scholarly journals The learning continuum: economical best practices for implementing and achieving a community’s information literacy goals

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (114) ◽  
pp. 7-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva Darbandi ◽  
Carolyn Waite ◽  
Rose Medlock
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Budget Cuts ◽  
Library Service ◽  
Current Information ◽  
Library Programming ◽  
Primary Focus

Information literacy is a driving force in the field of librarianship, however, the often underestimated complexity of the concept, the primary focus on academic libraries, the intricacies involved with transliteracies, and the obstacles associated with technology make it difficult to establish a strategy for meeting a community’s information literacy needs. Budget cuts have especially impacted public library programming, pushing information literacy goals further out of reach. Faced with this adversity, Lancashire Library Service partnered with Credo to enhance their current information literacy plan, which yielded immediate results and provides a blueprint that public libraries may follow to achieve similar goals.

Influence of Information Literacy Competencies on Users of the Saulsville Public Library, South Africa

Mousaion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rexwhite Tega Enakrire ◽  
Isaac Mpho Mothiba
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Information Discovery ◽  
Information Literacy Competencies

Information literacy competencies indicate the ability of an individual to apply a certain search strategy of information discovery, to understand its design, to value judgement, and to use it in various contents and contexts. The influence of information literacy competencies plays an important role in enabling information users to meet their information needs and prepares them for lifelong learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of information literacy competencies of users in the Saulsville public library, South Africa. The rationale was a lack of awareness and the inability of the users to find their information needs based on the task and decision at hand. The descriptive survey design adopted for this study made use of a questionnaire to collect data from 1 120 registered members of the Saulsville library. Of the 1 120 registered users being the population for the study, the authors purposively used 10 per cent (112 members) of the population as sample size. The findings revealed that users of the Saulsville public library had limited awareness and competencies of information literacy. The users were exposed to some form of library orientation and the use of library resources during their visit to the library. The findings further indicated that the users’ information literacy competencies were affirmed through the quality of information obtained and the satisfaction of library services rendered by library staff. The study recommends the acquisition of new technologies that could enhance users’ interactive information literacy training in public libraries and formal education settings.  

The Public Library in an Aging Society

2014 ◽  
pp. 266-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saori Donkai ◽  
Chieko Mizoue
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Library Service ◽  
The Public ◽  
Aging Society ◽  
Service Category ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Recent Government ◽  
Individual Service

This chapter describes the present conditions of our aging society, with a particular focus on Japan as a typical example of such a society. In Japan, one in every four individuals is over 65 years of age, and one in eight is over 75 years of age. Further, based on this demographic change to an older population, this chapter discusses a new library service designed to enhance the lives of elderly citizens. The authors explore this new service from the viewpoint of lifelong learning, utilizing the results of recent government surveys and some case studies, such as those done at the Izumo City Hikawa Library and the Akita Prefectural Library in Japan. Although the elderly have been placed within the category of “disabled library patrons,” in recent years, it has become more common to consider the elderly, as a whole, as an individual service category. We should, in the near future, pay more attention to supporting elderly citizens at public libraries to engage them in the development and maintenance of their own communities.

Public Libraries in Ireland II. Public libraries and the visual arts today

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-44
Author(s):  
Deirdre Ellis-King ◽  
Marjory Sliney
Keyword(s):  
Visual Arts ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
Library Service ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library Network ◽  
The Many

In recent years increased interest in the visual arts has led public libraries to increase stock to support this area, to organise exhibitions and to make connections with other arts-related bodies. The recognised extent, quality and value of the public library network lie both in its service to users and in good-quality and centrally located buildings. Imaginative links have been made between the library service and other cultural institutions in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the many thinly populated areas of the country which could otherwise be isolated from the cultural facilities available in the larger conurbations.

Connecting with Community: The Importance of Community Engagement in Rural Public Library Systems

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Howard ◽  
Heather Reid
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Population Rurale ◽  
Primary Focus

Urban public library systems have been the primary focus of study for community engagement and community-led approaches. Nova Scotia is largely rural and sparsely populated, with a dwindling and aging rural population. This presentation examines how community engagement can connect Nova Scotia’s rural public libraries with their communities. Les systèmes de bibliothèques publiques urbaines ont été le principal objet d’investigation pour l'étude de l'engagement communautaire et des approches à visée communautaire. La Nouvelle-Écosse est essentiellement rurale et peu peuplée, avec une population rurale en déclin et vieillissante. Cet article examine comment l'engagement communautaire peut établir la connexion entre les bibliothèques publiques rurales de la Nouvelle-Écosse et leurs communautés.

