Information Literacy and the Future

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"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those who
cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

• Alvin Toffler
• Future Shock, 1970

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Information Literacy in the Future

• The Disappearing Course

Disappearing
Carla List Plattsburgh State University State
University of Western Georgia 25 April 2004
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Accrediting Agencies and I.L.

• Libraries and learning resource centers must
  provide students with opportunities to learn how
  to access information in different formats so
  that they can continue life-long learning.

SACS Criteria for Accreditation 5.1.2
(1998) (SACS emphasis)
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Accrediting

• Libraries have the goal of helping students
  develop information literacy--the ability to
  locate, evaluate, and use information.
• SACS Criteria for Accreditation 5.1.2 (1998)

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Accrediting Middle States

• Information literacythe understanding and set
  of skills necessary to carry out the functions of
  effective information access, evaluation, and
  applicationis an essential component of any
  general education program and is promoted by the
  participation of professional library staff.

Characteristics of Excellence in Higher
Education Eligibility Requirements and Standards
for Accreditation, 2002, p.32.
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AccreditingMiddle States
Whew!!

• an intellectual framework for identifying,
  finding, understanding, evaluating and using
  information. It includes determining the nature
  and extent of needed information accessing
  information effectively and efficiently
  evaluating critically information and its
  sources incorporating selected information in
  the learners knowledge base and value system
  using information effectively to accomplish a
  specific purpose understanding the economic,
  legal and social issues surrounding the use of
  information and information technology and
  observing laws, regulations, and institutional
  policies related to the access and use of
  information.

Middle States Commission on Higher
Education.Developing Research Communication
Skills Guidelines for Information Literacy in
the Curriculum
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Goals Not Disappearing

• Lifelong results
• Good research habits
• Students internalize the concepts of information
  literacy
• Transfer of knowledge

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Research Not Disappearing

• Full-text databases

• Improved search engines

• More legitimate information via the Web

• More emphasis everywhere on critical thinking

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Technology Not Disappearing

• Students needs evolving

• Our mission changing?

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Who Disappears?

• Library faculty
• Departmental faculty
• IT faculty/staff

--no
--no
--no
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The Disappearing Course
Disappearing or
not

• Institution-wide integration of information
  literacy goals

• Seamless integration of information literacy
  goals into majors

• Stand-alone course(s)

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Disappearing Integration

• Requires collaboration

• Collaboration required

Librarians must work cooperatively with faculty
members and other information providers SACS
Criteria for Accreditation 5.1.2 (1998)
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Example Plattsburgh State

• General education courses will
• . . .
• b. integrate critical thinking and information
  management/literacy competencies into the
  curriculum
• . . .
• g. include technology appropriate to the
  discipline

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Invisible Information Literacy
The whole subject is a network of riddles -- a
network with solutions glimmering through.  -
H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man
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Glimmering Solutions

• Team-designed courses

• Course-specific/point-of-use/just-in-time
  research help/instruction
• (course-related instruction)

• Train-the-trainers instruction for departmental
  faculty

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Glimmering Solutions

• Departmental research updates from librarian(s)

• Stand-alone skills course(s)

• Stand-alone concepts course(s)

• (Your idea here)

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What Else to Do?

• M O R E ?!?!?s

• Committee work, presentations

• Consultant

• RESEARCH EXPERT

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What Does Invisibility Look Like?

• MANY courses contribute to final result
• No ONE course does it all

INVISIBLE
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Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. -
Jonathan Swift