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INFORMATION LITERACY, SCHOLARSHIP, PRACTICE, & LEADERSHIP

Information Literacy, Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership

Michael Phan

University of Phoenix School of Advance Studies

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Information Literacy: Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership

Information literacy is the knowledge that one has to intelligently participate in a

society. It defines the capability of the person to understand the externalities and the

environment, and act intelligently in response to attain the best possible results. More

specifically, information literacy is also referred to the knowledge, learning and literacy of an

individual in terms of computers and systems technology. Hughes and Shapiro, in 1996,

provided a definition for information literacy which states that information literacy is a form

of literacy, which extends the knowledge of a person in terms of how to use computers and

navigate to access the specific information he or she wants through the machine.

The world of today has become highly information and technology centric, especially

with the advancement of computer technology, faster processing of information and efficiency

provided by the new information technology. A common place where multiple forms of tools

are present to test the information literacy of a person is a library where in order to have

access to books and data, the individuals have to have knowledge about the specific systems

through which the required information can be retrieved. The paper discusses the aspect of

information literacy in terms of intelligence as well as technology as applied in the field of

education.

The first article selected for discussion is by David Rifkin. The article discusses

literacy and information literacy in terms of its application in state and public schools. In the

article Rifkin mentions that literacy of a person is basically determined and based on the

society in which the individual resides, and moves about in. Initially, basic literacy included

simply the knowledge and ability of learning and writing. However with the advancement in

technology information literacy has become the knowledge of being able to read and write as
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well as use complex technology such as the computers and an internet to access the

information required.

In terms of scholarship, Rifkin mentions that scholarship of a student does not simply

include accessing and comprehending the information, but also being able to access the best

and the most credible information through a trustworthy and justifiable source.

“One of the most overwhelming aspects of online research is the endless flood of information

that the learner has to sift through. Besides the sheer volume of information, assessing the

validity of a source for bias and point of view is a major concern.” (Rifkin, 2006)

Rifkin also mentioned that a large percentage of the college seniors also do not take

out time to analyze and evaluate the sources which they use to conduct their research. In

practical application of information literacy, the author mentions that literacy skills of the high

school and college students are weak in terms of their reading and writing ability as well as

their competence in using the computer systems and databases for accessing information for

their projects. Therefore Rifkin recommends that the educational institutions should focus on

incorporating specific courses and workshop sessions to train and provide assistance to the

students on how technology and information systems can be used to access the required

information.

The second article that has been selected is by Daniel Griffin and is titled, Is Virtual

Virtue in Scholarship. The article is based on the study conducted on students at the

University of Sheffield. It highlights the difficulties and challenges being faced by the

students in terms of their scholarship due to lack of proper skills and incomplete information

literacy. The focus of the article is towards improving the scholarship of the students and the

ineffectiveness of the virtual medium in terms of the practice of information literacy. The
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author argues that while the internet and the information technology have enabled the students

to access information more readily and conveniently, the students have lost their skills of

finding the best resources available, and citing the resources in the proper format.

"Students need an incentive really to develop their information literacy and ability to cite. In

any subject, if you have teachers who are challenging and forcing students to do their own

research work, providing feedback on whether they have cited things correctly and

synthesized the material, then the students are going to develop their skills better.” (Griffin,

2007)

Griffin claims in the article that the students need to be taught how to practice the

information literacy that they have in order to take advantage of the changes taking place in

the information and technology environment. Griffin also states that by doing so the students

would also be able to develop their reading and writing skills as well as increase their

knowledge.

The third article that has been selected for the purpose of this paper is titled

Information Literacy as a Socio-technical Practice by Tuominen Kimmo, Saviklainen Reijo

and Tajia Sanna. The authors argue that information literacy has been used by people to

develop a practical and strategic concept of learning skills. The article also highlights existing

research present on the subject of information technology and its effect on scholarship,

practice and leadership. However it does not explore how the students interact with each

other, and the technical systems which influence their information, and data environments.

Comprehensively, the article focuses on information literacy as a socio-technical practice.

“Information literacy evolves in the course of realizing specific work-related tasks and

mundane activities, which usually involve a complex system of social relationships, socio
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technical configurations, and work organization. From the perspective of a situated

understanding of learning and learning requirements, information skills cannot be taught

independently of the knowledge domains, organizations, and practical tasks in which these

skills are used.” (Kimmo, 2005)

Kimmo, et al also mentioned in the article that there needs to be an established and

structural communication interface between the information technologies available and the

efforts in learning and teaching.

Information literacy is strongly linked with scholarship, practice and leadership.

Literacy of information technology and the application of its knowledge are crucially

important for the scholarship of students as it impacts the academic development of an

individual. The literature review depicts that, on one hand, information literacy is considered

as the intelligence of an individual, while on the other hand it refers to the comprehension and

use of computers, and technology for accessing, and managing information. The most

common place where information literacy is required and used is in the public and private

libraries which are present at schools, universities and colleges. These libraries are

increasingly adopting new information technology for making their structure more dynamic,

cost effective as well as progressive in terms of information storage and processing.

Education institutions like colleges, universities and high schools are the training hubs for the

children and young adults. These institutions provide the students with information and skill

based training on how to use information technology to their advantage.

Information and leadership have a strong interdependent relationship. In order to be

successful in producing good quality high school and college projects the students need to be

technology savvy and should have sufficient information literacy skills to take present their
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work in an organized and literate manner. In terms of managing a business, the senior

management of a company also needs to be technology savvy and have information literacy

skills for making critical business decisions.

“Companies need technically-trained people in the executive suite because technology

is driving change in every dimension of a business. And why shouldn't residents of the

executives of the future be just as likely to be spawned from the lab as from the legal,

sales or finance departments? Let the technically-literate CEO be supported in the legal,

finance and sales area just as CEOs from these areas are supported by technically-

trained people today” (‘Promoting technical literacy in the executive suite’, 1995).

The literature review conducted on information literacy provides that leading scholars

of the world as well as influential people have the capability adapt to the changing

environments and become more technology perceptive. Such people use the information

technology intelligently to their advantage as a support tool for information analyses for their

decision making activities.

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References

(1995), Promoting technical literacy in the executive suite, Journal of European Industrial

Training, Vol. 19 Issue 6, p11, 2p. Retrieved June 9, 2008 from

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5cb3d4a7bd05%40SRCSM2

(2005), Information Literacy as a Socio technical Practice, Library Quarterly, Vol. 75 Issue 3,

p329-345, 17p. Retrieved June 9, 2008 from

http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detail?vid=1&hid=106&sid=f1475f28-165b-4fad-955a-

2ffdc21e98d9%40sessionmgr107

Elmborg, J., (2006), Critical Information Literacy: Implications for Instructional Practice,

Journal of Academic Librarianship6, Vol. 32 Issue 2, p192-199, 8p. Retrieved June 9,

2008 from http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detail?vid=1&hid=109&sid=1eefe74a-96b7-

4f8f-a6e0-52a05bb004cb%40sessionmgr109

Griffin, D., (2007), Is Virtual a Virtue in Scholarship, Information World Review; Dec2007

Issue. Retrieved June 9, 2008 from

http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detail?vid=1&hid=5&sid=1ee1553b-f3f3-4fcb-b5ad-

7b186e6d2499%40sessionmgr7

Rifkin, D., (2006), A Word on Information Literacy for Students. Retrieved June 9, 2008 from

http://www.Rifkin.com/Information%20Literacy.htm