"Reconnecting Information Literacy Policy Witht he Core Values of Librarianship"- Jacobs

Main Topic:

The article “Reconnecting Information Literacy Policy with the Core Values of Librarianship” begins with a description of Obama’s 2009 proclamation to make October National Literacy Awareness Month. This and the Alexandria Proclamation of 2005, which is also referenced, seek to empower people to effectively experience information in all its forms. The purpose of this article is not to provide answers to questions regarding information and information services, but it “calls to move these questions to the fore of our policy and pedagogical discussions.” The article further revisits previous works, including the Alexandria Proclamation as well as the ALA Core Values of Librarianship, to explore the possibilities and importance of information literacy.

Thesis:

            The article hopes to assess all of the possibilities that information literacy has to offer, in comparison with many previous works. The authors see information literacy as a social activity, one that pairs well with the often overlooked ALA Core Values. It places emphasis on the social and political dimensions of librarianship, as well as the educational aspect. The authors strive to have librarians look at information literacy not as a problem with an ACRL solution, but as a “difficult or demanding question.” They encourage librarians to look at the Model of Appreciative Inquiry, as it focuses on the possibilities and strengths, when developing policies for information literacy and education. It is important to demonstrate active engagement to students to help them become more informed and educated citizens. In an ideal situation, there is no teacher and student, but a teacher-student and student-teachers. The students are playing an active role in their education and teachers are allowing information literacy to be less of a problem with a set solution.

Author, Audience, and Assessment:

This article was published in “Library Trends” in 2011, well into the post-web, post-google times. It was written by Heidi LM Jacobs and Selinda Berg. Jacobs is an Information Literacy Librarian at Leddy Library, located at the University of Windsor, Windsor Canada. She has published seven journal articles all in the area of Information Literacy, Librarianship, Critical Pedagogy, and Digital Humanities. Selinda Berg is also librarian at Leddy Library, and a research area of Library and Information Science. She has currently published five articles in this area.

As this article was published in “Library Trends,” it is to be assumed that the intended audience for this article is professionals in the field of Library Science. This makes sense with the content that was provided and the ideas shared by the authors. All of it would benefit those in a library setting. The response to the article is a bit more unclear, as I could not find any reviews of the article or any other responses in any form, online or otherwise.

Jacobs, H. L. & Berg, S.(2011). Reconnecting Information Literacy Policy with the Core Values of Librarianship. Library Trends 60(2), 383-394. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from Project MUSE database.

Information about the authors retrieved from:

Heidi LM Jacobs: http://www.mendeley.com/profiles/heidi-lm-jacobs/

Selinda Berg: http://leddy.uwindsor.ca/staff/selinda-berg