Information Literacy, Information Literacy, Indicators and Social Indicators and Social

ContextContext

Information Literacy, Information Literacy, Indicators and Social Indicators and Social

ContextContextProf. Piyadasa RanasingheProf. Piyadasa Ranasinghe

President, Sri Lanka Library Association and President, Sri Lanka Library Association and Head, Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., University of Head, Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., University of

KelaniyaKelaniyaSri LankaSri Lanka

The Concept• The concept of making people

information literate has been known by different terms at different stages of time

• Literacy, Library Orientation, Bibliographic Instruction, User Education, Information Skills Training

• The latest terminology is Information Literacy

Contd.• Each of these terms reflect : • the technological development• methods of information

communication (media)• socio-economic requirements of

particular periods

Simple library orientation/user

education was sufficient• When• The World was practicing inward or

closed economic policies• Education was teacher centered• Technological development s were not so

fast• Concepts of information society /

knowledge society were not articulated

IL has become essential

• When• The world began to practice open economic

policies• Education became student centered• Technological developments were so quick• Concept of information/knowledge recognized

world wide• Access to information grew rapidly• Democracy became the ultimate social goal

IL Defined• The capacity of people to:• Recognize their information needs• Locate and evaluate the quality of information• Store and retrieve information• Make effective and ethical use of information,

and• Apply information to create and communicate

knowledge (Unesco’s Information for All Programme)

Why IL• The ultimate purpose of IL is the wellbeing of the self

and the community as a whole• Il is needed for Economic development• Social progress• Educational development• Advancement of R&D• Peace and social harmony• International cooperation• Efficiency in work• Health• Environment

Pillars of IL• Creators of information, Authors• Policy makers• Librarians/information workers• Teachers and researchers• The public (Society)

Literacy and IL• IL is not a totally an alien concept. It is a

gradual development of normal literacy which was spurred by the explosion of new information media as a result of technical development

• Literacy is a prerequisite for IL• Basically librarians have been the driving

force for developing the concept of IL

IL Indicators• Indicators are of two kind• Physical (Explicit) Those can be seen

outwardly. Not difficult to measure. A simple statistical survey is sufficient. Quantitative.

• Implicit. Inward. Those cannot be seen outwardly. Qualitative. Not easy to measure

External indicators• Those that are related to supply of

information• Publishing industry. Titles available for a

particular population• Radio channels• Television channels• Newspapers and journals• On-line media

Contd.• Those that are related to the availability of

information • Number of radios• Number of TVs• Number of newspapers• Number of books• Number of computers• Internet connectivity• Number of libraries/ Community information

centers/ information centers

Contd.• Number of librarians• Number of school teachers• Number of academics/researchers• Number of knowledge based

companies/organizations• Number of schools• Number of universities• Literacy programmes• Availability of Networks/ Databases

Contd.• Those that are related to the reception of

supply of information• Number of people who read newspapers• Number of people who read books• Number of people who have internet

connectivity• Number of people who have PCs• Number of people who use libraries/ information

centers• Number of people who use radio/television

Contd.• Those that are related to information

skills• Literacy rate including functional literacy

rate• Availability of literacy/ IL programmes• Number of students/teachers who have

formal training on ICT• Language skills

Internal Indicators• Development of indicators for measuring the

information literacy of people is not easy. • It needs extensive surveys, that cost a lot of

money and energy. • Indicators developed for a particular country, or

a particular group of people may not suitable for another country or another group of people.

• Even within one country, levels of IL among different communities, may not be similar

• Therefore, different types of surveys are needed for different communities

Contd.• In developing internal indicators one must recognize

that even in an oral society where no literacy exists there is some kind of IL among people

• Even the most illiterate person (for example a forest dweller/hunter) must recognize the need for information he wants, locate and evaluate such information, store and retrieve that information, make use of such information and apply information to create knowledge and communicate it to his colleagues or future generations

• Therefore, all indicators are to be developed within the social context of each country/ community

Recognize information needs : Possible

indicators• Recognize information needs : Possible indicators• The person discusses his need with others• He knows the specific area for which he needs

information (He knows the purpose)• He understands the value of information• He knows the economic/ social gains or benefits

that can be obtained from information• He knows how to relate his information need with

his existing knowledge

Locate and evaluate the quality of information :

possible indicators• The person uses libraries• He may have a personal collection (even few pamphlets/

leaflets/ paper cuttings)• He may have few reference works such as a dictionary, phone

book etc.• He knows how to use a simple reference source such as a

dictionary• He may seek the assistance of librarians or other

knowledgeable persons to find information• He tries to compare similar pieces of information with each

other in order to evaluate them • He knows that a variety of information sources are available • He may be a computer user

Store and retrieve information : Possible

indicators• He has the habit of keeping notes (in a

diary at least)• He may practice a traditional system of

memorization• He may use a computer to store

information• He knows that storing wanted

information is important in order to retrieve them later when there is a need

Make effective and ethical use of information

: Possible indicators• He knows how to use relevant information

to solve a problem (to achieve his goal)• He knows how to synthesize various

information to obtain an expected result• He has due regard to the creators of

information (authors)• He never present ideas of others as his

own ideas (avoids plagiarism)

Communicate knowledge : Possible

indicators• The person uses available information,

synthesize it and produce new knowledge• He communicates his product to others

orally, or through demonstration, through publications

• He uses available fora to communicate his knowledge (community centers, village societies, conferences, seminars)

Social context• IL as well as IL indicators are based

upon the social context of the country/ community

• Countries with developed economies do have higher IL rates

• Also, countries with intellectual traditions for centuries may have a similar situation, if not the people in such countries can easily make information literate.

Contd.• Certain cultural traits may hinder the

process of IL• For example, in countries where the

listening tradition is prominent inculcating reading habit could be a long and tedious process

• Similarly, the attitudes of societies toward information may hinder the process of IL

Contd.• Attitude of governments/ policy makers

are also to be considered• To make people information literate

may be seen as a threat to their political powers by politicians. Examples can be drawn from many third world countries

• Religious constrains directly affect the access to information, use of information and finally IL.

• Thank you!