information literacy, indicators and social context
TRANSCRIPT
Information Literacy, Information Literacy, Indicators and Social Indicators and Social
ContextContext
Information Literacy, Information Literacy, Indicators and Social Indicators and Social
ContextContextProf. Piyadasa RanasingheProf. Piyadasa Ranasinghe
President, Sri Lanka Library Association and President, Sri Lanka Library Association and Head, Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., University of Head, Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., University of
KelaniyaKelaniyaSri LankaSri Lanka
The Concept• The concept of making people
information literate has been known by different terms at different stages of time
• Literacy, Library Orientation, Bibliographic Instruction, User Education, Information Skills Training
• The latest terminology is Information Literacy
Contd.• Each of these terms reflect : • the technological development• methods of information
communication (media)• socio-economic requirements of
particular periods
Simple library orientation/user
education was sufficient• When• The World was practicing inward or
closed economic policies• Education was teacher centered• Technological development s were not so
fast• Concepts of information society /
knowledge society were not articulated
IL has become essential
• When• The world began to practice open economic
policies• Education became student centered• Technological developments were so quick• Concept of information/knowledge recognized
world wide• Access to information grew rapidly• Democracy became the ultimate social goal
IL Defined• The capacity of people to:• Recognize their information needs• Locate and evaluate the quality of information• Store and retrieve information• Make effective and ethical use of information,
and• Apply information to create and communicate
knowledge (Unesco’s Information for All Programme)
Why IL• The ultimate purpose of IL is the wellbeing of the self
and the community as a whole• Il is needed for Economic development• Social progress• Educational development• Advancement of R&D• Peace and social harmony• International cooperation• Efficiency in work• Health• Environment
Pillars of IL• Creators of information, Authors• Policy makers• Librarians/information workers• Teachers and researchers• The public (Society)
Literacy and IL• IL is not a totally an alien concept. It is a
gradual development of normal literacy which was spurred by the explosion of new information media as a result of technical development
• Literacy is a prerequisite for IL• Basically librarians have been the driving
force for developing the concept of IL
IL Indicators• Indicators are of two kind• Physical (Explicit) Those can be seen
outwardly. Not difficult to measure. A simple statistical survey is sufficient. Quantitative.
• Implicit. Inward. Those cannot be seen outwardly. Qualitative. Not easy to measure
External indicators• Those that are related to supply of
information• Publishing industry. Titles available for a
particular population• Radio channels• Television channels• Newspapers and journals• On-line media
Contd.• Those that are related to the availability of
information • Number of radios• Number of TVs• Number of newspapers• Number of books• Number of computers• Internet connectivity• Number of libraries/ Community information
centers/ information centers
Contd.• Number of librarians• Number of school teachers• Number of academics/researchers• Number of knowledge based
companies/organizations• Number of schools• Number of universities• Literacy programmes• Availability of Networks/ Databases
Contd.• Those that are related to the reception of
supply of information• Number of people who read newspapers• Number of people who read books• Number of people who have internet
connectivity• Number of people who have PCs• Number of people who use libraries/ information
centers• Number of people who use radio/television
Contd.• Those that are related to information
skills• Literacy rate including functional literacy
rate• Availability of literacy/ IL programmes• Number of students/teachers who have
formal training on ICT• Language skills
Internal Indicators• Development of indicators for measuring the
information literacy of people is not easy. • It needs extensive surveys, that cost a lot of
money and energy. • Indicators developed for a particular country, or
a particular group of people may not suitable for another country or another group of people.
• Even within one country, levels of IL among different communities, may not be similar
• Therefore, different types of surveys are needed for different communities
Contd.• In developing internal indicators one must recognize
that even in an oral society where no literacy exists there is some kind of IL among people
• Even the most illiterate person (for example a forest dweller/hunter) must recognize the need for information he wants, locate and evaluate such information, store and retrieve that information, make use of such information and apply information to create knowledge and communicate it to his colleagues or future generations
• Therefore, all indicators are to be developed within the social context of each country/ community
Recognize information needs : Possible
indicators• Recognize information needs : Possible indicators• The person discusses his need with others• He knows the specific area for which he needs
information (He knows the purpose)• He understands the value of information• He knows the economic/ social gains or benefits
that can be obtained from information• He knows how to relate his information need with
his existing knowledge
Locate and evaluate the quality of information :
possible indicators• The person uses libraries• He may have a personal collection (even few pamphlets/
leaflets/ paper cuttings)• He may have few reference works such as a dictionary, phone
book etc.• He knows how to use a simple reference source such as a
dictionary• He may seek the assistance of librarians or other
knowledgeable persons to find information• He tries to compare similar pieces of information with each
other in order to evaluate them • He knows that a variety of information sources are available • He may be a computer user
Store and retrieve information : Possible
indicators• He has the habit of keeping notes (in a
diary at least)• He may practice a traditional system of
memorization• He may use a computer to store
information• He knows that storing wanted
information is important in order to retrieve them later when there is a need
Make effective and ethical use of information
: Possible indicators• He knows how to use relevant information
to solve a problem (to achieve his goal)• He knows how to synthesize various
information to obtain an expected result• He has due regard to the creators of
information (authors)• He never present ideas of others as his
own ideas (avoids plagiarism)
Communicate knowledge : Possible
indicators• The person uses available information,
synthesize it and produce new knowledge• He communicates his product to others
orally, or through demonstration, through publications
• He uses available fora to communicate his knowledge (community centers, village societies, conferences, seminars)
Social context• IL as well as IL indicators are based
upon the social context of the country/ community
• Countries with developed economies do have higher IL rates
• Also, countries with intellectual traditions for centuries may have a similar situation, if not the people in such countries can easily make information literate.
Contd.• Certain cultural traits may hinder the
process of IL• For example, in countries where the
listening tradition is prominent inculcating reading habit could be a long and tedious process
• Similarly, the attitudes of societies toward information may hinder the process of IL
Contd.• Attitude of governments/ policy makers
are also to be considered• To make people information literate
may be seen as a threat to their political powers by politicians. Examples can be drawn from many third world countries
• Religious constrains directly affect the access to information, use of information and finally IL.
• Thank you!