, minimum set of evaluation criteria

Advanced IL competencies: • Basic IL competencies • Analysis of information sources • The logic of the Information Retrieval process • Semantic representation of documents (basic concepts) • Scientific writing

Specialised IL competencies:

• Advanced IL competencies • Disciplinary information mapping • Specific search tools • Disciplinary writing

The distinction among different levels of IL competency is relevant for the discussion about two main points: the configuration of IL relative to the curriculum and the attribution of the charge of teaching.

Thesis 9: Information Literacy requires changes in the education system To date, the teaching dimension of IL has been developed mostly by autonomous initiative of libraries worldwide, in the common format of tutorials and self-instruction courses (see PRIMO)59. Nevertheless, IL – as a requisite of the Information Society (see thesis 5) – cannot be developed in episodic and fragmented forms, but rather through coherent policy measures concerning modifications in the education system. 58 We intend, for example, the processes of diffuse Second language and Computer Literacies launched in the primary school in the last decades. 59 http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/iscommittees/webpages/emergingtech/site/index.cfm


This topic represents a key issue for an effective implementation of the IL process, as it comprises a conversion of policy goals into operational terms. Implementing such transformation means to identify (and agree upon) one of the alternative paths of modification of the education system. The general concept of Education Policy as it is defined into the TESE – Thesaurus for Education Systems in Europe – 2006 Edition60:

Education policy MT (04) UF educational policy NT access to education NT accreditation NT democratisation of education NT duration of compulsory education NT duration of studies NT duration of the academic year NT duration of the school year NT forecasting NT free education NT language policy NT planning NT priority area NT promotion of mobility NT reform NT school closure NT setting up a school RT education RT educational authority can help in outline the issue. We underlined those terms which are (to different extents) of interest for an IL policy.

3.1.3 Information Literacy as cognitive acquisition of individuals

Thesis 10: Information competencies (or i-skills) must be certificated Acquired information competencies constitute the learner dimension of Information Literacy. The cognitive perspective is the most analysed in the literature and a number of standards has been developed for different classes of learners. Of particular interest for the scope of this paper are the ACRL Competency Standards for Higher Education61 . It is meaningful to distinguish between two main classes of learners: • those still within the cycles of formal education (pupils in primary education, students in

secondary and higher or tertiary education); • those already outside the formal education system, i.e. in the lifelong learning context.

60 http://www.eurydice.org/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/TESEHome It is meaningful to note that on April 2008 the descriptor “Information Literacy” is absent from the Tese thesaurus, while it is present in the Eric Thesaurus since 1992. 61 http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm


Information competencies achieved within the formal Education fall within the standard evaluation procedures, like any other competence dispensed there. In previous sections the connotation of the Culture of information as an autonomous discipline has been already discussed (compare theses 1-3). Out of the formal education cycles, and therefore in the lifelong learning context, it is necessary to define and develop methodologies for standard certification. In this direction could be the setting-up of an Information Driving License – perhaps at European level (EiDL62), analogous to the European Computer Driving License (EcDL). The EiDL could be calibrated on a minimum level of competency (the basic level – see thesis 8) in order to be suitable for both a massive operation (see theses 7) and generalised needs, independent from a specific application field (see thesis 2).

3.2. Consequences of the proposed framework

The theses illustrated in the previous sections can be, in turn, assumed as statements to be taken into account in outlining how IL could be institutionalised in Europe, with particular focus on Higher Education institutions. A first step should be that of promoting among academics and policy makers the awareness of both the need of IL (see thesis 5) and the distinction between IL and Computer Literacy (thesis 4). Alongside, the idea of replicating – mutatis mutandis – an institutional configuration path similar to that of Computer Literacy can be suggested. Both disciplines, in fact, are transversal and useful to every course of study (see thesis 3). A second step could be to insert IL among the learning outcomes of European universities and, particularly, among the so-called “generic instrumental competencies” (theses 11 and 3). A viable solution could be to integrate the ACRL Competency Standards for Higher Education into the Tuning project63 activities64. A strong assumption underlying the previous steps is to recognise the Culture of Information as a discipline in its own right (thesis 1), to be conceived mainly as "knowledge" then as mere "ability" (thesis 2), independent from any subject discipline (thesis 2), except for its applicative component (thesis 1), which can be related to the specialised IL competency level (thesis 10). The second edition of the ANZIL framework65, includes the following table, adapted from the work of Bruce66, illustrating IL program components::

62 BASILI, C. (ed.) Information literacy in Europe. A first insight into the state of the art of information literacy in the European Union. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Roma, 2003, 315 pp., p. 9 63 http://tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu/ 64 It is important to underline that the Tuning project is a university-led project. It presents the motivated and generous work of 128 academics from 105 University departments across the length and breadth of Europe (http://tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu/: final report of Tuning phase 1) 65 BUNDY, A. (ed.) (2004) Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework. Principles, standards and practice. Second edition, Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy, Adelaide. 66 BRUCE, C. (2002) Information literacy as a catalyst for educational change: a background paper. White paper prepared for UNESCO, the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy for use at the Meeting of Information Literacy Experts, Prague The Czech Republic 2002 Available: http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/bruce-fullpaper.pdf


