Information Literacy Context, Culture, and Information Seeking
By: Florence Margaret Paisey
Florence Margaret Paisey 2
“Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find
information upon it.”
Samuel Johnson, “Life of Johnson” (Boswell, 1775)
Florence Margaret Paisey 3
Table of Contents
Preface………………………..……………………………………..…...3
Part I
Introduction..……………………….………………….…………......….6
Information and Communication: A Decade of Transformations.......….9
Information Ages……….…………………………………………........12
Information Literacy: The Long March from Obscurity………….…….15
Part II
Information Literacy: Many Roads to Mecca…………………………..26
Information Literacy and Information Seeking Behavior…….………...28
Information Literacy: The Social, Political, and Economic Context…...35
The ACRL Information Literacy Standards: One Model of Many..........43
Information Literacy: The Practice of Instruction………….….………..51
References................................................................................................55
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Preface
Part I of this paper discusses the impact of information and communication
technologies within the context of globalization, information-based economies, and the
need for context driven information literacy. A general history of library instruction
describes its evolution from the role of librarians as an “aid to readers” to their current
role in implementing programs that support information literacy as defined and
articulated by the ALA and the ACRL.
Part II discusses information and communication technology within a global context,
identifying cultural and social disparities and the information skill sets appropriate in
inequitable conditions. A context for applying the ACRL Information Literacy Standards
is described and they are analyzed within Wilson’s information behavior model and
levels of information seeking and searching behaviors. The importance of metacognition
as a condition for effective learning is emphasized along with contrasting information
literacy to bibliographic instruction.
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Part I
Information Literacy: Social Implications
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Introduction
“On an average weekday, The New York Times contains more information than any
contemporary of Shakespeare’s would have acquired in a lifetime” (Anonymous) -- true
or false?
Whatever your opinion may be, the thought is worthy of consideration; it is not
unreasonable or bizarre. It is also not new; The New York Times has been publishing for
156 years, since 1851 – its reputation for in-depth, excellent, reliable coverage has met
with few challenges. In 1996, The New York Times broke with tradition and logged on to
the current digital, information age; it went online.
Such a change revolutionized news coverage; in-depth, comprehensive exposure to an
event became available worldwide within minutes of its occurrence. Online news
coverage gave the celebrated “shot heard ’round the world” new meaning. One shot, one
outcry, one speech, one discovery became public and gambit for immediate and
widespread deliberation with myriad potentialities. Information relating to international
politics, proceedings, terrorist attacks, public affairs, and unexpected incidents was
reported in real time. One could boot up any online connection through a desktop, laptop,
or portable digital device and read detailed updates, with focused interest and varying,
decontextualized viewpoints, at once.
Columbine, Diana’s death, 9-11, Virginia Tech appeared in writing, online, as fast as
reporters could type and upload. Correspondents, individual bloggers, and others with the
capability to upload could comment. The New York Times as well as other newspapers
worldwide, in many languages, had joined the digital information age. If one believes that
the power of the press effects change, that it is an active, transformative tool, rather than
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the inverse, a passive mirror of events, then instant global communication through online
reporting has played a significant role in transforming our lives.
The online environment has flourished and proliferated to the extent that readers can
comment on any story publicly, addressing a global audience, through a blog, public
forum, or podcast. Those with access have a voice, say-so, representation; some, as
Lowell Bergman (2007) discusses, believe there is no division between the layperson
who publishes online, and the journalist -- anyone who blogs or participates is reporting.
This is one debate in the Frontline series, News War, a program that examines the issues
and challenges facing media (Frontline, 2007). It is a debate that is relevant here as one
measure of the extent that information and communication technologies (ICTs) have
transformed society, shaped a digital elite, and created the need for an information literate
population with digital skills.
Unlike its traditional rival, broadcast news, online news offers the same capacity for
in-depth, multidimensional commentary as print with the added value of exposition and
ubiquity. Once online, news and commentary of an event spread worldwide. The online
story is written, descriptive, thorough, and pervasive. Broadcasters reach specific
audiences, usually within a cultural and linguistic context – online stories translate
quickly, crossing both cultural and linguistic boundaries. Now, in an average minute, one
online issue of The New York Times not only “contains more information than any
contemporary of Shakespeare’s would have acquired in a lifetime” (Anonymous), but
may also update and change with immediacy. The reality of ubiquitous informational
immediacy is unprecedented. This abundance of information, together with its
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immediacy, has effected political, economic, social, psychological, and cultural
transformation.
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Information and Communication: A Decade of Transformations
Digital communication technologies existed decades ago, but they were not assumed.
Online newspapers, online galleries, e-photos, e-learning, e-health, virtual shopping, e-
banking, e-mail, and personal e-spaces are all routine, often tedious practices of life now.
Tele-medicine is widening its net through electronic medical records – the U.S. Health
and Human Services initiative, Healthy People 2010, includes storing all medical records
in an electronic format (2001); other initiatives include imaging for storage and
transmission, e-prescribing, as well as evidence-based practice. It will soon be
commonplace for one physician, at point of care, to consult another physician regarding a
complex medical problem tens, hundreds, thousands of miles away by transmitting
sophisticated, detailed images, auditory messages, and text via communication
technology.
The University of Calgary’s “Health Telematics Unit” (Hunter, 2007) aims to “build a
lifelong virtual learning global e-health community” with the “capability to cross all
existing geographical, temporal, political, social, and cultural barriers” that will gradually
change the way healthcare is provided (ibid). If one doubts the fundamental significance
of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in work, education, and everyday
life, look at current habits and expectations of individuals, not only in medicine, but also
in all occupations, and in personal lives.
In education, resources have been extended to the online environment. From primary
to higher education, both educators and students supplement classroom activities with
online activities and informational sources found in proprietary databases, the World
Wide Web, the “invisible Web,” e-mail, instant messaging (IM), blogs, podcasts,
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voice/video chat, videoconferencing, and multimedia authoring tools. Electronic
networks support learning communities where learners work on common tasks and
negotiate understanding (Glaser & Bassok, 1989). Other subject-related student
assignments often involve online collaborative learning projects (ETS, 2001), virtual
groups, multimedia presentations, Web pages, blogs, and podcasts.
The workplace has been similarly affected; one can no longer obtain employment
without basic information and communication skills. Employers increasingly require
digital information skills and performances such as facility in utilizing word processing
programs, carrying out functions on spreadsheets, managing e-mail accounts, operating
fax machines, blogging, navigating the Internet as well as posting on social media sites.
Some employers require these skills on computers and mobile devices alike. Supermarket
clerks, waiters, clerical workers, nurse aides, security guards, cosmeticians, auto
mechanics all need to be able to handle technical, digital equipment in the workplace.
From graduating secondary students to high-powered professionals, there is a need for
competent skill in information and communication technologies as well as the ability to
continue adapting to “next generation” tools. Skill with communication technologies was
desirable a decade ago; now it is standard and required to compete for employment and
participate in mainstream society and organizations.
Technical skills to utilize digital technologies and communication tools have become
routine, yet questions, avoidance, and uncertainty regarding informational skills still
abound. We entered the Information Age decades ago (Breivik, 1991); we are a
knowledge society; we broker in information (Drucker, 1993, ETS, 2001, UNESCO,
2005). Habits, customs, institutions, careers, social problems have all been affected by
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this shift – it is momentous; it is historic. The need to cultivate an understanding of
information behavior and effective information seeking is no longer an ivory tower
debate; it is a survival issue.
