BILI: Building Information Literacy in Ireland

Abstract

Although information literacy (IL) practice has long been evident in Irish libraries, it was 2008 before the Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) published the first Irish national, cross-sector review. In 2012, we built on this research in order to (1) revisit the WGIL case studies and examine how IL was evolving, (2) consider the wider IL context in Ireland, and (3) examine innovations among international bodies supporting IL practice. 
 
 Nine international experts and seventeen Irish experts contributed to interviews and surveys. This article focuses on the Irish findings. Revisiting case studies demonstrated that IL remains a priority for the majority despite the economic recession. Wider themes uncovered include embedding IL in the curriculum and workplace, e-citizenship, continuing professional development and advocacy.
 
 Recommendations centre on a two-tiered approach to IL development: a practitioner-led community of practice that facilitates communication and collaboration, and a high-level advocacy committee that fosters a holistic national strategy.

How do public librarians constitute information literacy?

“…However, despite their potential as regards information literacy engagement, there remains a significant gap in research documenting the ways in which public librarians cognize such a key concept (Harding, 2008;Hart, 2006;Walter 2007). Research that has been conducted to date has primarily looked at either the importance of public libraries in developing community information literacy (Balapanidou, 2015;Bradley, 2013;Bundy, 2012;Cirella, 2012) or the efforts made by public libraries to develop information literacy programmes (Butcher and Street, 2009;Collen, 2008;Connolly et al, 2013;Lai, 2011).…”