Critical Literacy for Information Professionals

Sarah McNicol is is a research associate at the Education and Social Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She has worked as an Information Studies researcher since 2000, and has particular interests in information literacy; lifelong learning; and school and children’s libraries. She has published widely in the information studies field and has previously guest edited a number of journals including Library Review and Library Trends.

This book is definitely a welcome contribution to the already abundant literature on various kinds of information and media literacies – critical or not – and the majority of the chapters are potential candidates for inclusion in the reading lists of library program courses with information literacy in focus.

• Introduction - Sarah McNicol PART 1: THEORIES OF CRITICAL LITERACY 1. Renegotiating the place of fiction in libraries through critical literacy - Sarah McNicol 2. Death of the Author(ity): Repositioning students as constructors of meaning in information literacy instruction - Jessica Critten 3. Reading health education comics critically, challenging power relationships - Sarah McNicol 4. Reframing librarian approaches to international student information literacy through the lens of New Literacy Studies - Alison Hicks 5. Using new literacies to discuss disability in the library - JJ Pionke 6. “Anyone can cook”: critical literacy in the workplace - Andrew Whitworth 7. Social justice, adult learning and critical literacy - Jennifer Lau-Bond PART 2: CRITICAL LITERACY IN PRACTICE 8. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Teaching Media Literacy - Michael Cherry 9. Curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to engage school students in critical literacy in England - Rebecca Jones 10. New media and critical literacy in secondary schools - Joel Crowley 11. Critical literacy and academic honesty: a school librarian’s role and contribution - Anthony Tilke 12. Engaging Undergraduate Communications Students in critical information literacy - Rachel Elizabeth Scott 13. Exploring pedagogical implications of students’ search mediation experiences though the lens of critical information literacy - Sarah Clark 14. Diffusing critical web literacy in a teacher education setting: initial reflections and future planning - Evangelia Bougatzeli and Efi Papadimitriou