Page 6 - Introduction — Information Literacy and Information Behaviour, Complementary Approaches for Building Capability

6 Mark Hepworth and Geoff Walton

recommendations as to how the interfaces to search tools could be modified
to enable learners to be more effective.
Emily S. Kinksy and Debra C. Smith’s work is primarily about using
media literacy techniques to unpick media messages to young children.
Their goal is to analyse the less than obvious values and viewpoints that are
being promulgated by the media. This is very similar to notions of
information discernment found in models of information literacy. They note
a convergence between information, visual and media literacies and that
they are all important in guiding young vulnerable children to interrogate
what they are viewing. By doing this they explore the implications for
teaching media literacy and indicate ways for children to become critical
media watchers (to analyse and evaluate) and in so doing avoid being
influenced by misinformation and dominant media messages.
Jennifer D. Ward and Thomas S. Duke examine an e-learning
information literacy programme which they devised to build capacity in
learners who live in some of the remotest areas in Alaska. This chapter
demonstrates that collaboration between professor and librarian has a
positive influence on the learning intervention and echoes similar work done
by Julien et al. published in this volume. Rural professionals face particular
issues around isolation and this chapter shows how e-learning can diminish
this and, at the same time, increase their personal information literacy. The
e-learning intervention described is scaffolded to provide maximum
guidance at the beginning of the research process — something that
learners clearly found very useful and enabled them to carry out far more
in-depth research than they had prior to experiencing this programme.
Phussadee Dokphrom, from Thailand, explores academic staff and
student’s conceptions of an information literate person in higher education
in Thailand. She highlights the importance of generic skills, such as the use
of the English language, as well as the disciplinary differences in terms of
attitudes, research skills and knowledge. Again this chapter alludes to the
importance of context and connects this to the importance of delivering,
discipline-specific, information literacy interventions at the right time and
place in student’s studies.
Edward Lumande, Babakisi Tjedombo Fidzani and Silas Oluka discuss
information literacy from an institutional perspective. The University of
Botswana have gone a long way down the path of integrating information
literacy into the undergraduate curriculum, partly through mobilising
commitment at senior levels in the university and partnerships with
colleagues in academic development, as well as outside the university —
leading to an institutional ‘toolkit’. They describe an ongoing programme
based on a DELPHE-funded initiative, whereby collaboration has been
developed between universities in central and southern Africa and also the
United Kingdom.