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

Taking information literacy beyond the

‘library’Or

How the Project has expanded

Dr John Crawford

Under One Umbrella 2009University of Hertfordshire 14th – 15th July 2009

Where it all beganDrumchapel Project 2003

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 skills/transitional agenda emerged

Which led to…..

• Scottish Information Literacy Project was founded in 2004 with the original sole objective of developing an information literacy Framework linking secondary and tertiary education which would provide a means of promoting independent learning in both sectors and support the transition between secondary and tertiary education – in a year!

But• a need to explain and promote the concept of information literacy to

educational and other bodies - advocacy focus. Included a petition to the Scottish Parliament

• Recruited leading information literacy advocates in Scotland as Project partners. (Initially secondary HE/FE) partnership focus

• the workplace (studies of GCU students/alumni) - a workplace focus• Adult literacies contacts – an employability focus • Continuing Professional Development (CPD) a CPD focus

• An independent learning skill - lifelong learning focus• A major skills agenda but see below

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

Agenda of issues 2004 -2007-8

• 2003 – The Drumchapel Project – where it all began• 2004 – The ‘one year’ Information Literacy, the Link between

Secondary and Tertiary Education Project launched • 2005-8 - the first draft of the National Information Literacy

Framework Scotland completed, piloted and evaluated• Contact and work with Learning and Teaching Scotland and

learndirectscotland• Extensive network of partners and contacts from school,

FE/HE, workplace, lifelong learning, Adult literacies + overseas• Website developed and more recently blog + PR activities• Initial health and media literacy contacts

Our friends in the North

Current key objectives (Esmee Fairbairn Foundation funded)

• Further develop the Framework to extend the early years, workplace, wider access and lifelong learning components to make it a genuine lifelong learning policy documents

• Research and progress the information literacy in the workplace agenda

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

• 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 organization’s 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

Recommendations

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.

• CBI Scotland – one meeting to identify companies who might want to incorporate IL training into their CPD programmes – no subsequent developments

• 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. Joint symposium with SDS 27th March

• Employability and Skills Division, Lifelong Learning Directorate – meeting which validated our strategy of targeting employers’ and skills organisation

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’ don’t 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 • 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/InformationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

The Draft Framework

• Background 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

The Framework Levels

planning

locating

organising

representing

evaluating

EXPLORE

Schools (P3 - P7)

defining the topic

identification of key words

planning and organising

identification of suitable informationsources

effective searching

evaluating information

understanding ethics andresponsibility of use

understanding how to communicate orshare your findings

CILIP Information LiteracyDefinition

reviewing

Information Handling Skills

SCQF Levels 1 - 7

Further Education & Schools

recognise a need for information

distinguish ways in which theinformation 'gap' may be addressed

construct strategies for locatinginformation

locate and access information

compare and evaluate informationobtained from different sources

synthesise and build upon existinginformation, contributing to the

creation of new knowledge

SCONUL

SCQF Level 8 - 12

Higher Education & FurtherEducation

understanding a need

understanding availability

understanding how to find information

understanding the need to evaluateresults

understanding how to work with orexploit results

understanding ethics andresponsibility of use

understanding how to communicate orshare your findings

understand how to manage yourfindings

CILIP Information LiteracyDefinition

Lifelong learning including allinformation using communitities e.g.

community learning and in theworkplace

Information Literacy Framework

The Restructured Framework

• Draft pdf further developed as a Weblog – static pages (background information, different

sectors, levels etc.)– interactive through postings (current activities,

developments etc.)

• Still to be further developed– workplace case studies needed, SME’s, large

organisations (public and private), different professions

The Framework

HOME ABOUT

Appendicies

Appendix A:Examples ofinformation literacy material

Appendix B: Existing skillsdefinitions, frameworks andmodels used to inform the

development of the draft nationalframework

Appendix D: University of AbertayDundee: Information Literacy

Framework

Appendix E: LoughboroughUniversity Library Information

Literacy: IL competences

OVERVIEW

Information Literacy and LifeLong learning

Information Literacy andEducation

INFORMATION LITERACY USE OF THE FRAMEWORK

CASE STUDIES - NHS ILCOMPETENCY FRAMEWORK;

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT: - SKILLSSTRATEGY CASE STUDY / LIS IL

STRATEGY & IL WORK

CILIP Information LiteracyDefinition

Lifelong learning including allinformation using communitities e.g.

community learning and in theworkplace

CASE STUDIES - UNIVERSITY OFABERTAY

SCONUL 7 PILLARS

Further Education & HigherEducation

Information Handling Skills

CILIP Information LiteracyDefinition

CASE STUDIES - COLLEGE (ILDIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT),

GOVAN HIGH SCHOOL (STAFFINDUCTION, FUTURE SKILLS), S1ENGLISH RESEARCH, SCIENCEDRAFT CfE OUTCOMES, HIGHER

HISTORY,

SCQF Levels 1 - 7

Secondary Schools & FurtherEducation

EXPLORE MODEL

CASE STUDIES - EXPLOREMODEL, NORTH AYRSHIRETOOLKIT, ABERDEENSHIRE

SCHOOLSKIT, TRANSITION WORK

Schools (P3 - P7)

FRAMEWORK LEVELS ASSESSMENTS

National Information LiteracyFramework (Scotland)

And more recently

• Information literacy case studies/exemplars of good practice in secondary schools completed http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/informationliteracy

• Funding obtained from Learning and Teaching Scotland to develop learning materials and CPD materials for teachers aimed at Primaries 1-3 (5-7) – See Digital Britain report (2009), p.64

• Fruitful working relationships established with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce; Scottish Trades Union Congress; Learning and Teaching Scotland; Skills Development Scotland; public libraries; Royal Society of Arts; Scottish Government Information Service

• Study on the workplace and its consequences • Joint Open Space event with Skills Development Scotland• Post Open Space meeting• Internal focus

Putting definitions into practice

"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

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 see Scottish Government website – Education and Training (Information Literacies) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/progress/sg/supportingindividuals/InformationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

• 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 School’s ‘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

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/article/view/89

• Crawford, John and Irving (2009) Information literacy in the workplace: a qualitative exploratory study, JOLIS, (41 )pp. 29-38 http://lis.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/29?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_key=8EDF7462-D5A6-FFAA-AB89D511D74817DA

• 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/podcast71johncrawfordchristineirving.aspx

Contact details Dr. John Crawford, Christine IrvingLibrary Research Officer, Researcher / Project OfficerMilton Street Building Milton Street BuildingMS004, (ground floor) MS005, (ground floor)Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University Cowcaddens Road Cowcaddens RoadGlasgow, G4 0BA Glasgow, G4 0BATel: 0141-273 -1248 Tel: 0141-273 -1249

Email jcr@gcal.ac.uk Email christine.irving@gcal.ac.uk

Project website www.caledonian.ac.uk/ils/Project blog http://caledonianblogs.net/information-

literacy/

Questions?