Rethinking Information Literacy

Jane Secker (B.A., Ph.D., PGCertHE, FHEA) is Copyright and Digital and Literacy Advisor at LSE, where she has responsibility for the digital literacy programme for staff and PhD students. She also advises staff about copyright issues particularly related to their use of digital resources and e-learning. She has published widely and led several externally funded projects, most recently being project manager for the DELILA (Developing Educators Learning and Information Literacies for Accreditation) funded by JISC and the Higher Education Academy to release digital and information literacy materials and open educational resources. Emma Coonan (M.St., Ph.D., M.Sc.) is Research Skills and Development Librarian at Cambridge University Library, where she has responsibility for designing and teaching classes on various facets of information finding, handling and management. She blogs as the Mongoose Librarian and Tweets as LibGoddess.

"As information becomes ubiquitous and easy to access, so we – as a society – become less discerning and critically engaged with its content. This is perhaps the central paradox of the Information Age. The stakes are higher and the repercussions broader than the UK higher education context that this excellent book focuses on: the totality of our society, including its democratic principles and enlightenment ideals, is at risk when we cease to engage critically with this overflow of information. Editors Secker and Coonan issue a rallying cry to address this state of affairs, a call that is issued primarily to their fellow academic librarians. However, the stated hope is that the importance of information literacy (IL) will penetrate through the walls of the library to the lecturers, administrators and education policy makers beyond who perhaps hold more sway and are better positioned to effect change." - Journal of Information Literacy

• Strand One: Transition from school to higher education - Sarah Pavey Strand Two: Becoming an independent learner - Geoff Walton and Jamie Cleland Strand Three: Developing academic Literacies - Moira Bent Strand Four: Mapping and evaluating the information landscape - Clare McCluskey Strand Five: Resource discovery in your discipline - Isla Kuhn Strand Six: Managing information - Elizabeth Tilley Strand Seven: The ethical dimension of information - Lyn Parker Strand Eight: Presenting and communicating knowledge - Andy Priestner Strand Nine: Synthesizing information and creating new knowledge - Emma Coonan Strand Ten: The social dimension of information - Helen Webster Afterword: ‘Ownership is a flawed concept’ - Katy Wrathall Conclusion Appendix 1: A New Curriculum for Information Literacy (ANCIL): the curriculum Appendix 2: ANCIL Lesson Plan Appendix 3: ANCIL Institutional Audit: worksheet Appendix 4: ANCIL Institutional Audit: interview questions