II Konferencja Naukowa : Nauka o informacji (informacja naukowa) w okresie zmian, Warszawa, 15-16.04.2013 r. Instytut Informacji Naukowej i Studiów Bibliologicznych, Uniwersytet Warszawski The 2nd Scientific Conference : Information Science in an Age of Change, April 15-16, 2013. Institute of Information and Book Studies, University of Warsaw

1. Information literacy
from the Polish-French perspective
Zuza Wiorogórska
University of Warsaw Library
Laboratoire GERiiCO, Université Charles de Gaulle Lille 3

2. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
CONTEXT

3. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
COTUTELLE
•doctoral student is enrolled at two universities
•under joint supervision (= two thesis directors)
•one thesis defence, but PhD degree obtained from two
universities
•good opportunity to conduct the comparative research

4. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
COMPARATIVE STUDY

5. Z. Wiorogorska - Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
INFORMATION LITERACY (IL)

6. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
DOCTORAL STUDENTS

7. Z. Wiorogorska - Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
The most recognized and the most frequently cited
definition of IL remains that of American Library Association
(1989):
To be information literate, a person must be able to
recognize when information is needed and have the ability
to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed
information.
INFORMATION LITERACY - DEFINITION

8. Z. Wiorogorska - Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
ENGLISH SYNONYMS AND
RELATED TERMS
POLISH EQUIVALENTS FRENCH EQUIVALENTS
information skills;
IL skills;
IL competencies;
information competence;
information competence skills;
information problem solving;
information fluency;
information handling;
information empowerments;
information technology (IT) skills;
information and communication (ICT)
skills;
ICT literacy; digital literacy;
network literacy;
e-literacy;
media literacy;
infoliteracy;
user education;
library instruction;
library orientation;
bibliographic instructions;
instruction in information skills.
umiejętność korzystania z informacji;
umiejętność posługiwania się
informacją;
umiejętność wyszukiwania informacji
w różnych źródłach i mediach, jej
selekcji, krytycznej oceny oraz
przetwarzania jej na własny użytek;
biegłość w użytkowaniu informacji;
umiejętności informacyjne;
kompetencje informacyjne;
edukacja informacyjna;
edukacja medialna;
sprawność informacyjna;
sprawne korzystanie z informacji;
świadomość informacyjna;
alfabetyzm informacyjny.
formation à la recherché
documentaire ;
formation à la recherché
d’information ;
formation à la méthodologie
documentaire ;
formation des usagers ;
formation documentaire ;
formation à la maîtrise de
l’information ;
formation à l’usage de
l’information ;
éducation à l’information ;
formation à l’information ;
alphabétisme informationnel ;
appropriation de l’information ;
compétence informationnelle ;
compétences documantaires ;
connaissances en recherche
documantaire ;
culture de l’information ;
culture informationnelle ;
intelligence informationnelle ;
méthodologie documentaire ;
méthodologie de l’information ;
littératie informationnelle.
Translation problems
English, Polish and French synonyms and terms related to IL
(Source: Chevillotte, 2004, 2005; Denecker & Durand-Barthez, 2011; Denecker, 2003; Derfert-Wolf, 2009a;
Le Deuff, 2007; Martin, 2005; Serieyx, 1993; Tujague Candalot Dit Casaurang, 2005; Universite Lille 3, 2009).

9. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
METHODOLOGY

10. Z. Wiorogorska - Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
SURVEY
27 questions
Total research sample:
578 students (317 French, 261 Polish)
Questions:
•about use of information holdings (catalogues,
journals...)
•concerning IL education
•related to potential obstacles in use of scientific
journals

11. Z. Wiorogorska - Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
OBSERVATIONS
covert participant observations

12. Z. Wiorogorska - Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
GROUNDED THEORY
quantitative research method
research is conducted from an experience-near perspective

13. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
MAJOR FINDINGS:
• lack of awareness:
The information users who are not aware of existence
of certain resources or tools or who cannot explore all their
functionalities (like: advanced options, data screening, data
sorting, etc.) either abandon the use of these resources or use
them superficially and do not benefit from their whole
richness.
Two major factors:
• lack of specialised library instruction, dedicated to doctoral
students (in the case of Poland)
• lack of promotion or popularisation of such instruction among
doctoral students and lecturers who could encourage their
students to participate (in the case of France).

14. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
IMPLICATIONS:
This study :
• might be helpful for librarians to understand users’ needs and to
define the gaps in the library offer
• highlightes the importance of the IL education at the university
forum
• presents a set of implications that might be considered by the
policy makers as well as by the library and university
administrators
• emphasises the need of professionalization of pedagogical role
of librarians
• brings attention to the need of enhanced promotion of library
services and library’s educational offer
• poses a critical reflection on libraries acquisition policy related
both to scientific journals (printed and electronic) and tools, like:
multisearching systems, bibliography management systems, or
e-learning platforms

15. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS
• This is the first study in its kind
• This is also the first comparative study realised during the
implementation of Bologna Process
• The wish for this study is that its findings and conclusions would
find application
• This study identifies also the issues that might be considered
and implemented by libraries. The main one is the reinforcement
of the role and importance of IL

16. Z. Wiorogórska – Information literacy from the Polish-French perspective
FURTHER STUDIES DIRECTIONS
• An in-depth and cross-disciplinary study research to investigate
complex relationships between field of study and information needs
• Need for work on the universities forums, aiming at legitimization of
IL and its implementation into university strategies and curricula in
both countries
• The cooperation between librarians and faculty and common
advocacy for IL at the university administration level is absolutely
required
• To enhance the research on IL and information users in both
countries, a “library research groups” might be established to
guarantee studies systematically conducted with regard to the
currently applied social sciences methodology

17. Thank you for your attention
z.d.wiorogorska@uw.edu.pl