1. Promoting media and
information literacy in libraries
Frank Huysmans
University of Amsterdam
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2. Structure of the Presentation
1. Media & Information Literacy (MIL)
2. Public libraries and MIL
3. Policy approaches to MIL
4. What we know about effectiveness
5. Conclusion
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3. 1. Media & Information Literacy (MIL)
Media literacy
ability to critically engage with media and mediated
content
knowledge, skills, attitudes, ethics
Information literacy
recognize information needs
locate, evaluate and use information for personal goals
Common ground and differences
coming from separate traditions (academic/practice)
media literacy and information literacy connected
following digitization of media and information
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4. 2. Public libraries and MIL
Promoting information literacy
from 1970s onwards
assist learners and teachers in finding and evaluating
sources of textual information
Enhancing media literacy
starting second half of 1990s: ‘digital skills’ / ‘ICT skills’
children vs. adults
protection vs. empowerment
information & media: access vs. sharing
media labs, makerspaces, hackathons etc.
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5. 3. Policy approaches
Library organizations & academic researchers
formalization of information literacy by professionals and
scholars
recognized by government, integrated in policies
Supranational organizations
EC & OECD: economic & technological perspective
IFLA & UNESCO: social & cultural perspective
Moscow Declaration 2012: “MIL is defined as a
combination of knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices
required to access, analyse, evaluate, use, produce and
communicate information and knowledge in creative, legal
and ethical ways that respect human rights”
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6. 4. What we know about effectiveness
Information literacy
wealth of research on broader concept ‘information
behaviour’ (how do people search for information?)
Media literacy
in general: evidence not solid yet
diverse approaches in theory and method
some evidence of effectiveness
not much known (yet) of effectiveness of library programs
UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy
Assessment Framework offers useful framework for
comparative research and benchmarking
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7. 5. Conclusion
Unified approach: Media & Information Literacy
• support citizens of all ages in acquiring the knowledge,
skills, attitudes and ethical stance to become more media
and information literate
Recommendations
recognize full potential public libraries in ET2020
support public libraries (policy, finances)
continue working on unified approach of MIL with
international and library organizations
work towards research program in Horizon 2020, using
UNESCO’s Assessment Framework
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