Leeds Metropolitan University chose the theme
of learner support and centred our objectives
around information literacy skills. This is
because of our recent work in developing an
Information Literacy Framework which
articulates what information literacy is and how
we can integrate it into students' learning. It
was developed by Learning Advisers in
response to the growth in the amount and
availability of information, the need for
information literacy in engaging effectively in
independent learning and the great diversity in
the level of students' information skills.
The aim of this paper is to show how information literacy can be conceptualised as a key learning process related to discipline and academic maturity, rather than as a generic skill. Results of a smallscale study including questionnaires and observation of student behaviour are reported and analysed in relation to Bruce’s ‘seven faces of information literacy’ framework. The findings illustrate that information literacy is a highly situated practice that remains undeveloped through mandatory schooling. Some methodological issues are considered in relation to researching information literacy, including the limits of the Bruce model as a framework for analysis. We also show how decontextualised courses can foreground and privilege certain behaviours that are beneficial but that developing higher-level information literate attitudes is likely to be an iterative and contextualised process.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000339790
Faculty-Librarian Collaborations: Integrating the Information Literacy Framework into Disciplinary Courses. Edited by Stöpel, M., Piotto, L., Goodman, X., and Godbey, S. (Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries 2020. 238pp.