Content, Not Containers
The rapid shift from print mediums such as books, newspapers, and bound periodicals towards digital “containers” of information is arguably among the most significant challenges for libraries. This important shift requires libraries to assess the effectiveness of traditional formats of content distribution in light of the emerging trend of “format agnosticism” of content consumers, who are increasingly interested in and capable of accessing information in various print and digital formats (OCLC, 2004). Moreover, traditional print publishing, both scholarly and popular, now exists alongside self-published blogs and wikis in the marketplace of ideas (OCLC 2004). Together with mechanisms that syndicate content, such as RSS feeds and, more recently, social networks such as Twitter, these evolving technologies require libraries to acknowledge that information technology is central to the role of libraries in making information accessible to citizens.
Technology Never Stands Still
In an increasingly information-intense society, libraries have the opportunity to demonstrate their relevance by responding to the continuously evolving information and technology needs of individuals and communities. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is the home of the Lied Library, which has attracted substantial interest in the library community as a result of its implementation of extensive information technology. Perhaps more significant than the impressive number of computer terminals, circulating laptops, laptop plug-ins, and the myriad systems and software that the Lied library has implemented, is the way that the library has evolved in order to meet the ever-increasing needs of UNLV’s students and faculty. Jason Vaughan, the Director of Library Technologies at the Lied Library, has written extensively about the evolution of technology and services offered to UNLV students and faculty, and provides a comprehensive report of the processes and challenges associated with maintaining current information technology at a large public university (Vaughan, 2005). Vaughan articulates an inclusive approach to leveraging information technology in the aggressive cultivation of the library’s relevance to the educational experiences of students as well as to the university generally, and offers academic librarians insight regarding various aspects of implementing technology in libraries, including software packages, electronic resources, internet access, hardware, and integrated library systems. Through the installation of major systems, including an Internet 2 access grid, as well as the installation of new end-user personal computers, the Lied Library has increased students’ connectivity to information as well as to the tools that students use to access information (Vaughan, 2005).
Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy
The social and public policy issues associated with the rapidly increasing accessibility to information and information technologies has long been acknowledged by library and information professionals. Of particular significance are the issues of information literacy and information technology literacy, two distinct yet closely inter-related forms of literacy that are essential in an increasingly technology driven and information intense society. Dr. Clifford Lynch, the Director of the Coalition of Networked Information (CNI) described the relationship between information literacy and information technology literacy in a 1998 paper that was submitted to the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council. Dr. Lynch describes information technology literacy as involving information technology skills and an ability to effectively use information tools, such as web browsers and various web applications. Dr. Lynch emphasizes, however, that technology literacy also necessarily requires an understanding of how systems of technologies and technological infrastructures work, as well as a broad perspective of the evolving role of various technologies and their impact upon information organization and retrieval. Specifically, technologically literate individuals possess experience with and confidence in the process of learning new tools, operating software applications, and problem solving. Thus, Dr. Lynch articulates a central aspect of technology literacy: fluidity. Technology fluency looks quite different in 2010 than it did in 1999, just as technology fluency in 2020 will be vastly different than that of the year 2010.
Information literacy, in contrast, has to do with the ability to critically analyze and evaluate information , and an understanding of the various information resources and the ways that these sources are situated within technological and economic structures, and an understanding of how these sources are interrelated (Lynch, 1998). In this way, Dr. Lynch suggests that information literacy requires a cognitive map of the Web that enables information consumers to effectively navigate the sea of information that has become available. Therefore, information literacy requires information technology literacy, and information technology literacy is cultivated through information literacy.
The works of Dr. Clifford Lynch and Jason Vaughan, and OCLC’s Information Format Trends reports each address various aspects of the impact and role of information technologies upon libraries. Together, these works make clear that librarians have excellent opportunities to integrate information technologies into library programs and services. In this way, librarians will demonstrate that libraries provide far more than books to patrons.
Muddiest Point/Question For Discussion:
If technology literacy is necessarily a function of its time, and is constantly evolving and changing, can technology literacy ever be defined? How would you describe technology literacy to undergraduate students?
REFERENCES
Lynch, Clifford. 1998. "Information literacy and information technology literacy: New components in the curriculum for a digital culture", http://www.cni.org/staff/cliffpubs/info_and_IT_literacy.pdf (accessed September 1, 2010).
Online Computer Library Center. 2004. "2004 Information Format Trends: Content, not containers", http://www.oclc.org/reports/2004format.htm (accessed September 1, 2010).
Vaughan, J. 2005. "Lied Library @ four years: technology never stands still". Library High Tech 23:34-49.
