Information Literacy in the 21st Century

Information literacy is a critical component of life in the 21st century. Overloaded with information, it is difficult to distinguish facts from opinion from blatant lies. The primary sources, upon which I built a career, are often forgotten. Citizens turn to social media, often seeking like-minded people to inform them. Or, we look for people with whom we generally disagree to make sure we are in the right camp, believing the opposite of our perceived foes. Today, more than ever, librarians and archivists need to use their skills for outreach. We have an important job that involves helping our patrons understand qualities of information and where to find sources.

For the past six years, in addition to part-time archives consulting, I have worked as a full-time high school Library Media Specialist . In this position, I have learned much about what people believe and how they use information. During this time, I have also earned a post-grad degree in Education. Thus, it is time to restart the ArchivesInfo blog through a new lens.

• What responsibilities do archivists and librarians have to the public?
• How can our skills help mold the 21st century for the better?
• What is information literacy?
• How can, and why should, schools make information literacy a primary component of teaching?
• How can/should education change in the United States to ensure students can evaluate information and think critically for themselves?
• How can educators collaborate with professionals outside of schools to improve school outcomes?

Studying to make education and awareness of information stronger

I will share with you some of my half-decade's worth of writing and publications in this area. I will also share my experiences teaching information literacy and collaborating with professionals in my community. Finally, I hope we can use this space to brainstorm ideas to make our skills as information professionals, educators, and cultural heritage experts stronger.

It's nice to be blogging again...

Holistic Information

So has anyone called it this before?

"Holistic Information" (my term? at least in this sense? my definition): The healthy taking in and dissemination of knowledge or intelligence; A comprehensive understanding of how the use and misuse of communicated intelligence can affect one's life.

This was a core part of my week. I was charged with offering an information literacy lesson to a health class. (Perhaps because it was for health class that the word "holistic" is sticking with me.) One of the most fascinating things about my new position as a high school librarian is the diversity of classes I have the opportunity to teach. The lesson for health class was meant to show how we should be careful of advertising promises and information tools. The lesson preceded a mental health unit as a way to show how our evaluation of information can have positive and negative outcomes on our understanding of our world and thus on our overall outlook on life.

Though I don't usually share the particular lessons I do on my blog, I thought that this one in particular might interest readers. It shows the value of thinking about libraries, archives and museums as an information field. It shows how as professionals, we have a lot to offer beyond our traditional roles. I thought I'd share some ideas from the class and to show how I am using my new role to help people think more about different types of information, how we use information, and how we should use it.

We began with a discussion with what is information and then discussed how we get it. We talked about books and magazine, the Internet, word-of-mouth, media, billboards, objects, and archives... One student talked about getting information through discovery - by manipulating data and things on one's own. YES! (Perfect thinking leading to the "learning lab" we hope to create at school.)

I told the teens to question everything and to ask the following questions any time they are getting information: What are they telling me? Are they selling something? Who is selling this or telling me this? Do they have a vested interest? Why are they pitching it this way? [is there an angle? Should I believe them?] What’s right for me?

Attempting to relate this directly to them and to make it contemporary, I began with the misinformation about the Boston Marathon bombings. I talked about the early misinformation regarding the capture of the bombers. At the time, I had misgivings when the news media announced that they had suspects in custody.  It didn't sound right. Things didn't add up. I showed the students what had come through on Twitter in my feed regarding the news. It was contradictory and passionate. Everyone was jumping on the bandwagon. We are all guilty of that sometimes. My next slide showed an official update saying that indeed no arrest had been made. It basically told us, "Calm down everyone. By spreading misinformation you can mess this whole investigation up."

• We discussed ads. Why is Vitamin Water called Vitamin water. Is it good for you? Why or why not? 
• How does that Brooke Shields Calvin Klein ad from my childhood relate to the Hollinger jeans ad now? (Sex sells from generation to generation.) We also dug deeper. The discussion included an article from my friend Judith Ross, discussing the dangers of distressing blue jeans. The process of sandblasting to create that look is extremely harmful to the workers who create those jeans. Should this go into our decision making process about what we wear? How deep should we dig to find out about
  
  the products we buy? Should we judge them by how they look on a friend? Is just knowing that they look good on us enough? Perhaps it is, but if we do care about how products are made, should we seek this information? 
• We talked about Made in America and what that means. Is it important to understand that "Made in America" does not necessarily mean it is 100 percent made in America? We need to understand that many companies walk a fine line to get that label.
• We picked apart a sneaker ad to figure out who the manufacturer was trying to get to buy this footwear. We decided that it was Justin Bieber fans. In fact, all five classes I taught immediately said Justin Bieber even though he was not mentioned in the ad. That's pretty powerful stuff. We looked at a one star review of the sneaker and a five star review. We read them carefully. One of them was calling the high top a "running shoe." It seemed like it wasn't talking about that shoe at all. Did the students know that some people get paid for writing ads? What should we believe? How can we pick apart information to see what is false information?
• Colleges were a big part of our conversation. Are these 15 year-olds already thinking about college? Where do they want to go and why? What goes into our decision about college? Location, major, size, future opportunities, cost... How are colleges manipulating their decisions through ads? We talked about a few ads. One read: "My purpose To Make a World of Difference." What exactly does that mean? Does it mean anything? Does it mean different things to different people? Are they playing on passions? (of course)

Finally, we discussed the Internet and social media. We discussed putting out information about ourselves as well as taking in information.

