Information literacy and the public library: we’ve talked the talk, but are we walking the walk?

Abstract

There has been much talk about libraries, including public libraries, being uniquely positioned to act as key agents for developing the critical skill of information literacy in their communities. Yet there is a notable lack of literature addressing information literacy and the public library, especially when compared to the volume of material on the topic in relation to school and academic libraries, which might suggest that public libraries are not actively engaged in information literacy efforts. In light of this, a literature review was undertaken to discover why public libraries are viewed as such valuable agents in developing information literacy and what efforts, if any, have been undertaken by public libraries. The literature reveals that, despite myriad challenges, public libraries worldwide are embracing this imposed responsibility and have implemented a wide array of information literacy programs. Not only have public libraries talked the talk, they are walking the walk with respect to furthering information literacy in their communities, albeit along a poorly-defined and obstacle-strewn path. IntroductionIt is over thirty years since the term 'information literacy' was first coined by Paul Zurkowski (Spitzer, Eisenberg & Lowe 1998, p. 22) and nearly twenty years since the concept came to the forefront of the information profession. Libraries of all types have been charged with taking an active role in fostering an information literate society and public libraries have been presented as obvious and wellequipped institutions for imparting these critical skills to the wider community. A myriad of how-to guides, reports, studies and nationally-defined goals and objectives provide a framework for the development of information literacy programs in school and academic libraries. By contrast, there is very little Downloaded by [University of Victoria] at 03:15 19 November 2014 275 Information literacy and the public library: we've talked the talk, but are we walking the walk? The Australian Library Journal August 2008 published literature addressing the efforts of public libraries. Nonetheless, public libraries are embracing this imposed and acknowledged responsibility, with evidence of a wide range of information literacy-based programs on offer in public libraries worldwide. Although these programs vary in format and content, most libraries have approached information literacy skills instruction in similar ways and appear to have found a balance between the expectations placed on them by various government and information industry bodies, user demands, and available resources. It is also clear that the scope of implementation of programs is being limited by a range of factors, some of which are the very characteristics originally identified as strengths of public libraries' involvement in information literacy development. Information literacy and the public library: an overviewInformation literacy is widely considered to be an essential survival skill for life in the Information Age, a vital underpinning ...

Bibliotecas públicas e letramento informacional

“…A notável falta de literatura relacionando os temas letramento informacional e biblioteca pública pode sugerir que as bibliotecas públicas não estão ativamente envolvidas em esforços voltados para o letramento informacional (HARDING, 2008). No entanto, apesar da menor fatia de participação em relação às bibliotecas escolares e universitárias, a literatura internacional mostra que as bibliotecas públicas vêm abraçando este papel e assumindo para si esta responsabilidade.…”

How do public librarians constitute information literacy?

“…However, despite their potential as regards information literacy engagement, there remains a significant gap in research documenting the ways in which public librarians cognize such a key concept (Harding, 2008;Walter 2007;Hart, 2006). Research that has been conducted to date has primarily looked at either the importance of public libraries in developing community information literacy (Balapanidou, 2015;Bradley, 2013;Bundy, 2012;Cirella, 2012) or the efforts made by public libraries to develop information literacy programs (Connolly, Curran, Lynch and O'Shea, 2013;Butcher and Street, 2009;Lai, 2011;Collen, 2008).…”

“…Public libraries, due to their significance in the educational life of a diverse client base are considered to be perfectly situated for developing and promoting information literacy engagement (Bundy, 2012;Harding, 2008;Skov, 2004). However, despite their potential as regards information literacy engagement, there remains a significant gap in research documenting the ways in which public librarians cognize such a key concept (Harding, 2008;Walter 2007;Hart, 2006).…”

“…Public libraries, due to the lifelong nature of their relationship with a broad and diverse client base and the significant part they already play in the educational life of their communities (Bundy, 2012), are ideally placed to lead the way in developing and supporting people's information literacy engagement. However, to date few studies have attempted to explore information literacy within the context of the public library (Hall, 2010;Harding, 2008) and only one, a pilot study conducted by the authors of this paper (Demasson, Partridge and Bruce, 2010), has sought to examine how public librarians constitute information literacy. That is despite the public librarian's key role in the delivery of information literacy programs and their position as the group entrusted with information literacy education for the general public (Godwin and Parker, 2012;O'Beirne, 2010).…”

The Quadruple Helix Model of Libraries: The Role of Public Libraries in Newcastle upon Tyne

“…The literature on the relation between libraries and social inclusion highlights the contribution of libraries to the integration of minorities into local communities (Fisher, Durrance and Hinton 2004;Molz and Dain 1999), to serve information needs of homeless people and connect them to social services (Barbieux 2012;Lilienthal, 2011;Muggleton and Ruthven, 2011), to the reduction of juvenile delinquency (Naylor 1987), to the increasing literacy of both children and adults in particular in disadvantaged contexts (Adams, Krolak, Kupidura and Pahernik, 2002;Harding, 2013;Krolak, 2006), to the creation of "new" public spaces (Caidi and Davies 2005;Celano and Neuman 2001;Davies, Schwartz, Servon and Pinkett 2003). The majority of empirical studies carried out on the role of public libraries mainly focused on the perception of users about the library service.…”