Information Literacy in the Digital Age: Myths and Principles of Digital Literacy

Librarians have traditionally served as the champions of information literacy, adopting it as a core principle of the profession and creating a movement that tries to facilitate fair, equal access to knowledge and its creation. There are plenty of publications on this topic, but as the Information Age has become the Digital Age, there also needs to be a discussion of how information literacy is evolving. More specifically, librarians are now finding themselves shouldering the responsibilities of digital literacy alongside traditional approaches to information literacy, especially considering how more and more information needs can only be met via digital resources. This paper serves to add to this discussion by examining the different elements of the two literacies, the myths that surround them, and provide some basic principles of information literacy learning and instruction in the digital age

The Australian science curriculum

The Australian Science Curriculum has appeared at a time when there is widespread concern for the quality of science teaching and learning in Australia and the engagement of students in learning science, leading to calls for significant reform. The new curriculum thus carries the hopes of reform-minded scientists and educators for a change in the way science in schools can support teaching practices that engage students in quality learning. This analysis will examine whether it is an adequate vehicle for doing this. Will it live up to our expectations?<br /

Never On A Sunday: The Sabbath And The Christian Academic Library - Part 1

The article will appear in two parts. Part One examines the biblical basis for the positions taken and makes a general application. Part Two, in the next issue, will look at the application of Scripture to the world of Christian higher education and its libraries

A Path to Alignment: Connecting K-12 and Higher Education via the Common Core and the Degree Qualifications Profile

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which aim to assure competency in English/language arts and mathematics through the K-12 curriculum, define necessary but not sufficient preparedness for success in college. The Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP), which describes what a college degree should signify, regardless of major, offers useful but not sufficient guidance to high school students preparing for college study. A coordinated strategy to prepare students to succeed in college would align these two undertakings and thus bridge an unfortunate and harmful cultural chasm between the K-12 world and that of higher education. Chasms call for bridges, and the bridge proposed by this white paper could create a vital thoroughfare. The white paper begins with a description of the CCSS and an assessment of their significance. A following analysis then explains why the CCSS, while necessary, are not sufficient as a platform for college success. A corresponding explanation of the DQP clarifies the prompts that led to its development, describes its structure, and offers some guidance for interpreting the outcomes that it defines. Again, a following analysis considers the potential of the DQP and the limitations that must be addressed if that potential is to be more fully realized. The heart of the white paper lies in sections 5 and 6, which provide a crosswalk between the CCSS and the DQP. These sections show how alignments and differences between the two may point to a comprehensive preparedness strategy. They also offer a proposal for a multifaceted strategy to realize the potential synergy of the CCSS and the DQP for the benefit of high school and college educators and their students -- and the nation

Denying the Dream: How the Proposed Changes to the US Naturalization Test Would Prevent Immigrants from Becoming Citizens

This report details how (as of September 2003) efforts by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (former Immigration and Naturalization Service) to redesign the citizenship test could threaten the aspirations of many immigrants, particularly Latinos and others with lower levels of education, to gain US citizenship

An International Prospectus for Library & Information Professionals: Development, Leadership and Resources for Evolving Patron Needs

The roles of library and information professionals must change and evolve to: 1. accommodate needs of tech-savvy patrons; 2. thrive in the Commons & Library 2.0; 3. provide integrated, just-in-time services; 4. constantly update and enhance technology; 5. design appropriate library spaces for research and productivity; 6.adapt to new models of scholarly communication and publication, especially: the Open Archives Initiative and digital repositories; 7. remain abreast of national and interanational academic and legislative initiatives affecting the provision of information services and resources. Professionals will need to collaborate in: 1. Formal & informal networks – regional, national, and international; and; 2. Library staff development initiatives – regional, national, international Professionals will need to use libraries as laboratories for ongoing, lifelong training and education of patrons and of all library staff ( internal patrons ): the library is the framework in which Information Research Literacy is the curriculum . Professionals will need to remain aware of trends and challenges in their regions, the EU, the US and North America, of models which might provide inspiration and support: 1. Top Technology Trends; 2. New paradigms of professionalism; 3. Knowledge-creation and knowledge consumption; 4. The shifting balance of the physical library with the virtual-digital librar