Generic Extra curricular classes and/or self paced packages Parallel Extra curricular classes and/or self paced packages

that complement the curriculum Integrated Classes and packages that are part of the curriculum Embedded Curriculum design where students have ongoing

interaction and reflection with information Table.1 Information literacy program components

We would like to use this classification for reasoning about a range of disciplinary configurations of the discipline “Culture of Information” with respect to the academic curriculum. This implies a reformulation of the Anzil table above as follows:

Generic Extra curricular, not credit-bearing Parallel Extra curricular discipline, credit-bearing, optional

Integrated A discipline inserted into the curriculum, credit-bearing, mandatory

Embedded Part of subject disciplines Tab. 2 - disciplinary configurations of IL

According to table 2, the responsibility of teaching could be attributed to librarians for the basic level competencies (what in the table is “generic”) and to academic staff from the LIS Faculties for the other configurations. The embedded configuration - corresponding, in our vision, to what we defined as “specialised competency level” - should be imparted by academics of the “host” subject discipline. As concluding remarks, according to the research perspective of the European network on Information Literacy (EnIL), the discussion has been mainly focused to the Higher Education context, even if a large part of the concepts expressed are of general interest. Some of the consequences derived from the proposed framework of analysis are in contrast to the positions dominating the specialised literature. It is hoped that just this contrast could be of some help in the debate around Information Literacy in Europe.


SECTION 4: SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1. Information literacy in the context of lifelong learning. ............................................. 6 Fig. 2- Excerpts from the Alxandria Proclamation on IL and LLL .......................................... 8 Fig. 3. Information literacy and critical thinking. ............................................................. 10 Fig. 4 - The SCONUL proposal ...................................................................................... 14 Fig. 5 - 21st Century Skills. Source: Parnership for 21st century skills ............................... 15 Fig. 6 21st century skills - source: P21 .......................................................................... 16 Fig. 7 - Information Literacy within 21st Century Skills (Source P21 framework) ................. 16 Fig. 8 - Media Literacy within 21st Century Skills (Source P21 framework) ......................... 17 Fig. 9 - ICT or digital Literacy within 21st Century Skills (Source P21 framework) ............... 17 Fig. 10 - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007 .......................................... 18 Fig. 11- Class1 skills - - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007 ..................... 18 Fig. 12 - Class1 Dispositions in Action - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007 19 Fig. 13 -- Class1-Responsibilities - Standards for the 21st Century Learner, AASL, 2007 ...... 19 Fig. 14. Graphical representation of graduate attributes and their functional aims (Barrie, 2004). ...................................................................................................................... 22 Fig. 15 - Key Competences for Lifelong Learning — A European Reference Framework ......... 28 Fig. 16- representation format of IL best-practices ......................................................... 31 Fig. 17 - Perspectives of analysis of the Information Literacy discourse .............................. 54 Fig. 18 - Aims and contexts of Information Literacy exploitation ....................................... 61

LIST OF GRAPHS

Graph. 1 - IL initiatives by EU funding Programme .......................................................... 46 Graph. 2 - IL initiatives by institution ............................................................................ 47 Graph. 3- IL initiatives by Country ................................................................................ 48 Graph. 4 - IL initiatives by initiative-type ....................................................................... 49 Graph. 5 - IL initiatives by literacy area ......................................................................... 49 Graph. 6 - IL initiatives by year of launch ...................................................................... 50 Graph. 7 - IL initiatives by Country and year of launch .................................................... 50 Graph. 8 - IL initiatives by target community ................................................................. 51

LIST OF TABLES

Tab. 1 - Skills and Tasks for Jobs: A SCANS Report for America 2000 ................................ 27 Tab. 2 - disciplinary configurations of IL ........................................................................ 66


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AASL American Association of School Librarians

ACRL Association of College and Research Libraries

ADAM Advanced Data Archive and Management System

ALA American Library Association

ANZIIL Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy

CAUL Council of Australian University Librarians

CILIP Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

EnIL EnIL – the European network on Information Literacy

ENQA European Network for Quality Assurance

ESF European structural funds

EU The European Union

FP Framework Programme

HE higher education

IFLA International Federation for Library Automation

IL Information literacy

JISC Joint Information Systems Committee

LLL Lifelong learning

NFIL National Forum on Information Literacy

SCONUL Society of College, National and University Libraries

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

VET vocational education and training

1

http://empat-ic.eu/eng/

Project funded by the European Commission

under the Lifelong Learning Programme

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be

held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.