This document summarizes a teaching session that explored developing information literacy from a young age through a collaboration between a university and local libraries. The session worked with early years students to raise awareness of the importance of reading and books. It discusses how information literacy begins when children start interacting with books and outlines the goals and evaluations of workshops where students explored learning to read and selecting books for young children. The teaching session seeks to explain their process and provide advice for adapting similar workshops.

1. Once upon a time: going back to the roots of information literacy
Ruth Wilson, Edge Hill University, wilsonr@edgehill.ac.uk
Rita McWilliam, Edge Hill University, Rita.McWilliam@edgehill.ac.uk
This session will explore the theme of developing information literacy from a very young age
while demonstrating a collaborative approach with an external agency. Learning Services at
Edge Hill has worked with Lancashire Libraries to deliver workshops to early years students
in order to raise an awareness of the reading process and importance of books
The roots of information literacy begin when young children begin to interact with the world
of books. In 2013 we began a collaboration to take students back to before they were readers
and to introduce the crucial role literacy skills have in nurturing the creative and enquiring
skills so important in later years. The Save the Children report Read on. Get On (2014) says
‘first learn to read, then read to learn’.
This Teachmeet will outline share the process including evaluations. This is an unusual and
specific approach to information literacy with a particular audience and context. However it
offers the potential to be adapted.
This Teachmeet will:
Seek to explain how we approached our aims & will give practical advice on what might be
included in similar workshops. We will cover how we enabled students to:
 Explore the experience of learning to read
 Consider approaches to reading with young children
 Learn how to select books to match age, interest & ability
 Think about how to engage an audience
 Consider how to use books as a sources of information
References:
Save The Children (2014) Read On. Get On: how reading can help children escape poverty.
London: Save The Children.