Information literacy: what is it and why is it important?

“Information Literacy” may not be a phrase that is commonly heard in the primary school staffroom but it is central to education today. Andrew K. Shenton and Wendy Beautyman explain what it is and why we should be building it into our curriculum

When does an academic information need stimulate a school-inspired information want?

This paper explores the nature of school-inspired information wants. It considers how such wants arise and actions taken by youngsters to meet them. The methodology within the study reported was one of interpretivist ethnography, with data collected from two classes of 7- to 8-year-olds in an English primary school via a form of participant observation that incorporated dialogues with pupils and staff. Children were seen to follow up on topics taught in the classroom with their own questions when one or more of seven situations arose. These included instances in which they developed an empathic interest in the protagonists being studied and when they noted inconsistencies in their own understanding. The findings have a range of implications, notably for practices in both education and LIS