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IMPLICATIONS FOR THE LIBRARY AS ACCREDITATION SHIFTS FROM AN EMPHASIS ON LIBRARY RESOURCES TO INFORMATION LITERACY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Information literacy is increasingly becoming important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological change and proliferated information resources. Because of the increasing complexity of the information environment, individuals are faced with diverse, abundant information choices in their academic studies, in the workplace, and in personal lives. Information is available through libraries, community resources, special interest organizations, media and the Internet – and increasingly, information comes to individuals in unfiltered formats, raising questions about its authenticity, validity, and reliability. In addition,  information is available through multiple media, including graphical, aural, and textual, and these pose new challenges for individuals in evaluation and understanding  (Madu, 2005). The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information pose large challenges for society  (Kiven and Shafack, 2002). The mere abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively. According to the American Library Association (ALA) (2008), Information Literacy is a set of abilities that enable individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Information literacy according to Armstrong (2005),  is defined as the acquired skills to know when and why one needs information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner. This concept by CILIP will form the benchmark for information literacy in this study.  The concept affords the researcher the ability to search appropriate resources effectively and identify relevant information.  These competencies above have been further explained in detail by CILIP (2005) who outlined eight constructs of information literacy. According to them understanding a need for information involves recognizing that information is needed, understanding why it is needed, what kind of and how much information is required as well as any associated constraints. The second competency, which is an understanding of the available resources, requires the individual to be able to identify what resources (paper, electronic/digital, human) are available for exploitation, where they are available, how to access them, the merit of individual resource type and when it is appropriate to use them.  Closely following the above competence is an understanding of how to find information. This competence involves an ability to search appropriate resources (paper, electronic/digital, human etc) effectively and identify relevant information. Strategies need to be tailored to the resource being used, so as to get the best results from that resource, users need to respond to search results – possibly because there are too few or too many – and know when to stop searching. An information-literate person would also understand that, in addition to purposive search, information can be acquired by browsing, scanning and monitoring information sources. The fourth competence is an understanding of the need to evaluate results. It requires the ability to evaluate information for its authenticity, accuracy, currency, value and bias. Also the skill involves the ability to evaluate the means by which the results were obtained in order to ensure that individual approach does not produce misleading and incomplete results. This is not just whether the resource appears to answer the question, but whether it is intrinsically trustworthy. Another literacy competence is an understanding of how to work with and exploit results. The competence requires the individual to be able to analyze the information to provide accurate, presentable research result or to develop new knowledge and understand. This involves the ability to understanding, compare and apply the information found. The sixth competence involves an understanding of the ethical and responsibility of use of information. Here the individual is expected to know why information should by used in a responsible, culturally sensitive and ethical manner; respecting confidentiality and also giving credit to other people’s work; understanding the nature and use of bias in order to produce appropriate and unbiased report. This could include issues of intellectual property, plagiarism, unfair practice, fair use etc. Another competence is an understanding of how to communicate or share your finding. This competence requires the ability to communicate/share information in a manner or format that is appropriate to the information, the intended audience and situation. Finally, is the understanding of how to manage findings. This competence involves the knowledge of how to store and manage the information one has acquired using the most effective method available. Reflecting critically on the process and achievements as well as the source found in order to learn from the experience of finding and using information. The globalization process in the world today is a function of the exponential growth of information and the convergence of information and communication technologies, particularly in the last decade of the 20th century. With the availability of abundant information, it is necessary for a researcher to be able to understand the information environment. In this way, he/she will be able to identify what resources are available for exploitation, where they are available, how to access them, and appreciate the merits of individual resource types, and when it is appropriate to use them. To achieve the above, therefore the individual researcher requires an understanding of types of resources (paper-based, electronic, digital, human etc) and when to use them.  This is particularly very important in a university environment especially among the academic staff. Information Literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning, (Etim and Nsslen, 2007). It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual according to the American Library Association (2008, 41) is able to:

-           Determine the extent of information needed

-           Access the needed information effectively and efficiently

-           Evaluate information and its sources critically

-           Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base

-           Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

-           Understand the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and access and use information ethically and legally.

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