Contact Philip Russell or Terry O’Brien.
Introduction In today’s knowledge society, with information available in many formats and of varying quality it is essential that our citizens have the ability to retrieve, evaluate and use information effectively. The development of such information skills is set out in Irish Government policy and by equipping our people with these skills we will enable them to become independent and successful lifelong learners.
Background At its 2006 AGM the Library Association of Ireland passed the following motion -
That this Annual General Meeting calls on the incoming Executive Board to work with other agencies to adopt a standard for Information Skills; lobby to ensure government is made aware of the need for, and value of Information Skills; lobby government to recognise and affirm the role of Libraries in the delivery and maintenance of Information Skills.Following this, a call was sent to all Library sectors to seek out members with an interest in this area that were willing to contribute by participating in a working group on this topic. Membership of the working group is open to everyone; any officers of the group however must be members of the LAI.
The Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) was subsequently established by the LAI in January 2006.
Group Membership Members: Philip Russell, IoT Tallaght (Academic & Special), Terry O’Brien, WIT (Academic & Special), Sue Miller, Dublin (Schools), Kate Kelly, NUIG (Health), Jamie Ward, DkIT (Academic & Special), Rebecca Ford (Schools), Claire McGuiness (SLIS Dept., UCD), Olivia Fitzpatrick, UCC (Academic & Special), Peter MacKenna, DkIT (Academic & Special), Susan Kelly, Wexford County (Public).
Chair – Philip Russell Secretary – Terry O’Brien The group is happy to welcome new members, and is particularly interested in welcoming additional people from both Schools and Public Libraries.
Role ‘To recommend strategies for the development of information skills at both a theoretical and practical level in the Library and Information Services sector in Ireland’. In addition to this, to -
- generate recommendations for the LAI to take information literacy forward on a national basis,
- examine international best practice and standards,
- produce a sectoral-based report on the current status of information literacy,
- raise awareness and heighten the profile of information literacy, potentially by hosting a national seminar
- To recommend appropriate guidelines for the practical development of
- information skills education across the Irish Library & Information Services sector.
- To recommend strategies for promoting and raising awareness of
- information skills in the Library and Information Services sector in
- Ireland.
- To suggest further development opportunities for research and action on information skills education in Ireland
- To recommend actions for the strategic positioning of information skills
- within the context of lifelong learning in a learning and knowledge
- society, on the national Governmental agenda.
Cross-sectoral representation One of the key objectives from the very start was the intention to approach the work of the group on a cross-sectoral base. This was and is seen by the group as being a central element to our work. In order to ensure buy-in, It is vital that all segments of the Irish Library sector are involved and have an opportunity to make contributions. The WGIL is a cross-sectoral group with members representing the public, academic, health sciences, school and special library sectors. The group recognises the diversity of the different sectors in working to achieve the common goal of an information literate society. Summary of Work to Date The group has:
- Met quarterly since it’s inception in addition to working via e-mail,
- Finalised membership and clarified objectives,
- Agree the main deliverable is to make a series of recommendation to the LAI as per the terms of reference and to produce a cross sectoral-based report and a conference/seminar,
- Reviewed international definitions of IL and recommend adopting the CILIP (2004) definition of IL as a working definition.
- This definition reads “Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner”.
- Reviewed existing international standards for developing IL programmes and recommend adoption of the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIL) Information Literacy Framework (2004) as a practical model for developing information literacy education.
Work schedule 2007
- Set of recommendations on information literacy as per the terms of reference of the group,
- Further dissemination of the work and scope of the group through library and sectoral channels,
- Guidelines and template for a sectoral based report on IL,
- Possibility of facilitating or hosting a national seminar on IL,
- Clarifying relationship with the CONUL IL Group,
- Developing a database/comprehensive list of key stakeholders with an interest, effect or involvement in information literacy.