COPING WITH COPING WITH INFORMATION OVERLOADINFORMATION OVERLOAD

Emerging information literacy trends and strategies to help three generations.

INFORMATION LITERACY GROUP 2Megan Foidel

Marta MurvoshElizabeth Tarski

THE EMERGING SOCIAL ISSUE:

The amount of easily accessible information is growing geometrically, contributing to information overload.

The Google Generation and Gen Xers are no more information literate than their baby-boomer predecessors.

THE EMERGING SOCIAL ISSUE:

U.S. POPULATION PROJECTIONS

AGE DEMOGRAPHICSAGE DEMOGRAPHICS

WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?

“The ability to seek, find, and decipher information ...”

—President Barak ObamaProclimation of National Information Literacy Awareness Month, 2009.

American Library AssociationAssociation of Colleges and Research Libraries

WHAT IS INFORMATION OVERLOAD?

“When the amount of When the amount of available information available information exceedsexceeds the user's ability the user's ability to process it" to process it"

—Orrin Klapp 1982, p 63

TECHNOLOGY’S ROLE IN INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Research seems to be far more difficult to conduct in the digital age than it did in previous times.

— Alison J. Head & Michael B. Eisenberg Project Information Literacy Progress Report, 2009

SIMILAR INFORMATION ISSUES FOR

ALL AGE GROUPS

In a world that’s information rich... having more information isn’t necessarily better.

Real information power is having the right information at the right time.

—American Library Association, 2001, p 6

WEEDING, SEARCHING, WEEDING, SEARCHING, POLLUTIONPOLLUTION

YOUNG ADULTS• According to the Young Adult Library Science

Service Association, a young adult is a person between the ages of 12 and 18.

• “Growing up in a world dominated by the Internet…far more comfortable using a keyboard than writing in a notebook…constant connection with friends and family at any time and from any place is of vital importance to them” (Black, 94).

• These learners are digital natives.

COLLEGE-AGED ADULTS• Traditional university students, late teens to

early 20s, pursing bachelor’s degrees• Community college students, variety of

backgrounds, goals, and ages, late teens to seniors

• Digital immigrants and digital natives• Wide range of technology skills• Undeserved confidence in their information

literacy skills.

BABY BOOMERS & SENIORS

• Seniors (or older adults): Defined by the ALA as 55 and older.

• Baby Boomers: Totaling more than 23% of the population by 2015 (U.S. Census, 2004).

• Seniors, aged 51 and older, will total more than 33 percent of the U.S. population by 2015.

• “Silver Surfers”• Extremely diverse

COMMON STRATEGIES FOR ALL GENERATIONS

• Explain information and technology in terms each generation understands.– For seniors, URLs are like addresses.– For teens, a book report is like a movie trailer.

• Understand and respect each groups’ cognitive and emotive needs during the learning process.

INFORMATION LITERACY & INFORMATION OVERLOAD

INFORMATION LITERACY & INFORMATION OVERLOAD

• Young adults are taught information literacy strategies in order to deal with information overload from a young age.

• “Overcoming the constraints of time and space, information technology serves as a tool of empowerment for the individual. It is the challenge of educators today to support and utilize this extraordinary tool in meeting the needs of Gen Y and those who follow”

-- Black, 2010, p 100

INFORMATION LITERACY & INFORMATION OVERLOAD

• College-aged adults perception of their information literacy skills exceeds their actual skill set (Godwin, 2009).

• They use technology to help them with research, often pre-searching on Wikipedia.

• They are not as rigorous with information searches to solve personal problems or satisfy personal curiosity.

INFORMATION LITERACY & INFORMATION OVERLOAD

• Seniors or older adults: Aging factors vs. information literacy

• Relationship between technology skills and information literacy and overload

• “Digital Divide” and information literacy• Stereotypes of seniors vs. reality

WAYS TO HELP PATRONS: WAYS TO HELP PATRONS: WEED OUT THE BAD WEED OUT THE BAD

FIND THE USEFULFIND THE USEFUL

YOUNG ADULT STRATEGIES

“Information literacy brings together education and information resources in a dynamic way to guarantee meaningful student learning … This is our future.”

-- Ross, 1992, p 16

COLLEGE-AGED ADULT STRATEGIES

• First research stop: Wikipedia• Use Wikipedia to explain how

information is created• Lessons in research must be

relevant, not repetitive.

SENIOR STRATEGIES

• Senior-friendly library materials and programs

• Computer literacy classes for seniors• Taking into consideration aging factors

(cognition and physical)

IMPLEMENT INFORMATION LITERACY

STRATEGIES WITH TECHNOLOGY

• Online computers• Wikipedia• Social networking

YOUNG ADULT TECHNOLOGIES

• “Digital natives multitask and prefer visuals to graphics and text. They are intricately connected or networked via cell phone, blog, Facebook, and YouTube, thriving on instant gratification and preferring games to work” (Black, 2010, p 95).

• This means: Entertain them. Libraries need games/gaming stations available and need to know what’s going on with technology. Be a step ahead to help them become information literate.

SENIOR TECHNOLOGIES

• Adaptive technologies: - Text to speech software

- Screen magnifiers

- Senior friendly websites

- Virtual magnifying glass

BEST PRACTICES

• Information literacy and technology needs to be taught in a language that the patrons’ age group understands

• Relevance, not repetition• Using technology in an age-appropriate way

to develop and sustain information literacy through out a lifetime

REFERENCES• Akin, L. (1998). Information Overload and Children: A Survey of Texas Elementary School Students. Retrieved from:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume11998slmqo/akin.cfm

• American Librarian Association. (2010). Information Literacy. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/atoz/profresourcesinfolit/information_literacy.cfm

• American Library Association. (2001). A library advocate’s guide to building information literate communities. Library advocacy now! Action pack 2001. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ola/informationliteracy.pdf

• Association of Colleges and Research Libraries. (1989, January 10). ACRL Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: final report. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm

• Black, A. (2010). Gen Y: Who they are and how they learn. educational HORIZONS, Winter, 92-101.

• Bundy, A. (2002, September). Growing the community of the informed: information literacy -- a global issue. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 33:3. Retrieved from: http://alia.org.au/publishing/aarl/33.3/full.text/bundy.html

• Butler, N.R. & Hodin, M.W. (2010, May 24). Debt and the demographics of aging. Washington Times. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/24/debt-and-the-demographics-of-aging/?page=1

• Fitzgerald, M.A. (1999). Evaluating Information: An Information Literacy Challenge. American Association of School Librarians. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume21999/vol2fitzgerald.cfm

• Godwin, P. (2009) Information literacy and Web 2.0: is it just hype? Program: electronic library and information systems, 43(3), 264-274. Retrieved from EBSCO EJS. doi: 10.1108/00330330910978563

• Head, A. J. & Eisenberg, M. B. (2009, February 4). What Today’s College Students Say about Conducting Research in the Digital Age. Project Information Literacy Progress Report. The Information School, University of Washington. Retrieved from: http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

REFERENCES CONTINUED• Honnold, R., & Mesaros, S. A. (2004). Serving seniors. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

• Klapp, O. (1982). "Meaning lag in the Information society." Journal of Communication, 32(2), p 56–66.

• Leung, R. (2005, September 4). The Echo Boomers: Steve Kroft reports on the children of the Baby Boomers. 60 Minutes. Retrieved from: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/01/60minutes/main646890.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

• National Institute on Aging. (2010). Making your website senior friendly. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/website.htm

• Obama, B. (2009, October 1). “National Information Literacy Awareness Month, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/2009literacy_prc_rel.pdf

• Ross, T. (1992). The power of information literacy: unity of education and resources for the 21st century. presented at The Annual Meeting of the International Association of School Librarianship. Australia: Marist Sisters College.

• RUSA. (2008). Guidelines for library and information services to older adults. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/resources/guidelines/libraryservices.cfm

• Small, R. V., Zakaria, N., and El-Figuigui, H. (2004, March). Motivational Aspects of Information Literacy Skills Instruction in Community College Libraries. American College and Research Libraries, 65(2), p 96-121. Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org/content/65/2/96.full.pdf+html.

• Spitzer, K. L., Eisenberg, M. B., & Lowe, C. A. (1998). Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age. In The Evolution of a Concept (p. 35-64). Syracuse, NY: Information Resources Publications.

• U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). U.S. interim projections by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/usinterimproj/natprojtab02b.pdf

• U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Projected population of the united states, by age and sex: 2000 to 2050. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/usinterimproj/natprojtab02a.pdf