The Scottish Information Literacy Project: working with partners to create an information literate S

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The Scottish Information Literacy
Projectworking with partners to create an
information literate Scotland
A Project review Dr John Crawford Christine
Irving
Sheffield University 12th March 2009
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Information Literacy

• "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." CILIP (2004) Information Literacy
  Definition
• Information Literacy was defined as the ability
  to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and
  effectively create, use and communicate
  information to address an issue or problem.
  Prague Declaration

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ICT / Drumchapel Project

• An exploratory project initially ICT skills
  orientated
• Community ICT facilities little used - Library
  and Cybercafés implications only now being
  addressed
• School and School Library are main focus for IT
  use in deprived areas
• Little integration of information literacy into
  the curriculum
• Levels of ICT deprivation did not seem to be
  high
• Basic IT skills exist- WP, email, Internet
• Pupil evaluation of websites poor
• An asylum seeking issue
• An information literacy/transition skills agenda
  emerged

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The Scottish Information Literacy Project -
objectives

• to develop an information literacy framework,
  linking primary, secondary and tertiary education
  to lifelong learning including workplace and
  adult literacies agendas
• Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for
  education and the wider community
• Working with information literacy champions both
  UK and worldwide 
• Researching and promoting information literacy in
  the workplace
• Identifying and working with partners, both in
  education and the wider community
• Researching the role of information literacy in
  continuing professional development
• Researching the health and media literacies agenda

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Progress to date

• First draft of Framework produced and piloted
  2004-8
• Information literacy in the workplace study
  2007-8
• Promoting international contacts 2007 onwards
• Contacts developed and strengthened with NGOs
• Extensive communications programme
• Website further developed and blog added
• Contact established with Glasgow Chamber of
  Commerce
• Initial health and media literacies contacts made
  
• Creation of an information literacy network
• Stimulated unprecedented level of activity in the
  schools sector in Scotland

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Partnerships and contacts

• Schools mainly with librarians
• FE/HE
• Dept. Educational Foundations, University of
  Wisconsin-Whitewater
• Delegation from Finland
• US National Forum for Information Literacy
• Workplace Scottish Government Glasgow Chamber
  of Commerce Scottish Trades Union Congress,
  Skills Development Scotland
• Learning and Teaching Scotland / Curriculum for
  Excellence (Literacy Team)

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Our friends in the North
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Current key objectives (Esmee Fairbairn
Foundation)

• To develop the Framework to extend the early
  years, workplace, wider access and lifelong
  learning components to make it a genuine lifelong
  learning policy documents
• To research and progress the information literacy
  in the workplace agenda

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A National Information Literacy Framework
(Scotland) outline
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A National Information Literacy Framework
(Scotland) contents

• Back ground information and provenance
• Acknowledgements
• Information literacy what it is
• Information literacy and lifelong learning
• Information literacy education
• Use of the Information Literacy framework
• The framework levels
• Information literacy and assessment
• Appendices

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The Framework current development

• Draft pdf to Weblog (work in progress)
• static pages (background information, different
  sectors, levels etc.)
• postings (current activities, developments etc.)
  to facilitate interactivity
• National Information Literacy Framework Scotland)
• Still to be further developed
• case studies (education, workplace)
• link to work related learning, skills strategy

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Information literacy in the workplace study
Dec.2007- Jan.2008 key findings

• The traditional library view of information as
  deriving from electronic and printed sources only
  is invalid in the workplace and must include
  people as sources of information
• The public enterprise with its emphasis on skills
  and qualifications is a fertile area for further
  investigation and developmental work
• Advanced Internet training extends employees
  information horizons
• A skill and qualifications based agenda is an
  important pre-condition
• Most interviewees viewed public libraries as
  irrelevant for anything other than recreational
  purposes
• Information literacy training programmes must be
  highly focused on the target audience
• An understanding of what constitutes information
  literacy is widespread in the workplace but is
  often implicit rather than explicit and is based
  on qualifications, experience, and networking
  activities
• Organizations which access a wide range of
  information, of high quality, including sources
  outwith their organization, will make the best
  informed decisions

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Recommendations

• Contacts should be established with chambers of
  commerce, skills agencies and other organizations
  involved in workplace training
• Organizations information polices which are
  largely implicit should be made explicit and
  should include accessing a wide range of
  information, of high quality, including sources
  outwith their organization
• Preliminary skills audits should be carried out
  within organizations to determine staff
  information literacy skills and the
  organizations information literacy policy
• The viability of developing information literacy
  training programmes should be further researched
• Information literacy training programmes should
  initially target sympathetic organizations
• Advanced Internet training programmes should be
  offered to all workplace employees
• The private sector should be researched further
• The provision of information literacy training
  programmes by public libraries should be
  investigated
• Developmental work should be undertaken with
  Adult Literacies agencies
• NHS contacts should be expanded to progress the
  health literacies agenda

