Week 3 Reflections

For class we had to look for three articles about information literacy and I focused on information literacy in the public library. The articles I found each deal with a different age group (children, teens, and adults).

Article 1
Harding, Jane. "Information Literacy and the Public Library." Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services 21, no. 4 (December 2008): 157-167.

In her article, Jane Harding discusses the role of information literacy in public libraries. She talks about the library's strengths (recognized place of learning, broad clientele, access to materials, information literacy experts...), constraints (lack of framework and resources, poor attitude toward teaching), and services (reference interviews, tech training, partnership with various organizations). This article gives a good overview of information literacy in public libraries. She points out that although there is not a lot written about this topic, public libraries are actually doing a good job providing information literacy services. However, I got the impression from the article that a lot more could be done. With many libraries making information literacy a part of their mission statements and strategic plan it seems like more should be done than just continuing to provide reference interviews and giving tech classes.

Article 2
Gilton, Donna G. "Information Literacy as a Department Store: Applications for Public Teen Librarians." Young Adult Library Services 6, no. 2 (Winter 2008): 39-42, 44.

I did not completely understand the significance of Donna Gilton's description of the department store way of looking at information literacy. The basement is the library orientation and basic instruction. It should be seen as the foundation of information literacy. The next few floors is the formal and advanced instruction such as classes. The last few floors are the company's offices and is where programs and services are planned, coordinated and evaluated. While I do think all of this is significant to information literacy, it seemed like it could be kind of assumed. The rest of the article, however, was about different ways teen librarians can collaborate with local schools to provide information literacy to their patrons. One way was by providing workshops for teachers on new literature (both popular and academic). Another was to find out about assignments ahead of time and put books on hold or offer workshops to the students on the specific topic. I do agree that libraries should work with the schools, I just don't think that is the only way for them to provide information literacy support.

Article 3
Collen, Lauren. "Teaching Information Literacy in the Public Library." Knowledge Quest 37, no. 1 (September/October 2008): 12-16.

This article was my favorite. Lauren Collen describes the concept of her Computer Camp program and explains the benefits. She recognized that many children using her public library did not understand how to do keyword searches, either because of a lack of information literacy education or an ability to put lessons into practice.  She realized that they needed the hands on practice necessary to develop lasting information literacy skills. She created the Computer Camp which gave 4th-7th graders the chance to research and write a short report with the guidance and support of a librarian. The camp took place in three 1.5 hour days, with children working in pairs. The first day was spend talking about keyword searches, the necessity of refining searches, and playing games using tools such as the Visual Thesaurus. The second day was spent researching a broad topic, narrowing it based on interest, and using skills from the first day to find information. On the third day the kids learned to use Microsoft Publisher and WordArt to create a short report. The kids loved the program and the parents noticed improvement in the children's ability to research for school. I loved reading about a children's librarian who saw a real patron need and then worked to fulfill it. Although I am sure a lot of work went into Computer Camp, it also seemed like an extremely doable program for most public libraries.  While the other articles acknowledged that public libraries need to get involved in information literacy, this one gave a clear example of what that would look like. I thought the whole thing just sounded really great. I would love to be involved in a program like that.

Before reading these articles I did not have a very clear idea of what information literacy was. Jane Harding's article did a good job clarifying it for me. From what I could tell, information literacy is being able to recognize when information is needed, and having the ability to locate, evaluate, and use it effectively. There are many parts to this definition and, the importance of the parts depends on the user. For example, adults are less likely to need help using information and more likely to need help locating it. Children may need help with all parts because they are just learning, and teens may need slightly less instruction. Obviously it is much more complicated than just separating needs by age, but it does show that public librarians will have a different idea of what services to provide based on what age they serve. I found it interesting that each article had a different idea of what library's need to do.  Article One made it seem like librarian's should basically keep doing what they are doing. Article Two focused on collaboration between school and public librarians, with public librarians doing somewhat little on their own. Article Three demonstrated a way that librarians can take an active role in information literacy education by creating programs. I think by combining all of these ideas, librarians can provide great information literacy services.