Information literacy as a change agent?

SLIC FE Conference 23rd November 2007

025 Operation of libraries, archives, information centers

.1 Administration

.2 Collection development and acquisitions

.3 Bibliographic analysis and control

.4 Subject analysis and control

.5 Services to users.52 Reference and information services.523 Cooperative information services.524 Information search and retrieval.525 Selective dissemination of information.56 Orientation and bibliographic instruction for

users

Bundy (2002), looking into the future

• Massification of higher education– Accelerating

pedagogic change

• Disaggregation of teaching– Shift from teaching

towards student centred learning

• Collaboration, problem solving, innovation, creativity

Bundy: Characteristics of a modern university until 2025

Higher academic staff/student ratiosLess government fundingMore focus on graduate attributes and

qualitiesMore online enrolment, delivery and

academic progressMore local, national and global

partnerships

Parallels 2002 – 2007

• Bundy (2002) characteristics of HE, now reality?

• Do these realities present opportunities, or threats?

Bundy (2002), Opportunity or threat?

• Disaggregation of teaching– Arguably, emerging teaching and learning

approaches are information literacy centric

• Not just pedagogy, economic factors– Life long learning – an economic imperative?– Producing knowledge workers for the knowledge

economy– Learning to learn in the 21st Century

• Societal factors– Closing digital divides

Bundy (2002), Opportunity or threat?

Bundy (2002), Opportunity or threat?

• [Information literacy] from rhetoric to substance– Issue for librarians not libraries– Library-leadership required

• Information literacy as a change agent– Opportunity to;

• Restate• Reengineer, and• Reposition librarians and libraries

Where can information literacy make a difference?

Bundy (2002), From rhetoric to substance

• Advocacy– Advancing information literacy from a good

idea, towards a programme of study (preferably integrated into the curriculum)

– Developing (greater) partnership working between academics and librarians

Strengths (This <condition exists> making Information Literacy valuable within my organisational and/or professional setting <Information Literacy has this benefit>)Weaknesses (This <condition exists> negating the value of Information Literacy within my organisational and/or professional setting <barriers to developing Information Literacy exist>)Opportunities (This <action> will improve internal (student, staff, institutional) and external (employers, community, governmental) attitudes and/or approaches towards Information Literacy <by providing this advantage>)Threats (This <condition> may <create this disadvantage>)Ammended from “SWOT Analysis for Capturing and Sharing Knowledge and Information Assets” http://www.sannier.net/wiki1/index.php?title=SWOT_Analysis_for_Capturing_and_Sharing_Knowledge_and_Information_Assets

Action plan

Relevance, impact

• What is your organisation’s mission and values?

• Can you demonstrate strategic alignment? – Do your services directly contribute to taking

your organisation forward?

• University of Abertay Dundee– Graduate attributes– Information literacy secondary schools

partnerships

Where does your library need to make a difference?

025 Operation of libraries, archives, information centers

.1 Administration

.2 Collection development and acquisitions

.3 Bibliographic analysis and control

.4 Subject analysis and control

.5 Key services to users.52 Information literacy.523 Corporate information management.524 Information search and retrieval.525 Shared service delivery.56 ?

Contact details

Christopher Milne

Information Manager,

University of Abertay Dundee

c.milne@abertay.ac.uk

References

Bundy, A, (2002). The university library as educational change-agent: an Australian perspective. Paper for the OECD seminar Universities and libraries, Paris 26-27 August 2002.