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Information Ages
The complexities of change in the current information age have caused no greater
challenge, concern, or delight than in previous information ages. Each information age
permeated and revolutionized culture, often triggering political upheaval. In the mid-
fifteenth century, a technological revolution occurred with its ensuing information surge.
Johannes Gutenberg, a Dutchman, invented and marketed the printing press, a technology
many regard as the invention of the Millennium (Diamond, 1999).
The printing press produced vast amounts of information that became available to the
masses – some praised the capability; others criticized. Martin Luther complained of the
evils of too much information as well as the misplaced motives of many who published.
Yet, without the printing press, Luther’s 95 Theses would not have been mass distributed
and read. Francis Bacon hailed the invention, along with gunpowder and the compass,
stating that it “changed the appearance and state of the whole world” (Bacon, Aphorism
129). Eisenstein (1979) details the impact of the printing press from a historical
perspective, identifying accurate reproduction as one of the most significant aspects of its
influence, particularly in science. The exponential increase of available information and
the means of disseminating accurate reproductions provided a basis for comparative
thought. Many view this capability as a key condition facilitating the Renaissance in
Europe.
Like the digital revolution, the printing press supplied a means to publish and reach
the masses; the written word could inform, incite, caution, calm and divide.
Paradoxically, while expanding the gap between the haves and the have-nots, the literate
and the illiterate, the printing press effectively awakened the masses, defeating inertia and
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providing the means to inform and educate a populace. Information enabled individuals
in their struggle for self-government and democratic citizenry. The consequences of the
printing press effected religious, social, and scientific reform that ultimately tilled the
ground in which capitalism developed and democracies took root and thrived.
The digital word reaches the masses with similar effects, yet there are two incalculable
distinctions – it is immediate and global. Given uncensored online access, geographical
context no longer constrains or controls the information one receives or transmits. Yet,
from a global perspective, the inequities in access, education, health, economics, and
income become particularly worrisome. This new divide, the global digital divide, and
the issues inherent, challenge leaders to keep pace with a growing gap between societies
and individuals with access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and
those still isolated. Those individuals and societies with ICTs can “dramatically improve
communication and the exchange of information to strengthen and create new economic
and social networks” (ETS, 2001); those societies still cut off lose ground daily as
information and communication technologies (ICTs) evolve in education, healthcare, and
information exchange.
Advantages of information and communication technologies (ICTs) do not come
without demands. Regardless of one’s position on technological determinism, as noted
above, these technologies have organized our culture to the extent that gainful
employment mandates basic technical and communication skills. In addition, ICTs, like
the printing press, have generated a glut of information. Honing vital information,
filtering irrelevancies, and negotiating focus (Taylor, 1968) require sharp information
management. The technical ability to employ a word processing program or navigate the
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Internet does not suffice; one must be able to focus on, find, structure, describe, and
process information effectively and cognitively. If one does not possess such skills,
information technology backfires, potentially becoming a nuisance. “Technical skills
alone, without corresponding cognitive skills and general literacy, will not decrease the
gaps defined by the digital divide” (ETS, 2001).
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Information Literacy: The Long March from Obscurity
Paul Zukowski introduced the notion of information skills in 1974. He is credited
with pioneering the notion of information literate individuals as:
People trained in the application of information resources
in their work. They have learned techniques and skills for
utilizing the wide range of information tools as well as primary
sources in molding information solutions to their problems (IFLA, 2002).
The association between Zukowski’s concept of information skills and the American
Library Association’s (ALA’s) concept of information literacy came out of a period of
educational unrest and reform during the 1970’s and 1980’s in the United States.
Corporate leaders noted that secondary school graduates were unprepared to join the
workforce; educational and political leaders recognized the limitations of American high
school graduates compared to graduates in other developed nations. Several measures
were taken in order to redress this situation. One such measure identified the role of
school media programs in developing critical thinking skills and information
management.
The relationship of libraries to information management comes out of the context of
instructional librarianship and its evolving role in education. In 1876, Melvil Dewey and
Frederick Leypoldt called for a conference of librarians to “promote efficiency and
economy in library work” (ACRL, 2007). The topics of discussion included readings on
professional skills such as cataloguing, indexing, and public relations (ibid). This
meeting, clearly, unified librarians as a professional group; those present established the
American Library Association (ALA) and resolved to hold annual conferences. Dewey
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also pioneered the concept of the reference librarian, describing them as “aids to readers”
who would be aware of the resources of the library, the readers’ information needs, and
what resources the reader might utilize (Lipscomb, 2001).
Winsor (1880), the first president of ALA, a scholar librarian, and appointed head of
the Harvard University Library, believed librarians were equally important as subject
faculty in the educational process and should work together with faculty members. His
vision of the library as a workshop where “professors and students could carry on their
labors with the tools necessary for their purposes conveniently at hand” (Lipscomb,
2001) transformed library practices and services. Reference services developed along
with accessible books, open stacks, bibliographic instruction, and extended hours (ibid).
Winsor worked diligently to promote librarians and the importance of library instruction,
establishing practices that upheld “methods of thorough research” and the cultivation of
habits that support seeking and reading “original sources of learning” (ibid).
The initial instructional sessions were couched as peripheral to coursework, and were
described as library orientation, library instruction, or bibliographic skills. These sessions
required a librarian to communicate policies of the library, describe its arrangement,
identify access points, and explain procedures to obtain information from closed stacks.
Formal definition of bibliographic instruction involved teaching “a set of principles or
search strategies” (Salony, 1995). Unfortunately, this practice seldom occurred due to the
subject faculty’s unyielding opposition to librarians as educators. Most faculty members
held an anti-intellectual idea of the librarian and viewed the appropriate role as non-
curricular, limited to cataloguing, indexing, and collection development. This anti-
intellectual view continues to this day, as instructional librarians work persistently to
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market their services, persuade subject faculty of the viability of systematic library
instruction, and collaborate in preparing learners to effectively research topics and
manage information.
Other early innovative librarians of significant accomplishment endeavored to expand
the librarian’s role to that of educator. During his tenure as Librarian at Swarthmore
College (1927-1962), Charles Shaw proposed the first instructional program, criticizing
one-shot bibliographic sessions as “haphazard” and unscientific (Salony, 1995). Shaw
championed the concept of the instructional librarian, proposing that librarians gain
expertise in learning theory that would prepare them to develop systematic instructional
programs.
The 1970's marked a shift in attitude toward library instruction. Eastern Michigan
University received a five-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This grant supported an expansion of library instructional services, creating a library
outreach program through which librarians identified three major needs (Rader, 1999):
1. The need to be “flexible and diversified” in order to communicate with faculty
and students.
2. The need to be sensitive to the educational needs of students.
3. The need to participate in the academic community.
In 1971, immediately following Eastern Michigan’s effort, the Library Orientation
Exchange (LOEX) was founded as “a clearinghouse for collecting, organizing, and
disseminating bibliographic materials” (Saxony, 1995). During its first meeting, eminent
librarians (Palmer, 1972; Melum, 1972; Kennedy, 1972) discussed the role of libraries in
fulfilling the educational mission of universities. Purposeful discussions of “ideas and
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methodologies” took place, establishing the parameters of library instruction within the
university (Rader, 1999). LOEX has continued to evolve into a preeminent international
organization that compiles leading-edge resources for instructional services while
archiving earlier materials.
