INFORMATION LITERACY

INTRODUCTION Information processing has become increasingly visible and important in all aspects of human activities including economic, social, and political endeavors. One familiar piece of evidence is the increase in the amount of information and the multiplicity of media through which information is transmitted. Where as the quantity of material and the number of media have increased manifold, the processes to effectively access and evaluate them does not seem to be in place. The warnings of Matthew Ciolek(1996) that the WWW (World Wide Web) may become the MMM (Multimedia mediocrity) should still be taken seriously. Another obvious development is the statistical growth of occupations specializing in information activities. Numerous studies have demonstrated substantial growth in information-based occupations. These occupations now take the largest share of employment in the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other industrial societies. (Slamecka,1991) Even those work skills required in industries not dealing directly with information processing are undergoing a shift in focus. There is an emphasis on information skills and a clear preference for flexible generalists with the ability to adapt to fast changing work environments than for super specialists. A survey conducted at Mumbai recently showed that qualities valued by employers in young graduates were ability for practical application of knowledge, confidence, willingness to learn, exposure to information, ability to learn new tasks with fewer instructions and wider perspective of life. (Gnanam,2000) Learning organizations pre-suppose Life long learning. The emergence of a continuous Learning model contrasts sharply with the traditional notion that school (learning) is followed by work, which is then followed by retirement. (Vasudev, 2001) The educational implications of this shift are wide and far-reaching. We used to live in a world where content was king. Today, as technology places vast amounts of content on almost any topic literally at the fingertips of a student, the teacher cannot hope to be relevant merely as the source of content. The teacher has to be a manager of the learning process and has to impart a wide range of skills to the learners so that they are effective information gathers, users and manipulators. Thus the capabilities associated with processing of information are increasingly seen not as a specialization or add-on but as a set of generic and basic skills to be possessed by every reasonably educated person. Thus there are pointers towards the emergence of the concept of information literacy that subsumes the three Rs and includes much else. The tying of information literacy as a concept to such educational issues should alert all stakeholders in the education arena that a shift in educational thinking has occurred in that literacy is more than the ability to read and to write. It may also imply that information literacy is firmly embedded in the practices and outcomes of education in the Information Age. If this is so, then, intuitively, the concept of information literacy should be part of the natural discourse of teachers as they design and develop curriculum units or discuss pedagogical issues. Educators and curriculum formulators seek to define and implement a program for a new set of foundational skills. But what are these and how are these to be imparted? WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY? The concept of literacy really depends on the information needs of the society at a time. The technology of writing has defined it and given it the most commonly understood meaning. However, the world view of literacy has broadened to accept that literacy was evolving; that there was a continuum of skills associated with literacy; and that literacy itself was taking on differing forms, in fact transforming, from a functional

literacy through to a set of literacies, tied to advances in technological society. Thus, Information age compels us to speak in terms of Information Literacy. However, Any attempt to define Information literacy might raise more questions than answers. Sample Langfords (1998) litany of queries as follows. Just how is information literacy defined? In terms of skills (Taylor, 1979), behaviors or attitudes (Kuhlthau, 1993; Doyle, 1994; Bruce, 1996)? Is information literacy about learning library or research or study skills (Irving, 1985; Kirk, 1987) or perhaps learning to think critically (McGregor, 1995; Lenox & Walker, 1994)? Is it process or content-oriented? Pinned to a methodology such as resource-based learning or inquiry learning or the Big Six (Gawith, 1991; Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990)? Does it relate to an isolated subject such as social education, or is it an isolated subject in itself? Is it an independent notion, or is it an umbrella phrase that has many parts that, when meshed into a pedagogical framework, contributes to the holistic development of an individual, thereby providing a pathway for the individual to function well in society, to be empowered to learn independently and interdependently (Owen, 1996; Kuhlthau, 1995)? Is it a new literacy tied to changing technologies (Ross Tweed & Bailey, 1994) or is it still the basic literacy mirroring the expanding information needs of society (Breivik, 1993)? However no study can base itself on a set of questions alone and for a working definition I have taken refuge in ALA's (1989) analysis of the concept to define information literacy as the "ability to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of resources, to recognise when information is needed, and to know how to learn." This more or less agrees with Doyles(1996) realisation that the ideas and practices of developing in her students an independence in defining and solving their information problems could be drawn together under an umbrella concept referred to as information literacy. One needs to be able to locate and access information in all its forms and registers or to solve information problems through enlisting a set of behaviours that develop competences in the techniques and skills necessary to survive in the Information Age. As these techniques and skills strengthen, so too do the individual's metacognitive processes (Eshpeter & Gray, 1988) These techniques and skills are essentially discipline neutral and can in that sense be called meta skills or generic skills. As in any other field of education, the skills associated with information literacy develop through ones lifetime.

