6 : Providing library instruction for remote users

[web based, lab based, remote, videoconferencing]

Skills

A useful framework for teaching information skills, whether to on-campus or remote students, is given in the SCONUL Position Paper, which identifies seven headline skills:

• The ability to recognise a need for information
• The ability to distinguish ways in which the information 'gap' may be addressed
  • knowledge of appropriate kinds of resources, both print and non-print
  • election of resources with 'best fit' for task at hand
  • the ability to understand the issues affecting accessibility of sources.
• The ability to construct strategies for locating information
  • to articulate information need to match against resources
  • to develop a systematic method appropriate for the need
  • to understand the principles of construction and generation of databases.
• The ability to locate and access information
  • to develop appropriate searching techniques (e.g. use of Boolean)
  • to use communication and information technologies, including international academic networks
  • to use appropriate indexing and abstracting services, citation indexes and databases
  • to use current awareness methods to keep up to date.
• The ability to compare and evaluate information obtained from different sources
  • awareness of bias and authority issues
  • awareness of the peer review process of scholarly publishing
  • appropriate extraction of information matching the information need.
• The ability to organise, apply and communicate information to others in ways appropriate to the situation
  • to cite bibliographic references in project reports and theses
  • to construct a personal bibliographic system
  • to apply information to the problem at hand
  • to communicate effectively using appropriate medium
  • to understand issues of copyright and plagiarism.
• The ability to synthesise and build upon existing information, contributing to the creation of new knowledge.

Examples

There are numerous instances in the UK of Web based information skills teaching material - many were listed in a message on the lis-infoskills list in February 2002.

Notable examples would be the Open University's SAFARI, Leicester University's Information Retrieval Skills for Distance Learners and Information Quest at South Bank University.

For Internet only skills then the generally available TONIC self-paced package from Netskills is of value, as are some of the Netskills training modules for those institutions that have purchased access to them.

Subject orientated training on Internet resources is given by the RDN Virtual Training Suite.

For the more precise, but important, area of the quality of Internet resources then the Internet Detective is a useful self-teaching tool.

Another specialist aspect of information skills is learning how to cite resources - both print and electronic. Again there is online help, with a notable (and well cited!) example being Cite them right at Northumbria University.

For an up-to-date look at current activity, see the Powerpoint presentations for papers at IT & ILit 2002: the first International Conference on IT and Information Literacy, held in Glasgow in March 2002. The papers, from many countries, deal with research projects and case studies on many aspects of information skills teaching, mostly in higher education. They will form the basis of the book Information and IT Literacy to be published by Facet Publishing in December 2002.

Reference

SCONUL Information skills in higher education 1999