Information Literacy: Unpacking A Few Key Learnings

Information Literacy: Unpacking A Few Key Learnings

Now in my second year as a part time teacher-librarian (TL), and working within the reality of a small budget and limited

time, I realize that achieving the varied goals of a TL can be a tall order. Further, as I wade through piles of idealistic literature, I wonder how I might maximize my impact on the education of my students. The CASL supplied me with an important answer when they state “The major learning outcome for the school library program is to develop students who are information literate” (AIL p. 4). Hmmm. So how can I break “information literacy” into a few manageable understandings that I can

work with immediately?

First
Collaborate with teachers to teach information literacy skills as part of the research process. There are many ways to teach this process (BIG6, SUPER3, “The Research Process” by Stripling and Pitts, to name a few [Riedling p. 10-13]) and exploring all of them can be overwhelming, however, Riedling, Shake and Houston (2013) broke the reference process into five easy to understand steps (p. 6)

1. The need for information
2. The question
3. The search for information
4. An answer or response
5. Evaluation

I believe that if I were to approach my staff with a simple model such as this, teachers would be more likely to not only embrace one of these models, but to work with me to set up an information skills continuum for the school. The more I consider this continuity for students, the more I feel it is crucial for both their skill development and to build their confidence around information literacy.

Second
I learned that with electronic information sources, authority, bias and accuracy are the most critical criteria to consider (Riedling et al., p. 115). The following are resources that can be used with students to teach to some of these criteria.

Google Man demonstrates how Google's knowledge of us is significant and can be used to skew information that we are fed.

The CRAAP test – This hyperlink is a video that demonstrates how the simple acronym can guide/remind students to check for currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose when evaluating resources (for younger children, we use the CARP test-the same as the CRAAP test but without the “authority”- and with a more age appropriate acronym).

How To Spot Fake News - This poster (below) was published by the IFLA to assist students in their assessment of authority, bias, accuracy.

Finally
It is more important than ever, despite budget cuts, for libraries to receive adequate TL time. With growing information needs, TLs are more important than ever to teach skills in searching, accessing, using, and evaluating information efficiently and effectively (Riedling et al., p. 116). The explosion of virtual resource that some say will render TLs redundant, actually creates a greater need for TLs and the skills that we bring to our school communities.

Work cited
Canadian Association For School Libraries (2003). Achieving Information Literacy Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Ottawa ON, The Canadian School Library Association and the Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada.

International Federation of Library Association (IFLA) (updated January 7, 2019).How to spot fake news. Retrieved fromhttps://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174

McMaster University Library. How Library stuff works: The CRAAP test. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M1-aMCJHFg&feature=youtu.be

Stallone, John (April 9, 2016). Google man: What Google knows about a common person. Retrieved from https://imgur.com/5APbAcs

Riedling, A., Shake, L. & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school library
media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth.