Information Literacy and Technology--They Work Best When They Work Together.

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Author: Balas, Janet L.1 balasj@einetwork.net

When I first saw this month's theme, Info Literacy/Tech Literacy, and its tagline of "testing and training students and seniors," I was instantly reminded of the Christmas when my youngest son received a Sega game console as a present. He had been playing with it at a friend's house so he was familiar with the machine and the controllers. He quickly had the Sega set up and ready for serious gaming. Since he had always enjoyed playing board games and outdoor sports with my father, he was anxious to invite him to play Joe Montana Football, the game included with the basic Sega.

My son won the first game handily because my father had never used a game controller before and had no idea how it worked. As soon as that first game ended, my father grabbed the manual to read the instructions for the controller. After he practiced a bit, they played another game with a decidedly different outcome. Once my father learned the technology, specifically the operation of the controller, his superior knowledge of football strategy gave him the advantage.

This family story is a perfect illustration of this month's theme. Many senior citizens, like my father, retired just as computers were being introduced to the workplace. They missed the opportunity to ]earn about technology on the job. Some have been given computers by adult sons and daughters who are anxious to set them up with e-mail and Internet access so they can keep in touch and share photographs. These children, however, often live in distant locations and can provide only minimal instructions, leaving their parents to conquer the computers on their own.

In the library, senior citizens can get bewildered when trying to use the OPAC or various databases. They often have good research skills but are more familiar with the card catalog and printed indexes such as Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. Their lack of technical knowledge prevents them from using their research skills with today's sources. Students, having grown up with computers in school and at home, feel very comfortable with the technology, but are often lacking research skills. They can type terms into a search box and get an answer, but often fail to get the best, or even the correct, answer because they don't know that all information sources aren't created equal. They need to learn to evaluate sources and look beyond the simple search box for the best ones.

In order for patrons to make the wisest use of the library, they must be both computer- and information-literate. Librarians are faced with the challenge of designing programs that fit the literacy needs of the community. Academic and school librarians may find that their users are mostly students who are familiar with computers, but need help with information-seeking skills. Of course, many learning institutions have students who are older or economically disadvantaged, so even academic librarians may encounter patrons who are unfamiliar with technology. It might seem that public libraries would have more senior citizens as patrons and therefore would have to concentrate more on technology literacy. But financially strapped schools might not be able to provide the research instruction that their students need, so the public library may have to step in to help these students sharpen their research skills.

Recognizing the need to help librarians meet these challenges, our professional organizations have developed online resources that deal with information literacy. ACRL has created Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, a document that you can view online or download as an Adobe PDF file. A printer-friendly version is also available. The document first defines information literacy and then discusses it in relation to information technology skills and higher education. The discussion concludes with a brief discourse on information literacy assessment. The standards, performance indicators, and outcomes are then presented. The final section is an appendix of selected information literacy initiatives.

ALA was instrumental in creating the National Forum on information Literacy, which was established in 1989 as a result of the recommendations of ALA's Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. The forum's Web site offers a brief history, a list of the more than 90 member organizations, information on the next scheduled meeting, and summaries of past meetings. There's also a section of definitions, standards, and competencies related to information literacy as well as profiles of leaders in the field. Additionally, the site has links to reports, speeches, and programs prepared by the forum or related organizations. An annotated list of resources, including books, conference proceedings, articles, and videos, is available along with a similarly annotated list of related sites.

Because information literacy is an international issue, IFLA has devoted a section of its Web site to the topic. Its stated purpose is to "foster international cooperation in the development of information skills education in all types of libraries." There are links to strategic plans, projects, newsletters, and publications as well as information on becoming involved with the initiative. Librarians who are interested in keeping up-to-date will find subscription information for the InfoLit-L electronic discussion list.

School librarians have the opportunity to provide their students with necessary information literacy skills during the early stages of their education. There are numerous online resources designed to assist them. School-Libraries.Org, a site that many may already have visited, offers links to tutorials as well as to general resources on information literacy, library instruction, and Web site evaluation.

Another site for school librarians or other educators is S.O.S. for Information Literacy. The project, which defines itself as a "dynamic Web-based multimedia resource for educators," was initially funded through a Small Business Innovation Research award from the U.S. Department of Education. Continued funding has come from the Institute of Museum and Library Services' National Leadership Grant. Additional information about the project and its advisory board is on the site. Visitors must become members in order to use the resources, which include lesson plans and supporting media materials. There's also a virtual training area to provide tips, ideas, and examples for use in developing information literacy lesson plans. This area also trains site contributors to use its online-submission software that uploads lessons and digital photographs and videos.

As I noted earlier, information literacy is an international concern, and it's often helpful to learn what our colleagues in other countries are doing. School librarians in Australia have a collection of information literacy resources available to them on the New South Wales Department of Education and Training's Professional Support and Curriculum site. It offers policy advice, teaching and learning ideas, resource reviews, and an extensive set of links to related sites. In addition, it stresses collaboration between teachers and librarians.

Academic librarians are also interested in information literacy, and I found many sites that they've created. The University of Texas System Digital Library offers the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT), an interactive resource to teach information literacy skills. It's available in both "lite" and "full" versions, but the fully interactive version requires the Shockwave Flash plug-in. This tutorial has been around for a few years but still has valuable information that you can use and modify.

You can find other examples of higher education info literacy tutorials on the Penn State University Libraries and University of Wisconsin-Parkside Library sites. Looking again to international sites, TAFE South Australia Libraries has prepared LILI, an online tutorial that's part of the LEARN Information Literacy Initiative.

Michael Lorenzen, reference librarian at Central Michigan University's Park Library, maintains The Information Literacy Land of Confusion blog. It discusses library user education, library instruction, information literacy, librarianship, and search engines. Archived posts are available dating to 2003.

I've been looking primarily at information literacy resources, but it's important to remember that there are library users, many of them senior citizens, who are completely unfamiliar with computer technology. They need very basic lessons on using the computer before they can apply their research skills. Helpguide, a project of the Rotary Club of Santa Monica and the Center for Healthy Aging, offers articles entitled "Computer Literacy for Seniors" and "Teaching Older Adults to Become Computer Literate." They provide suggestions for those who are conducting computer literacy classes for seniors and offer links to online tutorials.

Computer and information literacy go together like the old-fashioned horse and carriage. Librarians know it's a struggle to keep up with the latest changes to computer and information technologies, not just for themselves but also for patrons. We need to extend a helping hand to our patrons, young and old, so they can be both computer- and information-literate.

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By Janet L. Balas

Janet L. Balas is library information systems specialist at Monroeville (Pa.) Public Library. Her e-mail address is jbalas@telerama.com or balasj@einetwork.net.