Approaches to learning information literacy: A phenomenographic study

This paper reports on an empirical study that explores the ways students approach learning to find and use information. Based on interviews with 15 education students in an Australian university, this study uses phenomenography as its methodological and theoretical basis. The study reveals that students use three main strategies for learning information literacy: 1) learning by doing; 2) learning by trial and error; and 3) learning by interacting with other people. Understanding the different ways that students approach learning information literacy will assist librarians and faculty to design and provide more effective information literacy education

Designing for e-Social Action An Application Taxonomy

In this paper, we present a taxonomy for understanding designs and designing of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) in the field of ‘Social Action’. We use the term ‘Social Action’ to refer to activities of individuals and organisations in civil society, which are oriented towards social (rather than primarily economic) goals. We then apply the term e-Social Action to refer to the application of ICT in these activities. This definition incorporates a wide range of initiatives, varying from: trade-unions logging safety inspections on ships, Age Concern York organising volunteers to place on-line supermarket orders on behalf of housebound elderly people; the International Red Cross using logistics software to deliver emergency aid; and Martus.org providing technology to enable victims of human-rights abuse to report their experience whilst protecting their anonymity and thus avoiding reprisals. To study designing in this broad space, it is necessary to understand key dimensions of the settings where designing takes place. The aim of this paper is to examine how information and communication technologies in social action can be understood, classified and distinguished, to allow for more refined explorations of designing in this space. Keywords: e-SocialAction, Taxonomy, design and society</p

Beyond ECDL: basic and advanced IT skills for the new library professional

This paper reports on a new multimedia-centred ICT module, called Fundamentals of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) for Postgraduate Information and Library Studies students at the Graduate School of Informatics at Strathclyde University. It had radical aims (introducing novel ICT skill content in a progressive manner, encouraging deep learning and self-directed study) and used a weekly survey and a post-module survey to investigate its operation. Skills learnt were compared to skills required during student placement in libraries. Conclusions are drawn as to its success in matching the needs of future library professionals

International Legal Collections at U.S. Academic Law School Libraries

This study examines how law librarians are participating in the process of creating new fields of international legal research and training. It investigates the current state of international legal collections at twelve public and private U.S. academic law school libraries, illuminating in the process some of the significant shifts that characterize the nature of professional librarianship and information science in the twenty-first century. Included in the study is a discussion of the reference works, research guides, and databases that make up these international legal collections. This is followed by a brief assessment of the trends and challenges that librarians face who work in the field of professional legal education and scholarship

Securing intellectual capital:an exploratory study in Australian universities

Purpose – To investigate the links between IC and the protection of data, information and knowledge in universities, as organizations with unique knowledge-related foci and challenges.Design/methodology/approach – We gathered insights from existing IC-related research publications to delineate key foundational aspects of IC, identify and propose links to traditional information security that impact the protection of IC. We conducted interviews with key stakeholders in Australian universities in order to validate these links.Findings – Our investigation revealed two kinds of embeddedness characterizing the organizational fabric of universities: (1) vertical and (2) horizontal, with an emphasis on the connection between these and IC-related knowledge protection within these institutions.Research implications – There is a need to acknowledge the different roles played by actors within the university, and the relevance of information security to IC-related preservation.Practical implications – Framing information security as an IC-related issue can help IT security managers communicate the need for knowledge security with executives in higher education, and secure funding to preserve and secure such IC-related knowledge, once its value is recognized.Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to explore the connections between data and information security and the three core components of IC’s knowledge security in the university context