In this article the author discusses critical inquiry and information literacy instruction in light of changes in information dissemination due to digital technology and social media. She emphasizes the impact of such changes for libraries and librarians, addressing information searching skills, networking skills, and professional development for librarians

Farkas, Meredith G.

PDXScholar (Portland State University)

Portland State UniversityPDXScholarLibrary Faculty Publications and Presentations University Library11-1-2011Technology in Practice. Information Literacy 2.0Meredith G. FarkasPortland State University, meredith.farkas@pcc.eduLet us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/ulib_facPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Library Faculty Publications and Presentations by anauthorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu.Citation DetailsFarkas, M. (2011). Technology In Practice. Information Literacy 2.0. American Libraries, 42(11/12), 32.TECHNOLOGY I In PracticeInformation Literacy 2.0Critical inquiry in the age of social media by Meredith FarkasSiI deas about information lit-eracy have always adaptedto changes in the informa-tion environment. The hirthof the weh made it necessary forlibrarians to shift more towardsteaching search strategies andevaluation of sources. Tool-fo-cused "bibliographic instruction"was replaced hy skill-focused"information literacy." Now;with the growth of Weh 2.0 tech-nologies, we need to start shiftingtowards providing instructionthat will enable our patrons tobe successful information seek-ers in the Weh 2.0 environment,where the process of evaluationis quite a hit more nuanced.Inquiring mindsCritical inquiry skills are among themost important in a world in whichthe half-life of information is rap-idly shrinking. These days, what youknow is almost less important thanwhat you can ñnd out—which nowrequires a set of skills that are verydifferent from what most lihrariesfocus on. In addition to academicsources, a huge wealth of content isheing produced by people every dayin knowledgebases like Wikipedia,review sites like Trip Advisor, and inblogs. Some of this content is legiti-mate and valuable—but some of itisn't.Keeping up and being able to ñndthe latest information requires notonly good search skills, hut alsogood networking skills. Even librar-ians find it impossible to be well-opment on areasmost relevant toinformed about every aspect oflibrarianship. I focus my own pro-fessional devel-Information is insuch abundancetoday that wehave difficultydetermining whichinformation is legitimate.my current po-sition, hut thereare times when Ineed expertise Isimply don'tpossess. This iswhere the axiom"I store my knowledge in myfriends" comes into play. Because Ihave successfully huilt a profession-al network, I have a large group offriends with diverse knowledgewhom I can rely on when I find myown knowledge is insufficient for aparticular task. Yet, networking israrely part of information literacyinstruction.Years ago, it was often difficult tofind enough information on a re-search topic, a product you wantedto buy, or a hotel at which youmight stay. Today, information is insuch abundance that we have diffi-culty determining which informa-tion is worth relying upon. AnAugust 19 New York Times article,"In a Race to Out-Rave, 5-StarWehReviews Go for $5," discussed thegrowth of commercial services thatare paid to create glowing reviews.After discovering that most peoplecouldn't tell which reviews arefake, researchers at Cornell startedto work on a computer algorithmthat could. We need to learn theclues that help make that determi-nation.Academia is not immune to prob-lems with quality and accuracy,challenging the as-sumption that articlesthat make it throughthe peer-review pro-cess can be trusted.The pressure to puh-lish from the tenuresystem and the pro-liferation of peer-re-viewed journals haveled to the puhlieation of studieswhose conclusions cannot be reliedupon or are downright fraudulent. ASeptember 15 Guardian (UK) article,"Publish or Perish: Peer Review andthe Corruption of Science, " railedagainst a system that leads to thepuhlieation of worthless studieswith poor research design that cometo duhious conclusions. Given this,we all need to look beyond the head-lines and evaluate research designbefore trusting conclusions.Information literacy instructionshould focus on helping people de-velop skills that will benefit them inanswering questions and informingdecision- making throughout theirlives, not just for their next paper.It's critical that we develop instruc-tion that supports critical inquiry inthis extremely complex informationenvironment. IMEREDITH FARKAS is head of instructionalservices at Portland (Oreg.) State Universityand part-time faculty at San José StateUniversity School of Library and informationScience. She blogs at Information Wants toBe Free and created Library Success: A BestPractices Wiki. Contact her at /ibrarysuccess®gmai7.com.COCopyright of American Libraries is the property of American Library Association and its content may not becopied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express writtenpermission. 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Technology in Practice.  Information Literacy 2.0

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Technology in Practice. Information Literacy 2.0

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