Literacy

University libraries and educational change:

the information literacy window of opportunity

Paper presented at the vi Conferencia Internacional sobre Bibliotecas Universitarias, Mexico City, 18-19 October 2007

Alan Bundy*
Principal consultant. Auslib Library Consulting, Australia

Resumen
En la era de la información y el conocimiento existe la necesidad de acelerar los cambios en losmétodos y resultados de la enseñanza y aprendizaje en todos los sectores de la educación formal. Las universidades tienen una responsabilidad especial para guiar e innovar en este sentido. El marco conceptual de la alfabetización informativa tiene el potencial de ser el catalizador en esta innovación y en la conexión más efectiva de los sectores educacionales. La alfabetización informativa no essólo sobre el desarrollo de habilidades centradas en la biblioteca o de información genérica. No es tampoco sólo sobre las tecnologías de información y comunicación. Más bien, debe ser conceptualizada como una nueva forma de aprender a aprender y como un motor del cambio educacional para lograr educandos liberados y no domesticados. Los bibliotecarios académicos tienen la responsabilidad decontribuir al cambio educacional y a la conexión dentro de las universidades y a través de los diferentes sectores educacionales. Sin embargo, primero se debe alcanzar un consenso más fuerte sobre si la alfabetización informativa es sólo un conjunto genérico de habilidades a desarrollar en los educandos o si es un fenómeno que tiene diferentes características en diversos contextos para ser ejecutadas enformas culturalmente diferentes. Palabras clave: Alfabetización informativa, biblioteca universitaria, biblioteca académica, educación, aprendizaje.

Abstract
In the age of information and knowledge there is a need to accelerate changes in teaching and learning methods and outcomes in all sectors of formal education. Universities have a special responsibility to lead and to innovate in this.The information literacy framework has the potential to be the catalyst in this innovation, and in the more effective connection of the educational sectors. Information literacy is not ultimately about library centric or generic information skills development. It is also not about information and communications technologies. Rather, it should be conceptualised as a new way of learning how to learnand as a driver of educational change to achieve liberated, not domesticated, learners. Academic librarians have a responsibility to contribute to educational change and connection within universities and across the educational sectors. First, however, they must reach a stronger consensus on whether information literacy is just a generic set of skills to be developed in learners, or whether it isa phenomenon which has different characteristics in different contexts, to be played out in culturally different ways. Keywords: Information literacy, university library, academic library, education, learning.

BIBL. UNIV., ENERO-JUNIO 2008, VOL. 11, No. 1, P. 13-21

13

University libraries and educational change: the information literacy window of opportunity

niversities worldwide arechallenged by many issues. These include the rapid growth in student numbers, values, standards, funding, pedagogy, and learning outcomes. A major issue for them is the development of a teaching and learning framework to meet individual, national and global needs in the 21st century knowledge economy. There has already been an uneven move in developed countries from didactic teaching to a studentcentred learning at all levels of formal education. This is opening a window of opportunity and responsibility for librarians as educators beyond their role as suppliers of information resources and advice on their use. Ten years ago, British librarian Maurice Line (1997) correctly concluded that this refocusing from teaching to learning makes the division in universities between teaching,...