scholarly journals Unique or ubiquitous: information literacy instruction outside academia

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam L. Matteson ◽  
Beate Gersch
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Library Programming ◽  
Information Products ◽  
Academic School ◽  
Library Websites

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how US public libraries offer information literacy (IL) instruction to their patrons. Design/methodology/approach The study is a content analysis of eight library websites to determine passive IL instruction and active literacy instruction. Findings Library web guides offer passive IL instruction by highlighting resources patrons may wish to access to resolve information inquiries. Further, the authors found that a little less than 50 per cent of library programming offers some IL instruction, the majority of which relates to helping patrons learn to use tools to create information products. Originality/value IL is the ability to recognize the need for information, to effectively find information to meet that need and to use information for some purpose or goal. Academic, school and public libraries believe that understanding and using information critically and effectively bring gains to an individual and to society. However, they diverge in how and why they engage in IL instruction. The authors’ findings suggest that less than half of the libraries surveyed are providing active IL instruction, despite the recognition of the benefits IL provides.

scholarly journals The importance of legislation in the provision of national and public library services in Zambia

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Zulu ◽  
Mpho Ngoepe ◽  
Nampombe Saurombe
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Library Service ◽  
National Library ◽  
The Past ◽  
Service Legislation ◽  
National Libraries ◽  
Made In

Legislation plays an important role in the provision of national and public library services. In Zambia, however, libraries that perform the functions of national and public libraries are operating without a legislative mandate. As a result, there is fragmentation of library services as there is no single institution which performs all the functions of a national library service. Although several efforts have been made in the past to enact national library service legislation, no Act of Parliament has been passed to date (2015). This study provides empirical evidence depicting the benefits of having legislation in the provision of national and public library services. The study identifies institutions that perform functions of national and public library services in Zambia. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires administered to public library staff and interviews with senior government officials and executive members of the Zambia Library Association and Zambia Library Consortium. The study recommends that appropriate legislation that puts together the functions of public and national libraries under one institution be enacted in Zambia as soon as possible. Failure to transform this pattern will jeopardise the preservation of the country’s cultural heritage.

scholarly journals Going beyond the 'library': the current work of the Scottish Information Literacy Project

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (102) ◽  
pp. 29-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Caskie Crawford ◽  
Christine Irving
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Literacy Training ◽  
National Information

Reviews briefly the origins of the Scottish Information Literacy Project from its origins in 2004 as a project solely devoted to developing a National Information Literacy Framework for Scotland to the present time. The project now encompasses workplace information literacy, the skills agenda, lifeong learning and media literacy. The article concentrates on current activity: the restructuring of the first draft of the Framework to make it a genuine lifelong learning document and the pursuit of the workplace agenda, following a successful research project. This now focuses strongly on having information literacy recognised as an essential workplace skill. Work is also being undertaken with public library partners to develop information literacy training in public libraries. The policy implications of the work are reviewed.

scholarly journals How can you tell if it’s working? Recent developments in impact evaluation and their implications for information literacy practice.

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Markless ◽  
David Streatfield
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Literacy Practice ◽  
Programme Theory ◽  
Literacy Support ◽  
Library Impact

This paper surveys the (patchy and uneven) advances in LIS impact evaluation over the past ten years and notes the surge forward in public library impact evaluation, before looking more broadly at international and educational impact evaluation scene and noting the advance of programme-theory driven approaches. The authors then identify various trends drawn from the wider evaluation discourse that they think are likely to be relevant to information literacy (IL) practitioners, academic staff, employers and others who are concerned with impact evaluation of IL work.The trends identified are:growing clarity about the levels of evaluation expertise needed to deliver information literacy support from the perspectives of leaders of LIS education programmes, staff of academic institutions, library leaders and managers and IL practitioners,growing interest in more inclusive or democratic approaches to impact evaluationthe limitations of the simple logic model of evaluationre-purposing of existing data to meet new evaluation needscollecting and presenting stories of change as impact evaluation evidence.Implications for IL practitioners are offered in relation to each of these trends. The authors then predict that over the next ten years there will be a strong focus on whether IL interventions are having an impact in combating misinformation and disinformation; more systematic and sustained approaches to IL impact evaluation in the health and higher education sectors but less so in some school libraries and other settings. They think that the more proactive public libraries will adopt IL evaluation approaches, that workplace IL will continue to depend upon the organisational culture, and that research on information seeking in context will shed light on evaluation priorities. Finally, they hope that future IL work will be underpinned by programme theory-based evaluation. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document