In 1977, another development strengthened the role of the librarian as educator. The
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) outlined instructional
responsibilities of the librarian and created the Library Instruction Roundtable (Rader,
1999). Gradually, librarians organized in support of library instruction. Throughout the
1970’s and 1980’s (Hardesty, 1999), librarians and information scientists increasingly
recognized the educational role of the library and advocated for library instruction.
Specific instructional tasks centered on searching strategies and database selection as
well as conceptual topics such as critical thinking skills.
Meanwhile, in 1981, the Reagan administration “challenged the federal government’s
involvement in educational research and development” (NERPPB, 1998), effecting the
Education Consolidation Improvement Act (ECIA). This controversial statute
deregulated federal oversight of education, while also criticizing the work of state
officials. The Secretary of Education, T. H. Bell, commissioned an inquiry into the state
of American education. This report, A Nation at Risk, detailed academic inadequacies of
American high school graduates, prompting a nationwide system of standardized testing.
This imperative “marked a new era” in education policy,
…an era in which equal educational opportunities
would be measured not so much in terms of financial
aid, special programs, or even racial desegregation but,
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rather, in terms of standardized tests (NYSED, 2003).
Out of this political climate, leaders active in educational reform challenged the Reagan
administration’s federal deregulation and proposed elimination of the Department of
Education.
Proactive leaders drew attention to a general malaise in American education by
comparing American student achievement to that of students in other developed nations.
Despite the questionable alarmist agenda, leaders identified gaps in American education.
Paul Hurd asserted, "We are raising a new generation of Americans that is scientifically
and technologically illiterate" (1983). John Slaughter, a former Director of the National
Science Foundation, warned of "a growing chasm between a small scientific and
technological elite and a citizenry ill informed, indeed uninformed, on issues with a
science component" (1983). Educational, corporate, and scientific leaders collectively
sought to describe the economic, social, and cultural landscape in an effort to redress
shortcomings in American educational achievement.
One such report, issued by the National Commission on Libraries and Information
Science and titled Educating Students to Think: The Role of the School Library Media
Program (Mancall, Aaron, & Walker, 1986), conceptualized the role of the library and
information resources in K-12 education. Three principal considerations emanated from
the discussion:
• The role of school library media programs in fostering thinking skills.
• The implications of research in how children process information.
• The application of the previous considerations in developing an information
skills program.
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The significance of this meeting and its insightful considerations has yet to be fully
acknowledged – the “cafeteria style” education, described in A Nation at Risk, continues
in practice. Information management skills have been addressed, yet the support, funding,
and implementation of instruction based on the conclusions of this meeting – ten critical
thinking skills, metacognition, and skillful identification of an information need – remain
tangential in most instructional programs.
In 1989, The ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy allied with the
American Library Association to examine the challenges of escalating information. They
concluded, “No other change in American society has offered greater challenges than the
emergence of the Information Age” (ACRL, 1989). This report called for disciplinary
education in information skills:
Out of the super-abundance of available information,
people need to be able to obtain specific information
to meet a wide range of personal and business needs” (ibid).
The Commission articulated the concept of an information literate person as one who is
“able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate,
and use effectively the needed information.” This concept of information literacy (ALA,
1989) evolved from cognitive task analyses of individuals with expertise in information
management. The definition is a composite of behaviors that underlie effective
performance with information.
While the Commission addressed the need for information literacy within the contexts
of social, business, and political interests, it stated that information literacy is an
imperative or “a survival skill” in the Information Age:
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Instead of drowning in the abundance of information that
floods their lives, information literate people know
how to find, evaluate, and use information effectively
to solve a particular problem or make a decision – whether
the information they select comes from a computer, a book,
a government agency, a film, or any number of other
possible resources (ibid).
The conclusions in the ALA Presidential Committee’s report on information literacy led
to the formation of the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL).
At the outset, NFIL, chaired by Patricia Breivik, conducted a study on the role of
information literacy within the National Education Goals (2000). Two specific goals
involving information literacy resulted:
• The creation of a comprehensive definition of information literacy.
• The development of outcome measures for the concept (Doyle, 1992).
The NFIL report, composed by Christina Doyle, submits a “concise definition of
information literacy as formulated by the panel” (ibid). It states that “information literacy
is the ability to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources.” In an
expansion of the definition, the report identifies ten behaviors characterizing the
information literate individual. They include:
• Recognizing the need for information.
• Recognizing that accurate and complete information is the basis for
intelligent decision-making.
• Formulating questions based on information needs.
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• Identifying potential sources of information.
• Developing successful search strategies.
• Accessing sources of information, including computer-based and other
technologies.
• Evaluating information.
• Organizing information for practical application.
• Integrating new information into a body of knowledge.
• Using information in critical thinking and problem solving (Doyle,
1992).
These ten behavioral attributes, ascribed to an information literate individual, provide the
framework for the ACRL Information Literacy Standards. The attributes encompass a
repertoire of information skills that, when performed sequentially, are intended to result
in effective information management.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) accepted ALA’s 1989
conception of information literacy defined as a set of abilities requiring individuals
to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use
effectively the needed information” (ACRL, 2003). They emphasized that information
literacy is:
• “A complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information
effectively.”
• “A framework for learning how to learn.”
• “The basis for lifelong learning” (ACRL, 2000).
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The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) also set forth five content
standards characterizing information literacy. These standards may be paraphrased as:
• Aptitude to grasp the nature of required information.
• Ability to access informational sources.
• Capacity to determine evaluative criteria.
• Competence to apply this information to a designated purpose.
• Awareness of the socio-economic implications of this information.
Information literacy has advanced in response to the abundance of information that
characterizes the Information Age and its information-based economies. Its significance
as a survival skill for all peoples at every socio-economic level has brought such a skill
into the everyday world and valued as a fundamental human right. Such a realization
gives one pause; what began as an aid to readers in a library more than a century ago has
become recognized as a skill on which one’s life can depend.
If this significance seems exaggerated, bear in mind that UNESCO (2006) has
affirmed that “information literacy is not just a necessity, but a basic human right.…”
UNESCO’s initiative, Information For All Programme (IFAP), amplifies the significance
of information literacy:
Information literacy and lifelong learning have been
described as the beacons of the Information Society,
illuminating the courses to development, prosperity
and freedom. Information literacy empowers people
in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create
information effectively to achieve their personal, social,
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occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human
right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion
in all nations (IFAP, 2006).
Information for All Programme (IFAP) states that information literate individuals are
able to access information in support of their health, education, work, environment and
all decisions regarding their welfare. UNESCO and IFAP collaborate with the
International Federation of Libraries and Institutions (IFLANET), forming a
UNESCO/IFLA alliance. This union sponsors the compilation of an international
database of information literacy resources, available to the global community. It records
“information literacy outcomes that could be used as a model for new information
literacy actions in different parts of the world” (UNESCO, 2007).
In addition, the UNESCO/IFAP union collaborates with intergovernmental
organizations in an alliance to promote information literacy and lifelong learning. The
National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) represents the UNESCO/IFAP alliance
for the United States. UNESCO’s document, “Beacons of the Information Society: The
Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning,” defines and
outlines its “policies and programs to promote information literacy and lifelong learning”
worldwide. Within the context of the Information Age, excluding an individual from
access to information and the instruction to manage it has become not only an affront to
one’s freedom, but a threat to survival. While still obscure to most, an awareness of the
need for information literacy has become a distinction characteristic of those sensitive to
the social, scientific, and cultural consequences of the Information Age as well as the
prevailing means of adaptation.