CONCLUSION Various skills associated with information literacy are scattered in all academic subjects that are taught in school. The IT curriculum, the language and literature programs, the mathematics syllabus, all cater to some skill or other. But the fact remains that there is no coordination, planning and evaluation of these elements in the light of some criteria that are formulated with wider aims of information literacy in mind. As in any educational process, there has to be a focal point, a coordinating authority and a quality controller who is actively involved in curriculum formation and implementation. I believe that teacher-librarians are the best bet. Teacher-Librarians however, are an unrecognized species in India. There is no university offering substantial courses in Teacher-Librarianship, probably because the field of study is considered a hazy mix of Education, and Library and Information Science. However the demands of the Information Age and the general shift in educational practice towards continuous, self-directed and life-long learning makes it imperative for Library and Information Science Institutes to take a proactive approach in this regard. Lack of trained manpower in this area has led to libraries in many schools being little more than footnotes in the pedagogical scheme. The Library or what can more accurately be called, The Learning Resource Centre has to play a more pivotal role in todays schools. Trained Teacher-Librarians have to be equally central and significant figures by virtue of their unique capabilities and interdisciplinary position.

Literature abounds with the idea that teacher librarians are significant stakeholders, and sometimes infers the teacher librarian as sole stakeholder in the development of information literacy in students. Langford(1998) asks: As teacher librarians, are we responsible for some distinct concept referred to as information literacy or are we a part of a whole, promoting literacy through the development and encouragement of an array of skills that include information and thinking? I believe the latter to be true. Teacher librarians are not the sole custodians of the information literacy programs in school and it is beyond doubt that it has to be a concerted effort and not a compartmentalized subject. Various approaches have been suggested for a Teacher- librarians role in the implementation of information literacy program. A timetable slot approach could be followed and credits can be given for the systematic study of a few core skills. These and other wider skills can be imparted and evaluated also as part of the normal subject curriculum taught in school. An example of such an approach might be the Key skills programme of the British GCE and GNVQ. The first three skills of communication, application of number and information technology form the Key Skills Qualification. Working with others, improving own learning and performance and problem solving, are known as the wider key skills. They are not included in the Key skills qualification, but their achievement forms a part of other qualifications and programmes. (Edexel, 2000) The Library and Information Science fraternity has to wake up to this acutely felt need. A concerted effort has to be made in coordination with boards of secondary education, NCERT, and other bodies involved in educational research and planning.

REFERENCES

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Eshpeter B., & Gray J. (1988). School library programs and the cooperative planning process: preparing students for information literacy. Calgary, AB: Calgary Board of Education. Gawith, G. (1991). Ripping into research: Information skills for secondary and tertiary students. Auckland: Longman Paul Gnanam,A.(2000)From Knowledge to Competency A Critical Curricular TransitionUniversity News 38(46) Irving, A. (1985). Study and information skills across the curriculum. London: Heinemann. Kirk, J. (1987). Information skills: An educational perspective for tomorrow. ERIC Digest, 60. (ED 359981) Kuhlthau, C. (1993). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Kuhlthau, C. (1995). The process of learning from information. School Libraries Worldwide 1(1), 1-12. Langford, Linda (1996) Information Literacy:A Clarification by Linda Langford URL: www.fno.org Note: This article first appeared in School Libraries Worldwide, 4(1), 1998, 59-72. Lenox, M., & Walker M. (1994). Information literacy: A challenge for the future. NASSP Bulletin, 78(562), 57-72. McGregor, J. (1995). Process or product: Constructing or reproducing knowledge. School Libraries Worldwide 1(1), 28-40. McKenzie, Jamie (1998) Information Skills Rating Scale URL: www.fno.org ( accessed on September 29, 2001) Owen, R. (1996). Chilling the community: Information literacy and the Hindmarsh Island bridge. Australian Library Journal, 45(2), 120-135. Ross Tweed, W., & Bailey, G. (1994). Wanted: A new literacy for the information age. NASSP Bulletin, 78(563), 31-35. Slamecka, Vladimir (1991) Information Processing and Information Systems. Encyclopedia Britannica Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. Smith,Alistair G..(1997) Testing the Surf:Criteria foor Evaluating Inteernet Information Resources.The Public-Access Computer Systems Review 8(3) Vasudev, vasudev(2001) Challenges of E-Learning. The Hindu September 18, 2001