Presentation by Sheila Webber Information School, University of Sheffield United Kingdom Venue: Empatic International Workshop - Schools Sector in Krakow, Poland Date: 8 June 2011

1. Information Literacy in school libraries Sheila Webber Information School, University of Sheffield June 2011 International IL Logo: http://www.infolitglobal.info/

2. Progression of Information Literacy Progression = steady development of IL, year on year Progression through school years Progression within subjects (IL within geography, English etc.) Lifelong learning: progression from early years, and helping transition to college/ university Can be helped by adopting a model or framework for IL

3. Model/ framework of IL Many models (e.g. Big6, James Herring’s model) Success when adopt clear, easily understood model and make it widely available Model adopted by school Known by teachers and students Used in lessons Visible in classrooms e.g. on wall Which model is chosen: may depend on country/ curriculum/ school

4. Contextualising IL in school/ national curriculum In UK: national curricula dictate what is taught Williams and Wavell’s research: even teachers interested in IL feel they have no space to teach it Therefore importance of getting IL formally into national curriculum Otherwise: can show how IL supports key elements of the curriculum Example: Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland: Scottish Library and Information Council (2009) Improving libraries for learners.

5. National frameworks for IL Frameworks for IL through life Scottish IL framework Welsh IL framework Welsh example Involving key government agencies (not just librarians) in core planning Linking framework to national educational framework Developing examples of IL in different contexts to demonstrate value Scottish “case studies” in schools at different age levels Welsh examples including IL helping employability and citizenship etc.

6. Status of librarian Obviously valuable if law saying that school has to have a librarian ;-) Campaign for librarians not just libraries Being seen as trained professional colleague by teachers Being supported by senior managers in schools (Head Teacher etc.) Being respected by pupils (personal qualities and confidence of librarian + how treated by teachers)

7. Approaches to teaching Copyright Kevin Sheehan, School Librarian of the Year 2010

8. Looking @ Practice Finding and using information: Early LevelI listen or watch for useful or interesting information and I use this to make choices to learn new things. LIT 0.04a Information Literacy in Junior (Primary) 1St Margaret’s School, Edinburgh Irving, Christine. (2010) “Begin at the beginning - Information and Critical Literacy in Curriculum for Excellence Early & First Level (Nursery & Primary Schools) “ Presented at the LILAC Conference, Limerick, 29 March 2010.

9. Critical and digital literacy Creating information Managing online identity Assessing information from web, people, print etc.

10. Goals Helping people customise IL to national/ school context (rather than attempting to get a model of IL to fit everyone’s needs) Ammunition, examples, support in getting IL into national education strategy and into local school strategy Models of school librarian education, role and status Recommendations/ roles for other stakeholders: parents, government, teachers, public & university libraries Examples of IL in different subjects, levels (age and ability), meeting different learning outcomes; examples using terminology of educators (which can vary between countries)

11. Web resources James Herring’s blog http://jherring.wordpress.com/ Scottish IL Project http://caledonianblogs.net/information-literacy/ (UK) School Library Association http://www.sla.org.uk Welsh Information Literacy Project http://library.wales.org/en/information-literacy/

12. UK documents Morris, E. (2010) School Libraries: a plan for improvement. Museums, Libraries & Archives Council, and the National Literacy Trust. (Report of an official Commission inquiring into school libraries) School Library Association. (2010) Primary School Library Charter. Swindon: SLA. Scottish Library and Information Council. (2009) Improving Libraries for Learners: supporting learning and meeting needs. Motherwell: SLIC

13. Sheila Webber s.webber@shef.ac.uk Information School, University of Sheffield, UK http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/ http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/ Twitter and Second Life: Sheila Yoshikawa