Shifting standards: Participative dimensions of information literacy

Abstract

Information resources and practices have always been social, but traditional information literacy instruction tends to prioritize a model of an individual searcher evaluating library‐curated resources, while social collaboration tools and user‐generated content sites provide more participative paths and practices for research at all levels. Using document analysis of the information literacy instructional materials of 42 institutions, we investigate the extent to which information literacy instruction incorporates participative standards, resources and practices. The findings suggest that while information literacy standards and frameworks are evolving to encompass participative resources and practices, only 21% of the institutions studied inscribed participative resources and practices into their instructional materials. This visual presentation will be designed to elicit discussion about the ways in which document analysis may fail to capture the participative practices in information literacy instruction, to inform our ongoing research.