Open Meeting 2009

The Scottish Information Literacy Project: working with partners to create an information literate Scotland Project Overview and Update Dr John Crawford Project Open Meeting 2009 Glasgow Caledonian University 16 th September 2009

Where it all began Drumchapel Project 2003
An exploratory project – initially ICT skills orientated
Community ICT facilities little used - Library and Cybercafés – implications only now being addressed
School and School Library are main focus for IT use in deprived areas
Little integration of information literacy into the curriculum
Levels of ICT ‘deprivation’ did not seem to be high
Basic IT skills exist- WP, email, Internet
Pupil evaluation of websites poor
An asylum seeking issue
An information literacy skills/transitional agenda emerged

Project objectives
to develop an information literacy framework, linking primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning including workplace and adult literacies agendas
Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and the wider community
Working with information literacy champions both UK and worldwide
Researching and promoting information literacy in the workplace
Identifying and working with partners, both in education and the wider community
Researching the role of information literacy in continuing professional development
Researching the health and media literacies agenda

Agenda issues
a need to explain and promote the concept of information literacy to educational and other bodies - advocacy focus. Included a petition to the Scottish Parliament 2005
Recruited leading information literacy advocates in Scotland as Project partners. (Initially secondary HE/FE) partnership focus
the workplace (studies of GCU students/alumni) - a workplace focus
Adult literacies contacts – an employability focus
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) a CPD focus
An independent learning skill - lifelong learning focus
A major skills agenda but see below

Agenda of issues 2004 -2007-8
2003 – The Drumchapel Project – where it all began
2004 – The ‘one year’ Information Literacy, the Link between Secondary and Tertiary Education Project launched
2005-8 - the first draft of the National Information Literacy Framework Scotland completed, piloted and evaluated
Contact and work with Learning and Teaching Scotland and learndirectscotland
Extensive network of partners and contacts from school, FE/HE, workplace, lifelong learning, Adult literacies + overseas
Website developed and more recently blog + PR activities
Initial health and media literacy contacts

What we want to do next (which is what I said last year)
Expand the Framework to extend the lifelong learning/community engagement component using the data from the workplace/Adult Literacies study currently completing
Investigate the development of information skills training modules which could be delivered via public libraries, workplace training and Adult Literacies programmes
Review and develop our existing workplace information literacy skills expertise with chambers of commerce, Adult Literacies partners, etc
Have more time to publicise and promote our work to the sectors which we are targeting and to disseminate and develop strategic collaborations and partnerships on a national and international basis.
To develop further strands in media and health literacies
Get information literacy incorporated into Scotland's’ lifelong learning policy

2008 -2009 Focus (Esmee Fairbairn Foundation funding)
Restructure the Framework to make it easier to use / more interactive
+ extend the early years, workplace, wider access and lifelong learning components to make it a genuine lifelong learning policy documents
Research and progress the information literacy in the workplace agenda

Information literacy in the workplace progress - some outcomes (1)
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce – couple of meetings. Agreed to progress by sending out a questionnaire devised by us to all Glasgow Chamber of Commerce members about their information skills training needs.
CBI Scotland – one meeting to identify companies who might want to incorporate IL training into their CPD programmes – no subsequent developments
Scottish Trades Union Congress – presentation to Everyday Skills Committee of STUC (composed of TU learning representatives) – well received – continuing contact but funding the issue
Skills Development Scotland (Careers Division – old Careers Scotland) – meetings led to identification of IL as a career choice, progression, CPD and employability skill. Joint symposium with SDS 27 th March
Employability and Skills Division, Lifelong Learning Directorate – meeting which validated our strategy of targeting employers’ and skills organisation

Information literacy in the workplace progress - some outcomes (2) (and contacts)
Public library services – contacts with three services including Inverclyde Libraries who have run employability training courses (10 weeks). IL has been incorporated in the courses at our suggestion. (Basic skills courses run by public libraries have IT/Internet training from which IL training can be developed)
Aberdeen Business School – secured £400,000 + EU funding to run ‘bite sized courses’ for local SMEs (up to 12 modules). 20 businesses and 70 learners so far – hope for 175. Exchanged information and role of IL – employers’ don’t know what training they need (RGU finding)
Royal Society of Arts - Opening Minds Curriculum running in 200 schools in England – includes an IL component – Managing information – also strong focus on skills acquisition in education and the workplace
Scottish Government Information Service – have set up advanced Internet searching skills courses for staff; developed an information strategy for the Scottish Government. Now on Scottish Government website – Education and Training (Information Literacies) – a first? http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/progress/sg/supportingindividuals/InformationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