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Part II
Information Behavior and the ACRL Information Literacy Standards
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Information Literacy: Many Roads to Mecca
Information literacy has evolved from a functional skill to a liberal art involving
information skills, reflection on the nature of information, the equity of its technical
infrastructure, and its social, cultural and philosophical context. It began as a pragmatic
issue in the United States; not only were secondary school graduates inadequately
prepared for the workforce, but their performance in scientific and technological domains
came alarmingly close to illiteracy.
In an effort to resolve this crisis, corporate, scientific, and educational leaders
recommended a holistic curriculum and testing that would foster academic achievement
as well as curricula purposed to develop critical thinking skills. The National
Commission on Libraries and Information Science (1986) recommended that libraries
take on the role of facilitating critical thinking and information skills:
Focus must go beyond location skills
and 'correct answers' and move to strategies
that will help students to develop insight
and faculty in structuring successful approaches
to solving information needs (1986).
At that point, information skills gained recognition as essential skills for which both
teachers and librarians were responsible. Resource-based learning, contrasted to
textbook-based learning, utilized the library or media center as a hub for instructional
activity, integral to the educational mission. Librarians became responsible for collection
mapping or developing collections based on curricular objectives. Rather than answer
specific questions driven by textbooks, students drew on information resources as they
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researched assignments. Further developments occurred with the publication of the book
Information Power (1988; 1998) in which the American Association of School Librarians
(AASL) established the vision and mission of information literacy in school library media
programs.
In 1989, the ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy expressed what has
become the definitive concept of the information literate person:
To be information literate, a person must be able to
recognize when information is needed and have
the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively
the needed information (ALA, 1989).
This concept, with the inclusion of survival skills and lifelong learning, broadened the
educational rationale of information literacy and the context of the information literate
person. The Commission extended the context of information literacy from workplace
demands and schooling to the context of personal welfare and benefit. The AASL
Information Literacy Standards addressed information within the context of academic
needs while also emphasizing “authentic learning” that “provides a bridge between
formal, school-based learning and independent lifelong learning” (Information Power,
1998). In 2000, the American Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
published the ACRL Information Literacy Standards intended to meet the information-
seeking needs of those in higher education, while also supporting self-directed, lifelong
learning.
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Information Literacy and Information Seeking Behavior
In view of this background, one may interpret the concept of the information literate
person either broadly or narrowly. The distinction between information behavior, in
general, or information seeking and searching, in particular, will, largely, determine the
focus. If information literacy is to serve one within the context of globalization and the
information age, it requires focus on the broader conception, which includes the effects of
the social, cultural, and philosophical context as well as any academic pursuit in which
one may engage. Wilson (2000) has described levels of information behavior and
information seeking. According to Wilson, information behavior involves all human
interaction with sources and channels of information, while information seeking involves
purposive behavior that requires information to “satisfy some goal.” Both conceptual
facets address the character of information in one’s life – the general and the situational.
This distinction could be perceived as a philosophical issue involving the significance
one attaches to information and its impact on both individuals and society. If one takes a
broad view, information behavior would include accessing information regarding health,
employment, housing, food supply, transportation, recreation, social interaction, and all
things relative to one’s personal, social, economic, and educational welfare. It would also
imply a philosophical sense of information behavior or the nature of one’s interaction
with information and information sources. In this sense, information and information
literacy would enable one to fathom the nature of an information need and seek to meet
that need with an awareness of the socio-cultural context.
The distinction between information literacy broadly conceived, as survival skill,
viable in an age of globalization, and information literacy more narrowly conceived, as
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an academic skill, can be illustrated from the literature in information behavior and
information seeking. Savolainen (1995) studied information behavior as it relates to
problem solving within a socio-cultural context. He looked at the way one seeks
information to solve specific problems that arise in the course of everyday life.
Savolainen hypothesized that social, cultural, and individual factors determine one’s way
of life and mastery of life, which in turn determine the selection, relevance, and
effectiveness of information sources. The essential question in Savolainen’s empirical
study (ibid) addressed how one’s way of life and mastery of life affect everyday life
information seeking (ELIS). Savolainen’s study compared the information seeking habits
of industrial workers and teachers in Tampere, Finland.
Savolainen’s researchers gathered data by means of interviews that focused on topics
such as one’s job, the nature of one’s leisure activity, and practices for obtaining
information. Interviewees were also asked to select a recent problematic situation and
describe the means by which each sought information. Conclusions supported earlier
studies in which interviewees with a higher level of education seek information more
actively from various channels than those with a lower level of education. The notions of
way of life and mastery of life were not found to be sole determinants of the selection,
relevance, and effectiveness of information sources. It was suggested that the research
framework be redefined in light of how the character of an individual’s informational
orientation is built. This feature, informational orientation, or how people emphasize
cognitive and affective elements when approaching everyday problems, was found to be
more significant than way of life.
Florence Margaret Paisey 30
Savolainen’s comparative study on ELIS actually raised more questions than it
answered. Yet, this study, based on Dervin’s sense-making process model (1983),
addressed information seeking within the broad context of personal, social, and cultural
issues rather than within the narrower context of an academic endeavor. His study also
demonstrated that education alone is not the sole determinant of effective information
seeking; individual and situational variables play a significant role. Implications for
future studies point to how individual cognitive and affective elements determine one’s
informational orientation, as well as how stressful situational factors play into
information seeking. Kuhlthau’s (1991) work in associating affective experience and
information seeking may be relevant here, though the interaction of affect on the search
process calls for further investigation. These issues address information behavior and
information seeking in daily life, but are also relevant to information seeking in academic
inquiry.
In contrast to Savolainen’s investigation of ELIS, conceptual models of information
seeking and searching (Krikelas, 1983; Kuhlthau, 1991; Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1993;
Ellis, 1989; 1993; Leckie & Pettigrew, 1996) provide a conceptual framework or
methodology intended to support academic or occupational inquiry. Models of
information seeking (IS) within an academic context identify characteristics of an
information search that typify an inquiry-based search. Examples of these models include
Eisenberg and Berkowitz’s Big 6 problem-solving strategy and curriculum intended to
teach information and technology skills. As is evident from its reference, the Big 6 model
delineates six steps in a linear problem solving sequence. Originally, the Big 6 model
addressed inquiry-based or resource-based learning in school media programs; it has
Florence Margaret Paisey 31
since been expanded to include everyday life issues and work-related issues. While the
Big 6 model added contexts, the skills and strategies stipulated remained fundamentally
the same.
Kuhlthau’s information search model (ISP) has been widely employed in academic
contexts. Her approach derives from Dervin’s sense-making model (1983) where an
individual is actively engaged in finding meaning by assimilating information that
extends one’s knowledge and facilitates the development of a point of view. Kuhlthau’s
model may be regarded as a conceptual framework or theory of information seeking
behavior. Its origin draws from Kelly’s (1963) personal construct theory that “describes
the affective experience of individuals involved in the process of constructing meaning
from the information they encounter” (Kuhlthau, 1991). In layman’s terms, personal
construct theory describes feelings that a person formulates in developing perspective or
in “getting the picture” of a situation.
