Information literacy paradigm in academic libraries in Greece and Cyprus

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of Greek librarians regarding information literacy programs and their preparedness for such programs. Design/methodology/approach -The study was targeted at all professional and paraprofessional staff of the academic libraries in Greece and Cyprus. The instrument was a specially designed structured questionnaire which included 20 questions, in sum 67 variables. Findings -Most libraries do not deliver information literacy programs, but some kind of library instruction. Many respondents consider that more money, more librarians and an appropriately equipped space are the best ways to improve information literacy programs. Concerning the information literacy trainers, there are those who emphasize teaching abilities and/or pedagogical experience, and those who emphasize infrastructure and funding. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the existing knowledge of information literacy skills by revealing certain issues regarding the academic libraries in Greece and Cyprus.

RIMS: The Research Impact Measurement Service at the University of New South Wales

“…Email: r.drummond@unsw.edu.au; r.wartho@unsw.edu.au IntRoduCtIon F or the past decade, Information Literacy (IL) has been a primary focus of library support to the academic community, and the topic features prominently in Library and Information Studies (LIS) literature 1 . Hence, library support to academic staff has largely been framed around learning and teaching activities 2 .…”

Rims: The Research Impact Measurement Service At The University Of New South Wales

“…IntRoduCtIon F or the past decade, Information Literacy (IL) has been a primary focus of library support to the academic community, and the topic features prominently in Library and Information Studies (LIS) literature 1 . Hence, library support to academic staff has largely been framed around learning and teaching activities 2 .…”

Scientific information management policies and information literacy schemes in Greek higher education institutions and libraries

“…According to rather recent research [4,13], libraries in about 80% of Greek HE institutions offer library instruction programmes. Yet only a 30% of them apply international or other IL standards during instruction planning [4].…”

“…Usage of online web tutorials was rather low, since less than 15% of the libraries offering training sessions are using them [4,13], while it must be noted that nearly all libraries reported very limited cooperation with faculty [4]. Finally, according to the research data there were no comprehensive Information Literacy programmes in the true nature of the term in Greece [4,13], while after 2010 academic library services downsized due to lack of finance and even more in 2013 due to workforce cuts. Despite this fact there is a number of interesting web IL schemes in Greece which are presented in the following section.…”