Kim M. Thompson - Böcker

Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion: Information Policy and the Public Library examines the interrelationships between digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public policy, emphasizing the impacts of these policy decisions on the ability of individuals and communities to successfully participate in the information society.This book is the first detailed consideration of digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy problems and as core issues in information policy and libraries. The unique features of this book includedrawing together the key themes and findings from the discourse on digital literacy and digital inclusion widely spread among many fields;analyzing digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy issues, both being driven and regulated by policy;building on a wealth of original research conducted by the authors using different quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches on four different continents when analyzing these issues, providing unique examples, case studies, and perspectives; using information behavior theory to provide important insights about these issues at individual, community, and political levels; providing recommendations to inform practice in libraries and help libraries to frame their advocacy for public policies that support literacy and inclusion; and providing policy recommendations to improve the creation and implementation of policy instruments that promote digital literacy and digital inclusion. The authors of this book have been involved in this research for many years, and their experience provides a broad view across the literature, inherent problems, and national perspectives. This breadth allows this book to offer comprehensive policy recommendations, solutions, and best practices for an area that is fragmented in discourse, practice, and policy.

Topics and issues in library and information science education pedagogy are commonly discussed in panels, conferences, peer-reviewed articles, professional articles, and dedicated monographs. However, in this abundance of education-oriented discussions, there are several noticeable gaps and omissions. Not always do education-oriented publications involve theoretical grounding that could make them stronger in argumentation and more generalizable to other contexts. Addressing these gaps, the book stands to strengthen the less covered areas of library and information science (LIS) pedagogical thought; it enriches a theoretical foundation of pedagogical discourse and broadens its scope. This volume brings together a collection of essays from LIS educators from around the world who delve into difficult, unpopular, and uncommonly discussed topics—the inglorious pedagogy, as we call it—based on their practice and scholarship. Presenting perspectives from Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, each chapter is a case study, rooted not only in the author’s experience but also in a solid theoretical or analytical framework that helps the reader make sense of the situations, behaviors, impact, and human emotions involved in each. The collective thought woven in the book chapters leads the reader through the milestones of (in)glorious pedagogy to a better understanding of the potentially transformative nature and wasted opportunities of graduate LIS education and higher education in general.