Kuhlthau’s information search process looks at information seeking from the user’s
perspective, rather than a bibliographic or systems centered perspective (1991). It
includes six stages or discrete steps that guide a student through the research process
along with thoughts and feelings that might be associated with the task. Kuhlthau
summarized her approach as follows:
The information research process is a holistic learning
process encompassing the affective experience of
students as well as their intellect. Students' experience
within the process must be clearly understood in order
for teachers and media specialists to design library
Florence Margaret Paisey 32
assignments and plan instruction that encourage rather
than impede learning (1989).
Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) describes information seeking stages with
concomitant affective experiences. Because Kuhlthau has looked at the influence of
affect on information seeking, Wilson (1999) includes her model in both the broad
perspective of information behavior and the narrower focus of information seeking.
Ellis’ conceptual model (1989), like Kuhlthau’s, is characterized by a micro-approach
or approach to information seeking based on studying small groups or the user’s
perspective. However, employing an empirical research method, grounded theory
approach, Ellis investigated the information seeking behaviors of researchers in relation
to their general work situation and project specific information requirements. He
concluded that eight categories were “sufficient to describe the information seeking
patterns of the researchers and form the behavioral model” (Ellis, 1997). These categories
or “features” include: surveying, chaining, monitoring, browsing, distinguishing,
filtering, extracting, and ending.
Similarly, Leckie & Pettigrew (1996) looked at the specific information seeking
behaviors of professional groups and posited an IS model applicable to professionals. As
with Kuhlthau and Ellis, their model views information behavior from the user’s needs
and perspective. It is a macro-model of the information search process of professionals,
beginning with the context of professional roles and tasks engendered by those roles.
Information needs arise from task requirements. Three features characterize the
information search: awareness, sources, and outcomes.
Florence Margaret Paisey 33
Understanding how individuals search for information benefits our understanding of
human behavior as well as informing systems designers regarding user behavior. Such
information provides insight into what features in information retrieval systems support
users in their search for information. Wilson & Jarvelin (2003) underscore the importance
of understanding information search behavior as it relates to IR systems as well as
facilitating the work of the information content developer. They assert that an
understanding of information searching may:
…enable the information content developer to
specify more clearly what navigational routes
are needed through the information and exactly
what kind of information or data styles need to be
in the record.
Wilson & Jarvelin (ibid) cite Ellis’ work on chaining (1989; 1993) and suggest that an
IR system should provide navigational routes that include Boolean search strategies as
well as the capacity to chain through citations backwards and forwards. In addition, they
point out that most information search models indicate the importance of personal
networking for the researcher. Given this, IR systems could include features that would
offer users an option to connect to others interested in the same research, thereby
facilitating collaborative work (ibid). This particular service is already available through
the LinkedIn network, though such an option within the IR system would streamline the
process and enhance its usability.
Fundamentally, information literacy enables one to discern the channels by which one
accesses tacit and explicit information in diverse situations, organizations, professions,
Florence Margaret Paisey 34
and cultures. It involves recognition that information is a dynamic entity, that it is
connected to social, cultural, and occupational contexts, and that it affects individuals and
situations through interaction and interchange. It is through this interaction that
information is expanded and transformed. As such, the information literate person would
possess information skills that enable one to interact with information sources and
communicate across cultures, recognizing that particular situations may involve
specialized information seeking skills. Information literacy itself would not change with
one’s situation; it involves recognition of and regard for the differences that may exist in
access and retrieval, while also recognizing general information behaviors that cross
cultures.
Situations, social norms, organizational hierarchy, access channels, and characteristics
of communication among groups vary; information literacy is the facility that enables one
to recognize informational channels and interact effectively with these varied systems.
Such ability not only involves technical skill and information management, but also
cultural competence or an understanding that diverse cultures and contexts convey
information in a range of ways, requiring cultural knowledge and situational awareness.
Florence Margaret Paisey 35
Information Literacy: The Social, Political, and Economic Context
The nature of the information environment, channels of communication, and
information flow determine the extent to which information literacy involves expertise
with ICTs (Spink & Cole, 2001). This is not a reference to everyday life information
seeking (ELIS) where people acquire information that will orient themselves to daily life,
rather than to occupational demands (Savolainen, 1995). Rather, it refers to the
penetration of ICTs within countries and their subcultures.
While individuals in dominant, information-based countries require expertise in
information and communication technologies (ICTs), approximately one billion people
worldwide lack any connection to ICTs. Information seeking and use will be markedly
different for these people than for those in an information-based economy –
demographics, language, access, information flow, communication channels, social
hierarchy, and behavioral norms all determine the nature of information habits, the
context in which individuals share information, and the interaction with information
sources.
In addition, the attitude of individuals toward information or informational orientation
will vary in contexts, cultures, and situations. Whether the source of an information need
is prescribed or imposed (Gross, 2001), extrinsic or intrinsic, formal or informal will
influence the user’s response to the information need, construction of a query, motivation
to satisfy the need, and treatment of the information (Dervin, 1992; Savolainen, 1995).
The effect of context on information seeking has also been a focal point in information
behavior research, yet the role of location or social setting has had little consideration.
Pettigrew introduced the concept of information grounds to describe a social space where
Florence Margaret Paisey 36
“people come together for a singular purpose but from whose behavior emerges a social
atmosphere that fosters the spontaneous and serendipitous sharing of information”
(Pettigrew, 1999; Fisher et al., 2007). Such social spaces will occur among all social
strata, but they form a crucial source of information sharing among immigrant
populations and those in lower socio-economic populations who are information poor.
No widely accepted definition of information literacy identifies the library as its locus.
Yet, the preponderance of models describing the information literate user place the
individual in an affluent, Western, high-tech library with a circumscribed skill set
appropriate to information seeking in a digital environment. Technological skills are
necessary within a digital microcosm, but they will, generally, be ineffectual, in the world
at large. While individuals in dominant, information-based economies require expertise in
information and communication technologies, such expertise is fundamentally irrelevant
in developing countries and among the information poor where only 7% of the population
has access to the Internet (UNCTAD, 2005).
Managing information effectively – in other words, information literacy – not only
exists independently of ICTs, but also preceded them. Indeed, Mancall, Aaron, & Walker
(1986) recommended developing information skills programs a decade prior to the surge
in telecommunications. The ability to communicate and manage information effectively
has always distinguished human interactions and endeavors – such behaviors were simply
denoted differently (Raseroka, 2006). Globalization and the Information Age, existing
due to advances in ICTs, have drawn attention to the phenomenon of information and
with that attention an effort to understand information behavior and its impact on
individuals, societies, and economies.
Florence Margaret Paisey 37
These considerations have prompted extensive research in information behavior and
information seeking as well as the effective exchange and use of information on both a
macro-level or cultural level and a micro-level or situational level (Lee, 2004). The
information glut, occurring in advanced societies, has necessitated the development of an
efficient means of interacting with information technologies and the superfluity of
information they have generated; hence, the development of user-centered information
systems as well as behavioral strategies and academic curricula pertaining to information
literacy. However, as stated previously, the majority of people worldwide still do not
have access to ICTs. As of 2004, only 3 out of every 100 Africans used the Internet,
compared with 1 out of every 2 residents in G8 countries (CSTD, 2006).
Estimates of the existing disparities among countries and communities with the
opportunity to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) vary sharply,
depending on how digital access is defined and the indicators employed as measurement.
The United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD)
defined the digital divide as:
…the disparities between countries at different
stages of economic development with regard to
their opportunities to access ICTs and their ability to
use them for a variety of purposes (CSTD, 2006).
