The Scottish Information Literacy Project: working with partners to create an information literate Scotland Dr John Crawford Open meeting May 2008

Drumchapel Project §An exploratory project – initially ICT skills orientated §Community ICT facilities little used - Library and Cybercafés – implications only now being addressed §School and School Library are main focus for IT use in deprived areas §Little integration of information literacy into the curriculum §Levels of ICT ‘deprivation’ did not seem to be high §Basic IT skills exist- WP, , Internet §Pupil evaluation of websites poor §An asylum seeking issue §An information literacy skills agenda emerged

Project objectives to develop an information literacy framework, linking primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning including workplace and adult literacies agendas Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and the wider community Working with information literacy champions both UK and worldwide Researching and promoting information literacy in the workplace Identifying and working with partners, both in education and the wider community Researching the role of information literacy in continuing professional development Researching the health literacies agenda

Progress since last open meeting First draft of Framework piloted Information literacy in the workplace study Promoting international contacts Contacts developed and strengthened with NGOs Extensive communications programme Website further developed Contact established with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Initial health literacies contacts made Creation of an information literacy network Stimulated unprecedented level of activity in the schools sector

Partnerships and contacts Schools mainly with librarians FE/HE Dept. Educational Foundations, University of Wisconsin- Whitewater Delegation from Finland US National Forum for Information Literacy University of Aalborg? Workplace – Scottish Government; Glasgow Chamber; CBI Scotland LTS/SQA

Our friends in the North

Information literacy in the workplace Workplace studies are a Project objective Based on 20 interviews with employees mainly in the public sector in central Scotland Not a heavily studied area – limited literature Founded on a review of the pedagogic literature of learning in the workplace Interviews arranged with the help of Project partners and contacts in Adult Literacies, Tribunals Service, Scottish Government Library Services and health libraries Lack of private sector contacts Funded by the British Academy

Conclusions (1) The traditional ‘library’ view of information as deriving from electronic and printed sources only is invalid in the workplace and must include people as sources of information It is essential to recognize the key role of human relationships in the development of information literacy in the workplace  The public enterprise with its emphasis on skills and qualifications is a fertile area for further investigation and developmental work  Adult Literacies training is a powerful driver to encourage workplace information literacy

Conclusions (2) Advanced Internet training extends employees’ information horizons A skill and qualifications based agenda is an important pre-condition  Most interviewees viewed public libraries as irrelevant for anything other than recreational purposes  Information literacy training programmes must be highly focused on the target audience  All organizations have information policies but may be unaware of the fact  An understanding of what constitutes information literacy is widespread in the workplace but is often implicit rather than explicit and is based on qualifications, experience, and networking activities  Organizations which access a wide range of information, of high quality, including sources outwith their organization, will make the best informed decisions

Contacts should be established with chambers of commerce, skills agencies and other organizations involved in workplace training Organizations’ information polices which are largely implicit should be made explicit and should include accessing a wide range of information, of high quality, including sources outwith their organization Preliminary skills audits should be carried out within organizations to determine staff information literacy skills and the organization’s information literacy policy The viability of developing information literacy training programmes should be further researched Information literacy training programmes should initially target sympathetic organizations Advanced Internet training programmes should be offered to all workplace employees The private sector should be researched further The provision of information literacy training programmes by public libraries should be investigated Developmental work should be undertaken with Adult Literacies agencies NHS contacts should be expanded to progress the health literacies agenda Recommendations

A supporting quote Information Age, January 2008 reports on a Microsoft commissioned survey which showed that information literacy and ICT skills which are currently ranked 7th out of 12 in a list of skills needed for business success are set to jump to 2nd place by 2017.

What we want to do next Restructure the National Information Literacy Framework Scotland in the light of feedback from piloting in the school and FE/HE sectors Expand the Framework to extend the lifelong learning/community engagement component using the data from the workplace/Adult Literacies study currently completing Investigate the development of information skills training modules which could be delivered via public libraries, workplace training and Adult Literacies programmes Review and develop our existing workplace information literacy skills expertise with chambers of commerce, Adult Literacies partners, etc Have more time to publicise and promote our work to the sectors which we are targeting and to disseminate and develop strategic collaborations and partnerships on a national and international basis. To develop further strands in media and health literacies Get information literacy incorporated into Scotland's’ lifelong learning policy

Constraints and issues Funding is the basic issue After that – time Trying to cover a wide range of issues But – all information literacies areas overlap Encouraged by wider support especially outside UK Washington visit enlarged our agenda Moving towards a networked environment?

Contact details Dr. John Crawford,Christine Irving Library Research Officer, Researcher / Project OfficerRoom 302, (3rd floor)6 Rose Street,Glasgow, G3 6RB Tel: Tel: Project website

Questions?