Article in liber quarterly · October 004 doi: 10. 18352/lq. 7780 · Source: oai citations 45 reads 6,104 authors: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects

INFORMATION LITERACY EDUCATION 
The information-literacy movement has evolved from precursors such as library 
instruction, bibliographic instruction and user/reader education. The history of the 
development of library user education is well documented and several analysis and 
bibliographies have been written for various time periods (Fjällbrant & Malley, 1984; 
Salony, 1995). Although the majority of information literacy initiatives and programmes 
have been initiated in the last decade, academic librarians have been involved in user 
education for many years. It is generally agreed that user education in libraries evolved at 
the end of the nineteenth century, but there is evidence that library instruction was given 
at German universities already in the 17
th
century in the form of lectures about reference 
books, study techniques, and how to use the library (Salony, 1995: 33). However, it is 
believed that Melvil Dewey was the first who urged librarians in 1876 to become 
educators in his article published in the 
American Library Journal
(Rice-Lively and 
Racine, 1997).
 
During the 1970s and 1980s, many academic libraries in the United Kingdom, Canada, 
the United States, Germany, Scandinavia and Australia started fairly ambitious 
programmes of user education, bibliographic instruction, or reader education and they 
have provided user education in the form of one or more of short orientation courses in 
the use of the library, its information resources and catalogues for new students, and/or 
courses in information literacy for undergraduate and/or postgraduate students 
(Fjällbrant, 2000; Homann, 2001; Virkus, 2003b).
Although traditional user education can be counted as a part of information literacy, 
there is a general agreement that information literacy is a wider and more comprehensive 
concept than ‘user education’. There are lots of definitions and models of information 
literacy, but the most widely accepted and cited is that provided by the American Library 
Association (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: “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: 1). It 
is believed that information literacy education requires a shift in focus from teaching 
specific information resources to a set of critical thinking skills involving the use of 
information. Kuhlthau (1993: xvii) notes: “The objective of academic library has been to 
increase
 
access to resources and information and basic access has been provided through 

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selection, acquisition, and organization of resources. Increased or enhanced access is 
provided primarily through two services, reference and instruction.
 
Enhanced access 
encompasses intellectual as well as physical access. Physical access addresses the 
location of resources and information. Intellectual access addresses interpretation of 
information and ideas within resources”. It is believed that information literacy focus 
more on intellectual access of information and necessitates partnerships between the 
library and other stakeholders in teaching people how to be effective lifelong learners, in 
whatever context they are operating. 
User education has grown visibly during recent years and information literacy has 
become an issue in many academic libraries. Different approaches have been used to 
develop information literacy among students. For example: 
•
developing a guide for students to use or for resource evaluation,
•
presenting class sessions,
•
developing stand-alone courses,
•
creating a course Web site giving students a guided tour for searching the Web,
•
developing an assignment where students work on a search strategy appropriate 
to a problem statement,
•
assisting students in preparation of their literature reviews,
•
developing online tutorials or integrating information literacy into curricula.
It is believed that an integrated curricular approach is a best practice (Wilson, 2001). 
Many educators have written extensively about the need to promote information literacy 
as an integral part of the education process (Breivik & Jones, 1993; Lenox & Walker, 
1993; Nahl-Jakobovits and Jakobovits, 1993) beginning in the earliest grades 
(Brittingham, 1994; Boekhorst, 2003). It is to be expected that an integrated information 
literacy component in learning would have a positive impact on students’ mastering of 
context, fulfilling research tasks and problem solving, becoming more self-directed, and 
assuming greater control over their own learning (Todd, 1995: ACRL, 2000), enabling 
individuals to engage in a variety of learning situations and opportunities in optimal 
ways (George & Luke, 1995; Virkus, 2003b).
Several authors have discussed about the characteristics of good practice in information 
literacy education (Bruce, 2001; Wilson, 2001). The Association of College and 
Research Libraries has developed
 Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy 
that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline. 
The characteristics identify and describe 
features notable in information literacy programs of excellence (ACRL, 2003. 

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SIRJE VIRKUS AND SILVI METSAR 
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A collaborative approach is seen as essential for the success of information literacy 
education (Breivik & Gee, 1989; Raspa & Ward, 2000; Bruce, 2001; Wilson, 2001). 
Wilson (2001: 5) notes: “In model approaches, information literacy is prominent in 
mission and vision statements, strategic plans, and program descriptions. Information 
literacy is an institution-wide agenda and part of the president’s and the provost’s 
vocabulary. Information literacy is not viewed as one department’s purview. The faculty 
recognizes that information literacy matches the educational goals of the institution, that 
it adds value to learning, and that it is complementary to discipline-based goals”. She 
adds that best practices are student centered, employ resource-based or problem-based 
learning, use collaborative and active learning methods, take assesment and evaluation 
seriously, support faculty learning and development, and put technology into the service 
of information literacy education. 
It is believed that ICT offers librarians opportunities to redefine how information and 
associated instruction are communicated to students and faculty. As information systems 
increase in complexity and new resources continue to spring up, librarians are becoming 
indispensable counsellors in the electronic environment. They are called upon to assist 
faculty and students in identifying and evaluating many sources, and to serve as true 
advisors and teachers independently of time and place rather than as custodians of 
collections (CETUS, 1997). 
In ICT context, the university librarian will have to rethink and reassess information 
strategy, offering alternative modes of delivery. Many academic libraries are 
experimenting with online information literacy tutorials, courses and instruction. 
Hepworth (2000) confirms that Web-based guides such as guides to literature searching 
are increasingly common. Stubbings and Brine (2003) analysed electronic information 
literacy packages in the UK and divided these into three types: virtual tours (4); OPAC 
tutorials (9) and information skills tutorials (28). Of the 21 tutorials reviewed, four were 
subject specific with the remaining being generic in nature. The content as well as 
instructional design principles varied to a great extent and didn’t refer always to sound 
pedagogy. Sometimes tutorials were also too text-based, lacking sufficient interactivity 
to create adequate active learning experiences (Virkus, 2003b). 
However, there are many examples of successful online information literacy initiatives in 
Europe: for example, the SWIM (Streaming Web-based Information Modules) project 
developed by the Aalborg University Library which use streaming-server technology 
where the tutorial enables the student to make a number of choices about search strategy 
and problem solving. Considerable work has been done at the British Open University 
and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya for delivering information literacy in distance 
learning programmes (Virkus, 2003b). 
New roles for librarians in the learning and teaching context are discussed by many 
authors, including:

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