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has reported that the digital
divide is “shrinking” in terms of fixed lines, mobile telephony, and Internet usage (ITU,
2007). Within the same paragraph, ITU also states that the gap is widening in least
developed countries (ibid, p.10). This compartmentalizing with regard to those countries
Florence Margaret Paisey 38
developed and those not, masks the reality that the distribution of ICTs remains starkly
inequitable and conditions for the most impoverished peoples are worsening. Even if
access to ICTs is possible in undeveloped economies, such access is restricted, governed
unfairly, and of low bandwidth or poor quality. While digital capabilities and information
economies evolve in advanced societies, the divide grows in LDCs. In 2000, John
Gannon, Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, stated:
In the globally wired world, the persistence of poverty
amid wealth will become more striking. As uneven
distribution of wealth becomes more visible, discontent
will increase, particularly among the 600 million relatively
poor urban dwellers in developing countries whose aspirations
will exceed their economic prospects (Gannon, 2000).
In 2007, seven years after Gannon delivered this speech, worldwide circumstances have
borne out his projection (ITU_UN, 2006; 2007).
In theory, information literacy and access to the Internet are open to all and provide
the means to promote political, economic, and social development. Facts tell a different
story. The United Nations General Assembly President, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al
Khalifa, reported that globalization has had an extremely uneven impact on the lives of
the world’s poorest people. She stated:
The paradox is evident when some in the world
are waiting in line to buy new consumer technologies
at a cost almost equal to the annual per capita income
of hundreds of millions of people (2007).
Florence Margaret Paisey 39
She quoted Mahatma Gandhi: “In poor places, people see God in a piece of bread.” In
this speech, she addressed the unfortunate situation in which Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) have found themselves: “They (LDCs) have benefited least from globalization,
and have been affected most by its negative impact” (UN, 2007). Moreover, even if
LDCs gained access to advanced information and communication technologies, most of
the content on the Internet is related to national or international concerns (ITU_UN,
2007) – in other words, content on the Internet is not directly related to the economic and
social issues that impoverished individuals face daily. In order to motivate such
populations to use the Internet on a regular basis, content needs to be more diverse and
relevant to the needs and concerns of all social strata.
The Internet offers enormous opportunity in business, education, and health, but ten
out of approximately 6,000 living languages dominate the Internet. This disquieting fact
underscores the reality of the digital divide. Ten languages represent eighty percent of the
discourse on the Internet, leaving more than 5,900 languages with little or no
representation. Furthermore, if linguistic structure relates to worldview, cultural diversity
on the Internet is constricted; indeed, the Internet may well be described as a culture
itself. As such, the representation of diffuse cultures would not be synchronous with the
nature of the Internet, as it currently exists. Illiteracy is still another situation.
Digital communication may be scant in rural regions, but information literacy is no
less relevant. Indeed, Floridi (2002a) views information behavior is as fundamental and
and philosophically important as ‘being, ‘knowledge’ ‘life’, ‘intelligence’, ‘meaning’ or
‘moral good and evil.’ In this sense, Floridi (ibid) drawing on Shera’s earlier work (1961)
views information science as a discipline appropriate to the study of social dimensions of
knowledge and the way it is disseminated.
Florence Margaret Paisey 40
This philosophical view of information (PI) brings the study of information behavior
into an applied discipline of information, the Epistemology of Social Knowledge (ESK).
This view takes into account the fundamental social and psychological aspects of
information and their relationship to dimensions of knowledge and human information
behavior (Spink & Cole, 2002; Spink & Currier, 2005; Spink & Cole, 2006)). Given this
view, information behavior, information seeking, and the search process involves the
study of information as an evolutionary social phenomenon, as “it evolved patterns and
practices of human information behaviors” (Madden, 2003) and the effect of information
on the “human condition” (Floridi, 2002a; Floridi, 2002b).
If one accepts the view of information as a social phenomenon, illiterate populations
will have developed organized channels of transmitting and utilizing information. Within
this context, information has affected the evolution of that culture as surely as
information, the digital divide, and information-based economies are transforming
literate, affluent cultures. A simplistic example of information as a social phenomenon in
a rural context entails the process an individual engages if, in a rural region, no cell signal
can be accessed, no library is available, no school, college, or university is nearby.
Remote islanders, theoretically, have access to telecommunications, yet live on
subsistence wages hundreds of miles from a telecommunications system. How do
individuals in this socio-cultural context effectively meet their information needs?
There are ways of obtaining information in any culture, but communication channels
are culturally bound; answers and understanding may not be familiar to the affluent,
digitally sophisticated individual, unfamiliar with diverse cultures – perhaps ethnocentric.
What behaviors or skills does one ascribe to an information literate individual given rural
Florence Margaret Paisey 41
or undeveloped conditions? The recent film Babel comes to mind (Inarritu, 2006). This
film illustrates the consequences of human and cultural insensitivity combined with
maladaptive information behaviors. It is realistic; a failure to exchange information
meaningfully is not only a failure to communicate; it is a failure to recognize cultural
convention or channels that inform individuals and situations. Information literacy
involves the ability to identify how a culture organizes and exchanges information with
productive results. It is not only about the world of scholarship and digital retrieval; as a
social phenomenon, it is about the humane and the diverse ways peoples organize,
interact, and communicate.
While affluent individuals, in affluent environments, have advantages of digital
communication, most individuals subsist without adequate nutrition, healthcare, or
shelter. Within these cultures, information literacy is as much a survival issue as in
cultures mandating ICT skills for gainful employment. The behaviors characteristic of the
impoverished but information literate individual in a rural region may seem insubstantial
to an outsider, yet within the culture, such an individual gains control and the promise of
meeting their social, economic, and educational goals. Whatever the economic condition,
whatever the educational level, whatever the culture, a system of information exchange
and flow will exist. Where there is information exchange and flow, there will be norms or
dimensions of an information system that reflect information behavior; knowledge of that
system involves information skills or information literacy, empowering a person to self-
directed, lifelong learning.
How do user behaviors of those in developed countries compare with those in
undeveloped countries? Is it absurdly confrontational to mention the inadequacies of the
Florence Margaret Paisey 42
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Standards?
Or is one to step back, acknowledging that these Standards, as a whole, are viable,
provide a broad strategy for information seeking and management, but apply optimally in
specific contexts?
Florence Margaret Paisey 43
The ACRL Information Literacy Standards: One Model of Many
Whether one takes an ethnographic view of information as culture, or the sociological
view of information as a cultural construct, an understanding of the observable, of how
people actually “forage” information, determine what is meaningful or useful, and
communicate in their small worlds will foster insightful understanding of information
behavior and adaptive strategies. Context, situation, domain, and individual differences
shape information behavior. Information behavior is as varied and complex as any other
behavioral repertoire.
Nearly two decades of discussion and exploration of behaviors particular to
information literacy have yielded interesting definitions and information seeking models
(Taylor, 1968; Belkin, 1981; Kuhlthau, 1991; Dervin, 1983; Wilson, 1996; 1999; Bruce,
1997; Spink, 2001; Floridi, 2002b; ACRL, 2000; CAUL, 2003; SCONUL, 1999). These
representative researchers or associations have more consensus than conflict (Owusu-
Ansah, 2003), yet an overarching model of information seeking, adaptable in varied
contexts, situations, and domains, remains elusive. Various foundational models of
information behavior, in particular information seeking behavior, have been posited, yet
there is no theory of information behavior or information seeking behavior that integrates
prevailing data (Jarvelein & Vakkari, 1990; Jarvelein & Vakkari, 1993; Julien, 1996;
Julien and Duggan, 2000).