Skills utilisation ? A workplace issue
'Skills utilisation is about ensuring the most effective application of skills in the workplace to maximise performance through the interplay of a number of key agents (e.g. employers, employees, learning providers and the state) and the use of a range of HR, management and working practices. Effective skills utilisation seeks to match the use of skills to business demands/needs.' (p.2)
Skills utilisation literature review , a report by CFE for the Education Analytical Services, Lifelong Learning Research, Scottish Government (Executive summary and full text available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/12/15114643/0 )

And more recently
Information literacy case studies/exemplars of good practice in secondary schools completed http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/informationliteracy
Funding obtained from Learning and Teaching Scotland to develop learning materials and CPD materials for teachers aimed at Primaries 1-3 (5-7) – See Digital Britain report (2009), p.64
Study on the workplace and its consequences
Joint Open Space event with Skills Development Scotland
Post Open Space meeting
Internal focus

Putting definitions into practice
"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." CILIP (2004) Information Literacy Definition
“ Information Literacy was defined as the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address an issue or problem.” Prague Declaration

What we have learned (1)
Different groups of people constantly reinterpret IL in the light of their own qualifications, training, experience and needs
IL is a key career choice, progression, CPD, employability and workplace skill
IL is not recognised in any government document produced since 2005 which recognises IL as an independent skill. It is rolled up with IT –But see Scottish Government website – Education and Training (Information Literacies)
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/progress/sg/supportingindividuals/InformationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

What we have learned (2)
Target skills and employers’/employee organisations
IL skills training in the workplace is feasible but must be carefully planned and targeted
The public library can offer IL training, developed from IT training but again it but must be carefully planned and targeted. Public librarians must be involved in IL skills development
Need to think cross sectorally - Govan High School’s ‘Future Skills’ framework of about 70 skills in association with local employers and involving the pupils. Includes IL. Blane (2008)
Findings of workplace study have been validated

Inverclyde Employability course Preliminary findings
Most participants women – and few young people (NEETs / More Choices More Chances ?)
Interviewees mainly from a service industry background
Family and friends main motivation
Difficult to separate vocational from personal development motivation
Issues around recruitment
Health issues
Information literacy an important course component 30- 60%
Sensitive tutoring essential
Main impact – greatly increased self confidence and improvement in IT/IL skills
Very difficult to disentangle employability and recreational usage of information literacy

Open Space event (SDS) and June 15 th meeting
About 35 people attended including representatives from secondary and FE/HE education, adult learning, local government, the STUC, Learning and Teaching Scotland, BBC Scotland, a number of commercial agencies and Skills Development Scotland staff. There were also a number of librarians
Consistency and info. Literacy skills to be embedded in all curriculum subjects. (10)
An element in teacher training (young people) inputs (8) 　
Shift focus to individual learners and their successes in developing their own information lit. skills and publicise their rewards in doing so. (7)
June 15 th meeting
Lesley Thomson and Jenny Foreman from the Scottish Government agreed to set up an online community of practice to facilitate further discussion and action

Issues for the future
Funding – a continuing issue
Content development – a major issue
The Framework – a continuing saga
Development of online community of practice
IL Training for trainee teachers
Continue to influence the Curriculum for Excellence
Progress media and health agendas
Supporting an internal focus

Some further information
Crawford, John and Irving (2008) Going beyond the ‘library’: the current work of the Scottish Information Literacy Project. Library and information research, (32) 102, pp . 29-37 http://www.lirg.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/89
Crawford, John and Irving (2009) Information literacy in the workplace: a qualitative exploratory study, JOLIS , (41 )pp. 29-38 http://lis.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/29?etoc
McDonald, Natalie and Keenan, Peter (2009) The ‘stuff beyond Google: information literacy in a corporate setting . http://www.information-online.com.au/sb_clients/iog/bin/iog_programme_you_may_be_right_C1.cfm?vm_key=8EDF7462-D5A6-FFAA-AB89D511D74817DA
Crawford, John et al, (2008) Use of information in the Scottish Government, Library & information update, Dec., pp. 48-49
Interview with Philip Pothen, formerly of JISC, 28.11.08 about the work of the Project http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/02/podcast71johncrawfordchristineirving.aspx

Contact details
Dr. John Crawford, Christine Irving
Library Research Officer, Researcher / Project Officer
Milton Street Building Milton Street Building
MS004, (ground floor) MS005, (ground floor)
Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University
Cowcaddens Road Cowcaddens Road
Glasgow, G4 0BA Glasgow, G4 0BA
Tel: 0141-273 -1248 Tel: 0141-273 -1249
Email [email_address] Email [email_address]
Project website www.caledonian.ac.uk/ils/
Project blog http://caledonianblogs.net/information-literacy/

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Open Meeting 2009

by cirving on Sep 17, 2009

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