[General overview] - "The field of information literacy in the United Kingdom has..."

The first significant development in Information literacy in the UK was first put forward by SCONUL (1999) in the their Information skills in higher education: a SCONUL position paper which introduced the Seven Pillars of Information Literacy' model. After this development there was a major JISC funded collaborative research project undertaken by Leeds Metropolitan and Manchester Metropolitan University known as the Big Blue Project ^[1] which was reported in 2002. In 2005 CILIP introduced a third definition of information literacy ^[2]. After much criticism of the first SCONUL model an updated more holistic and iterative model was introduced ^[3]. In a radical departure from previous models and drawing more from teaching and learning theory, Secker and Coonan proposed A New Curriculum for Information Literacy ( ANCIL).

CILIP, the representative body for UK Library and Information Professionals, defines Information Literacy as "knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner" ^[4].

The CILIP Information Literacy Group has a number of further, international definitions ^[5].

The SCONUL Seven Pillars model and its 2011 update has been challenged by ANCIL. Quoted on the CILIP Information Literacy Group website, SCONUL defines "Information literate people will demonstrate an awareness of how they gather, use, manage, synthesise and create information and data in an ethical manner and will have the information skills to do so effectively." ^[6]

ANCIL - "A new curriculum for information literacy", led by Secker and Coonan and outlined on their blog ^[7] and in the volume ^[8].

For the Sconul illustration of the Information Literacy Landscape, see Sconul web page illustration.

For the ANCIL 'spider' see their blog link ^[9].

[list of reports?]

Education

Primary and Secondary Schools

Secondary Schools

There is a real need to raise awareness of Information Literacy in Secondary Schools and to work closely with teaching and IT staff to ensure we are preparing students for the world of work and Higher Education. Schools have for a long rime had an interest in developing information literacy strategies and skills but the language of information literacy has not filtered down into the day-to-day work of practioners or curriculum frameworks.

Not all school librarians have the opportunity to deliver information literacy sessions, either because it does not fall within their job description, or due to practical constraints, such as timetabling. When librarians do deliver research sessions, the focus has often moved from simply instructing students about where to find information and moved to a model which encourages the development of critical, analytical and evaluative tools. Most schools do not have an embedded programme of information literacy although several practioners are devising in-house programmes and schemes of work. For sixth form students, the rise of the EPQ (Extended Projects Qualification) has brought about a renewed interest in information literacy and a desire to formally integrate it into the curriculum. Many universities have started to offer EPQ sessions through widening participation and outreach schemes and this is an area where greater collaboration between sectors could be highly beneficial.

The SLA (School Library Association) maintain an Information Literacy webpage ^[10] as do the CILIP Information Literacy Group ^[11].

Further Education

Higher Education

Public Libraries

Topics such as: Employability, Citizenship

Other Libraries

Topics such as: Government, Voluntary, Health, Business, Law, and Specialist Libraries (where relevant)

Useful teaching resources and open educational resources