Various foundational models and theories on aspects of information behavior,
including information seeking behavior, information needs and uses, information
retrieval systems, and library and information services have been posited. Pettigrew &
McKechnie (2001) conducted a content analysis that looked at what theories have
Florence Margaret Paisey 44
emerged in information seeking (IS), the derivation of these theories, and how these
theories are employed. They investigated nearly twelve hundred articles, in 6 peer-
reviewed journals, published between 1993 and 1998, looking for basic characteristics of
articles, which theories were “deployed,” and the frequency with which particular
theories were cited, indicating a theoretical subset “both inside and outside IS.” They
found no predominating theory of information behavior or information seeking behavior
in those journals selected for content analysis.
Pettigrew & McKechie (ibid) discuss possible explanations that relate to the
fragmentation of a theoretical base. First, they identify the confused use of the term
theory within IS and the various definitions of theory both generally and as required by
specific disciplines. A theory in the humanities is defined differently from theory in
mathematics. Petttigrew and McKechie (ibid) also refer to varied definitions of theory
according to subfields in IS, how researchers in IS perceive theory, an author’s
inconsistent use of the term within an article, and general inconsistent naming
conventions of a particular theory. Peter Ingwersen’s work was offered as an example of
the varied ways one theory may be referenced. His work has been alternatively called a
theory of “knowledge structures, theory of the interaction IR process, cognitive theory of
IR, cognitive viewpoint of IS, theory of cognitive space, and cognitive theory of
polyrepresentation.” It is recommended that authors identify the discipline in which a
theory originated along with primary sources for scholars who may have little knowledge
of the theoretical origin. Consistent naming conventions would also reduce confusion
regarding the varied theories credited to the development of IS theory.
Wilson’s macro-model (1999) of information behavior approximates a sound attempt
at formulating a framework or underpinning for information behavior and information
Florence Margaret Paisey 45
seeking. This theory offers a capacity to subsume micro-models of information searching
within the larger concept of information behavior and information seeking. Wilson’s
conceptual framework provides for various components of information behavior from the
contextual trigger, barriers in responding to this trigger, possible articulation of an
information need, and the flow of behaviors influenced by individual differences and
resources.
Wilson’s model (1999) begins with a person in context and an event that triggers the
information need. Wilson’s model does not immediately progress to question negotiation
and information seeking. Rather, his model provides for an impediment to question
negotiation. Impediments would include independent and intervening variables such as
stress and coping, cognitive styles, education, demographics, environment, risk, and
reward among other known pressures on any behavior, including information behavior.
This model stands as a behavioral model, rather than an information seeking model, as
the information need triggered may not be acted upon if the multiplicity of variables
possible overwhelms the individual.
However, if information seeking occurs, one can introduce an information seeking
behaviors and repertoires, or nest an IS model that would characterize the process of
satisfying the information need. One may also tier or map Wilson’s model to contain
micro-level information searching models such as Ellis’ chaining (Ellis & Haugan, 1997),
Kuhlthau’s phenomenological stages (Kuhlthau, 1991), or Bates’ metaphorical
berrypicking (Bates, 1989). While nesting models of micro-level searching, Wilson’s
conceptual frame of information behavior is retained as well as his notions of information
seeking and searching, then use.
Florence Margaret Paisey 46
Wilson’s macro-behavioral model (1999), together with his structure describing the
sequence of information seeking and searching to information use, offers a feasible
representation of the events and variables active during an individual’s experience with
an information need and possible search. Given that one may nest any inclusive model of
information seeking and searching, the ACRL Information Literacy Standards are a
practicable option. They would nest in three tiers within Wilson’s information seeking,
searching, and use schema. Unlike the aforementioned models of Ellis, Kuhlthau, and
Bates, the ACRL Information Literacy Standards do not weigh in as a theory of
information searching, nor have they been based on any specific research base. They are,
however, a widely accepted set of behavioral standards purposed to develop information
literacy.
As such, the ACRL Information Literacy Standards set forth strategies intended to
bring about meaningful and ethical individual information seeking, searching, use, and
production. They may be viewed as a template, shell, methodology, or “framework” by
which an individual can effectively organize information behaviors. Key in learning this
composite of skills is the notion of performances, or the knowledge and skills learners are
expected to acquire. Performances, in an instructional sense, refer to sequential behaviors
an individual knows how to do with efficient, seemingly reflexive, intuitive ability
(Grabe & Grabe, 2001). The ACRL Information Literacy Standards include 22
performances or performance indicators within the five general standards. Each of these
performances describes definitive outcomes that demonstrate knowledge and practice of
the performance or, in effect, information literacy, as conceived and described by the
ACRL.
Florence Margaret Paisey 47
Fundamental aspects of information behavior such as identifying an information need,
negotiating (Taylor, 1968) or eliciting (Wu, 2003) a question, accessing information,
evaluating the information, and applying the information with purposeful results (Taylor,
1968; Belkin, 1980; Kuhlthau, 1991; Wilson, 1996; 1999; Dervin, Spink, 2001; Floridi,
2002b) establish a continuum of information seeking and searching behaviors; these
behaviors are reflected in the ACRL Standards. The five explicit ACRL Standards derive
from the 1989 ALA definition of the information literate person. The standards are
comprehensive, fundamental information skills from which specific dimensions or
performances of information literacy emanate. The ACRL performances or performance
indicators specifically relate to the academic dimension of information literacy; they
apply to the requirements of formal research or inquiry as conducted by students,
scholars, specific professionals, and researchers. The performances do not and are not
intended to serve all professions and all everyday life information needs; such a
distinction is essential in appropriately regarding and applying the ACRL Standards.
Wilson (2000) views information behavior as “the totality of human behavior in
relation to sources and channels of information, including both active and passive
information seeking and information use.” His model of information behavior including a
person in context, an event triggering an information need, and a series of possible
intervening variables has been identified in the previous section (Wilson, 1996).
However, as one proceeds through the experience of this intervening process, Wilson
arrives at a point where an individual will continue (or not) to seek such information that
will satisfy the need, be processed or integrated and finally applied. He identifies three
levels or tiers of interactive information behaviors: information seeking, information
Florence Margaret Paisey 48
searching, and information use. These levels may be associated with the ACRL
Information Literacy Standards. They are the broad strokes of user behavior; many
information methods or models will correspond to these levels of user behavior, though
the model at issue is the ACRL model.
Wilson (ibid) defines information seeking as the purposive seeking of information as a
response to a perceived information need “to satisfy some goal.” He defines his second
level of information behavior as information searching. He views this behavioral level as
micro-behavior where the user accesses information sources, interacts with systems of all
kinds, and determines the criteria for evaluating the quality and relevance of information
accessed. Higher and lower order thinking skills are required as an individual determines
the extent of information involved in satisfying the initial need, reconstructing the
question, or iterating the process. Situational features, such as access to ICTs, location,
environment, values, socio-economic conditions, and domain largely determine the
nature of one’s interaction with information sources and channels on this level. Wilson’s
third level of information behavior, information use, consists of “the physical and mental
acts involved in incorporating the information found into the person’s existing knowledge
base” (ibid). Physical acts would include marking significant sections of text, while
mental acts involve comparing new information with one’s existing knowledge.