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Some outcomes (1)

• Glasgow Chamber of Commerce couple of meetings.
  Agreed to progress by sending out a questionnaire
  devised by us to all Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
  members about their information skills training
  needs. Article written for their magazine
• CBI Scotland one meeting to identify companies
  who might want to incorporate IL training into
  their CPD programmes but no takers
• Scottish Trades Union Congress presentation to
  Everyday Skills Committee of STUC (composed of TU
  learning representatives well received
  further action pending
• Skills Development Scotland (Careers Division
  old Careers Scotland) meetings led to
  identification of IL as a career choice,
  progression CPD and employability skill -
  symposium to be held on 27th March
• Employability and Skills Division, Lifelong
  Learning Directorate meeting which validated
  our strategy of targeting employers and skills
  organisation

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Some outcomes (2)

• Public library services contacts with three
  services including Inverclyde Libraries who are
  currently running employability training courses
  (10 weeks). IL has been incorporated in the
  courses at our suggestion. (Basic skills courses
  run by public libraries have IT/Internet training
  from which IL training can be developed)
• Aberdeen Business School secured 400,000 EU
  funding to run bite sized courses for local
  SMEs (up to 12 modules). 20 businesses and 70
  learners so far hope for 175. Exchanged
  information and role of IL employers dont
  know what training they need (RGU finding)
• Royal Society of Arts - Opening Minds Curriculum
  running in 200 schools in England includes an
  IL component Managing information also strong
  focus on skills acquisition in education and the
  workplace
• Scottish Government Information Service have
  set up advanced Internet searching skills courses
  for staff developed an information strategy for
  the Scottish Government. Now on Scottish
  Government website Education and Training
  (Information Literacies) a first?
  http//www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills
  -strategy/progress/sg/supportingindividuals/Inform
  ationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

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What we have learned

• Different groups of people constantly reinterpret
  IL in the light of their own qualifications,
  training, experience and needs
• IL is a key career choice, progression, CPD,
  employability and workplace skill
• IL is not recognised in any government document
  produced since 2005 which recognises IL as an
  independent skill. It is rolled up with IT this
  much change! But Scottish Government case study a
  start
• Target skills and employers/employee
  organisations
• IL skills training in the workplace is feasible
  but must be carefully planned and targeted
• The public library can offer IL training,
  developed from IT training but again it but must
  be carefully planned and targeted. Public
  librarians must be involved in IL skills
  development
• Need to think cross sectorally - Govan High
  Schools Future Skills framework of about 70
  skills in association with local employers and
  involving the pupils. Includes IL. Blane (2008)
• Findings of workplace study have been validated

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Skills utilisation ?

• 'Skills utilisation is about ensuring the most
  effective application of skills in the workplace
  to maximise performance through the interplay of
  a number of key agents (e.g. employers,
  employees, learning providers and the state) and
  the use of a range of HR, management and working
  practices. Effective skills utilisation seeks to
  match the use of skills to business
  demands/needs.' (p.2)
• Skills utilisation literature review, a report by
  CFE for the Education Analytical Services,
  Lifelong Learning Research, Scottish Government
  (Executive summary and full text available at
  http//www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/12/15
  114643/0)

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Some further information

• Crawford, John and Irving (2008) Going beyond
  the library the current work of the Scottish
  Information Literacy Project. Library and
  information research, (32) 102, pp. 29-37
  http//www.lirg.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/artic
  le/view/89
• Crawford, John and Irving (2009) Information
  literacy in the workplace a qualitative
  exploratory study, JOLIS, (41) 29-38
  http//lis.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/2
  9?etoc
• McDonald, Natalie and Keenan, Peter (2009) The
  stuff beyond Google information literacy in a
  corporate setting . http//www.information-online.
  com.au/sb_clients/iog/bin/iog_programme_you_may_be
  _right_C1.cfm?vm_key8EDF7462-D5A6-FFAA-AB89D511D7
  4817DA
• Crawford, John et al. (2008) Use of information
  in the Scottish Government, Library information
  update, Dec., pp. 48-49
• Interview with Philip Pothen, formerly of JISC,
  28.11.08 about the work of the Project
  http//www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/02/podcast
  71johncrawfordchristineirving.aspx

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Contact details

• Dr. John Crawford, Christine Irving
• Library Research Officer, Researcher /
  Project Officer
• Milton Street Building Milton Street Building
• MS004, (ground floor) MS005, (ground floor)
• Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian
  University
• Cowcaddens Road Cowcaddens Road
• Glasgow, G4 0BA Glasgow, G4 0BA
• Tel [phone] Tel [phone]
• Email jcr_at_gcal.ac.uk Email christine.irving_at_gcal
  .ac.uk
• Project website www.caledonian.ac.uk/ils/
• Project blog http//caledonianblogs.net/informat
  ion-literacy/

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Questions?