Revised: Implementing an Information Literacy Programme for Librarians - Essay Example

Indeed, it affects every single person to a lesser or greater degree because various kinds of information are all around us on a daily basis. The need for greater information literacy is not only because of the sheer quantity of information available today but also because of the easier access to a variable quality of information through the use of information technology (SCONUL, 2007). This is with particular reference to the information available on the Internet. Information literacy programmes are designed to address issues related to information literacy in ways that promote its development among the target users.

A major development over the past few decades has been the emergence and advancement of information technologies (ITs). As a consequence of this, there has been a notable trend in information literacy programmes “from the concept of simple training to the provision of skills and competencies that are critical to the improved use of information” (Pinto et al., 2010). For example, Corrall (1998) advocates teaching ‘how to learn’ as it includes giving attention to “information sources, evaluation criteria, navigation methods, manipulation techniques, and presentation issues.

” Information literacy skills are particularly useful in academic research, information fluency, and in the fields of digital and media literacy. Information literacy has also been incorporated into librarianship training programmes, as there is an obvious need to handle huge amounts of information. This paper focuses on implementing an information literacy programme specifically for librarians. To this end, we need to be familiar with the needs of librarians and know the kind of literacy programmes that are currently available and what they offer.

We begin with a brief overview of some models of information literacy suitable for the library environment; discuss the necessary