Wilson’s three levels of information behavior correspond to four of the
five ACRL Information Literacy Standards. Information seeking or determining one’s
information need and formulating a question relate to Standard 1. Information searching
or accessing information required to satisfy one’s information need, adopting search
strategies, and determining the criteria for evaluation and relevance of the information
Florence Margaret Paisey 49
found, all relate to Standards 2, 3, and 4. As stated above, Wilson (2000) views
information searching, exemplified by the performance indicators of Standards 2, 3, and
4, as a micro-level of behavior. Hence, transient, situational factors such as access to
ICTs, social norms and values, the subject domain, and socio-economic conditions shape
the nature of the interaction with information channels and sources, in other words, the
character of the information search.
Standard 5, understanding “the economic, legal, and social issues” surrounding the
information, relates, in part, to the application of the information found. These are issues
where criteria for credibility will apply globally with local or situational variation. Legal
issues, such as copyright, plagiarism, and privacy, or ethical principles, such as the
treatment of experimental subjects and security, cross national boundaries. Censorship
and freedom of speech, while addressed internationally, may have criteria determined by
local authorities, as would institutional policies, idiosyncratic measures of netiquette, and
a favored documentation style. On a stretch, one could include Standard 5 in Wilson’s
notion of information use, or what one deems acceptable. However, the concept of
Standard 5 relates more to issues of practice and context as well as situational issues of
information, rather than to the informational quality. An experiment could yield valid
data, but have been conducted employing unethical methods.
The ACRL performances directly relate to essential information skills of intellectual
inquiry and information seeking. Performances, in general, involve procedural knowledge
that demonstrates proficiency of a content standard. The nature and description of
performances, ultimately, varies with contextual and situational features as well as the
discipline, the domain, and the individual. While the ACRL Standards may be viewed as
Florence Margaret Paisey 50
general information seeking skills, the ACRL performances are specific to scholarly or
educational endeavor. As such, they are limited, culturally biased or specific, and exclude
those outside of an academic arena. UNESCO/IFAP endorses the ACRL Information
Literacy Standards through their alliance with the National Forum on Information
Literacy (NFIL).
The Standards are also an awareness raising tool and an enabling tool that “establishes
guidelines” by which educators can integrate a curriculum for information literacy. These
values are at the core of UNESCO’s commitment to information literacy. However, the
ACRL standards as a whole, inclusive of the performances, do not characterize broad
information behaviors. As such, they will not serve routine information seeking and
searching. Understanding the purpose and goals of these Standards is as essential as
understanding their performances and outcomes.
Florence Margaret Paisey 51
Information Literacy: The Practice of Instruction
Human information behavior and information seeking is one aspect of understanding
human nature; it specifically involves the interaction between individuals and information
sources, tacit and explicit, passive and active. Information literacy is not simply a set of
discrete bibliographic or information skills; it involves an approach to dealing with
information as process and should engender an internalized facility to recognize the need
for information, define the need, locate, access, evaluate, and synthesize information
relating to that defined need.
Critical thinking skills and metacognition are at the core of information literacy. The
information literate person possesses an awareness of the parameters of one’s knowledge,
is open to the sense of uncertainty, can define the uncertainty, transform uncertainty to a
specific question, thesis, or hypothesis, and develop strategies to resolve the uncertainty
or satisfy the information need. There is a clear, integrated cognitive process that typifies
an information literate person who has a capacity for lifelong learning.
This internalized, cognitive process contrasts a bibliographic skill set comprising
discrete, fragmented abilities with random tools designed for information management. It
is a logical progression from bibliographic skill instruction that focuses on subject-related
information resources, but not the development of a cognitive facility that activates a
systematic behavioral response to one’s perceived information need. The underlying
distinction between the objectives of information literacy and bibliographic skills is this
dynamic cognitive process.
The information literate individual approaches information with an internalized
ability to process and paraphrase information based on evaluative criteria. Such an
Florence Margaret Paisey 52
individual can move about the world of information with efficiency, competence, and
refined skill. It is an applied method of satisfying the information need: it is not a simple
skill; it is not static; it will evolve in accordance with a person’s informational needs and
sophistication of thought.
The task of teaching information literacy is intended to be a collaborative effort
between the discipline-based faculty member and the instructional librarian. As a team,
the subject faculty member and librarian can coordinate information literacy curricula
with specific disciplinary related goals. However, there seems to be a black hole of
papers and opinions on how this collaboration or partnership can be achieved.
The reality of establishing a well-rounded, systematic information literacy program
relates to the general academic culture that is nurtured in a college, university, or school.
Is information viewed as a viable subject in its own right? Is information literacy viewed
as an essential skill, integral to the educational mission of the organization? Few subjects
could be more valuable, both pragmatically and philosophically, than information and
information literacy. One hears erudite scholars and societal leaders talk stridently and
informatively about globalization and the information age, yet when faced with turning
words into action and funding a program of information literacy, few deliver.
Grafstein (2002) believes librarians and information specialists are best equipped to
teach generic information seeking skills, focused on tools and general evaluative criteria.
She states:
There is a set of generic skills that must crucially be
imparted in developing information literate students.
These are skills that apply to the process of information
Florence Margaret Paisey 53
retrieval and evaluation across academic disciplines, and,
additionally, to the information needs of everyday
life. It is this set of skills that librarians, in their capacity
as information specialists, are uniquely qualified to teach.
Grafstein’s view focuses on location, access, search strategies, information retrieval, and
basic objective criteria for the evaluation of information. These are essential, appropriate
aspects of instruction in information literacy. They can also be taught intermittently,
accommodating arbitrary, or one-shot bibliographic sessions. Yet these skills, in
themselves, will not engender information literacy, as defined by the ALA. They address
mechanistic aspects of information retrieval and the application of static evaluative
criteria. They do not deal with developing an awareness of socio-cultural, contextual, or
situational factors that affect how one perceives a problem, constructs the information
query, formulates a search strategy, and satisfies the information need.
In addition, the information need or uncertainty and subsequent question come out of
an uncertainty or perceived “gap” in ability between one’s individual knowledge base and
new information. One’s perception of this gap shapes the information question that will
generate an approach to inquiry. The ability to identify or define the relationship between
new information and an existing knowledge base involves the awareness and ability to
define a logical relationship between one’s internal knowledge structures and new
information. Such awareness requires skill in metacognition. This process may be
characterized as integrative and evaluative, requiring iterative, process oriented
assessment of new information and its relationship to existing knowledge structures. A
novice and an expert can perceive the same information need, yet the expert’s approach
Florence Margaret Paisey 54
to inquiry will be qualitatively different from the novice’s due to a different knowledge
base.
Metacognition is critical in developing strategy to meet information needs and resolve
conflicts, problems, or issues in a meaningful way. Grafstein’s skill set is a limited,
specific, safe, reductionist repertoire that may apply to an instructor’s assigned question,
or a clear, uncomplicated situation in life. However, if faced with a complicated problem
or constellation of information needs, such reductionism will not be effective. Effective
information literacy requires metacognition or the purposeful evaluation of “the quality
of one’s own thinking” (APA, 2002). Self-monitoring shapes how one is defining
uncertainties, teasing out questions or hypotheses, developing strategy, critically
evaluating varied solutions, and using information to resolve uncertainties as they relate
to one’s knowledge structures or base. Grafstein’s approach, however practical, falls
short of fostering this critical thinking – central in understanding how one learns how to
learn, a core value in information literacy and lifelong learning.
Florence Margaret Paisey 55
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