• What is the value of Google? What are the drawbacks? Does Google do everything it claims to do? Is the use of Google black and white? Is it a good or bad tool? It is good in the right situation, but we must constantly evaluate the information it gives us and be aware of its flaws AS WITH EVERY INFORMATION TOOL. Why do we use proprietary databases at school? What other places can give us information? Did the students know that Google tries to tailor ads to us based on the information we are giving it? We are their product.
  
• What role does social media play? We should use the right tool for the right job. I asked how the students use Twitter and then showed how I use it to talk to colleagues around the world and not to my friends. (That's what texting and Facebook are for?) We talked about the role Twitter played in the Egyptian Revolution and what a powerful tool it can be. Ah...and then snapchat. The app that lets your posts "disappear." This is very big in many of their worlds. We did a little "close reading" -- really paying attention to key words -- to see what snap chat says about itself:

We left with these main lessons in mind:

INFORMATION IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE

•Liking something doesn’t mean it is right for me

•We may like some things about something and not others. It may be the right product or tool for me OR there may be something better

•The information we get about something often depends on the source

•Sometimes sources purposely hide information

•Always evaluate information for yourself!

Great week in the classroom for the Holistic Librarian! Any questions? ;)

What is Information? Teaching Information Skills to High School Students

So much to say...only one blog post. For now.

For the past month, I have been settling into a new role as an information specialist at a local high school. It has been a tremendous experience and I want to share as much as I can of it with you while respecting the sanctity of the classroom and student experiences. My goal is to explain how I am approaching certain issues; how archives can fit into the role of a teacher-librarian; why an archivist/librarian can be a good fit for a high school...and other related issues.

On a path to boost student research skills, I have been working with freshmen English teachers and administration to  evaluate the research skills of incoming freshmen. This past week, we had all freshmen classes take an assessment that is considered a standard in this area. (The test shall remain nameless.) Its focus is on particular research skills. It asks questions about things such as Boolean searching, MLA format, etc. etc. I immediately follow the test by teaching a class about information during the second half of the period.

The "No hunting" sign in this photo has perplexed me for a year, but I haven't done any research on it. A student told me that his neighbor, who is in his seventies, said there was no hunting in NH during the 40s. I knew the student was on to something. His information got me excited to find out more and I've called the NH Fish and Game Department to try to get some historical information about hunting in our state.

Mrs. Mannon: "What did you think of that test?"
Students: "It was okay... It was hard... Mmmm, I don't know."
Mrs. Mannon: "Was it boring to you? Because I thought it was very boring and I have a Master's in this subject. It's okay for you to think it was boring."
Students: "Yes! Yes! It was boring!"
Mrs. Mannon: "Ok. Good. Now we're getting somewhere because my job is to show you that this is not a boring topic. Information is fun! The library is all about information and I want you all to feel welcome here and use this as a place to stretch your mind."

I have been amazed at the response. I even have had applause at the end of my classes - seven 45 minute sessions in total this week. 2 or 3 more to come next week.

First, my introduction to information session talks about my diverse background. Where do information professionals work? Students have no idea that librarians work beyond their schools and public libraries. We've talked about librarians and archivists in museums, law firms, science centers, government roles... I have shown pictures of the beautiful spaces I have had the pleasure of working in such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Historical Society in Winchester, Massachusetts,  and Lexington Massachusetts town hall vaults. I aim to get students to think about information beyond the school and to open their eyes to a world of information beyond their own community.

What is information? What is an information resource? How do we learn about it?  "What are you interested in because there is information attached to EVERYTHING?" Here I introduce the idea of primary and secondary sources and unwritten information. We talked about archivists versus librarians. We talked about using experts as a resource and the value of social media to connect with experts. We talked about looking for the source of articles and contacting authors if appropriate to dig deeper. I brought in my box of archives antique shop finds and passed around diaries, photos, ephemera and more. ("This is my favorite part!" and they really seem to wait on the edges of their seats in anticipation.)

We've talked about good information versus bad information. I have shown two short commercials from the current presidential campaign to make the point that quotes out of context tell us nothing. We need to find the source and do a little research to know if we are getting good or bad information.

I've discussed communities and how information is all about communities. What do we have in common? (all members of same school, live in NH, etc.) What is different about us? (different families, different interests, etc.) What information is attached to our communities? How does this information get recorded and passed down so that the next generation can use it to build a better society? How does our information relate to other communities? How do we fit into this world? Again, what are you interested in? "Use this space to learn about it. Use this space to learn how to learn about it. We are even going to start our own school archives to document our own community." (Five students have signed up to do that, so far.)

Then, and only then... (that's cliche, I know, but it's important. Students should get excited about information before discussing Boolean for goodness sakes!) I give the students a tour of the library to talk about the tools we use. We look at the PACs, reference section, circulating books, the circulation desk, our computers with Internet access and proprietary databases. We discuss the Dewey Decimal system (and I may have even let my dislike of it creep in..a little bit. It's okay to want to make things better. No method is perfect. We have the opportunity to better things for our own needs while still understanding the value of the standard way of doing things.) We may discuss Boolean at some point. Not yet.

I'm fired up. The kids seem to be fired up. Information is fun. My theory? Begin with that. The skills will come. The applause confirmed that for me. I think that the students will come back for more and I can't wait to share more.

[In case you are reading this... thanks students for sharing information with me. We have so much to learn from each other and this will be a great school year!]