Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal June 2007 Volume 5(3)

CILIPS Information Literacy Toolkit

Securing change through advocacy tools

Chris Milne describes how it came about and discusses other avenues to be considered.

CILIPS has developed an information literacy advocacy toolkit. On behalf of the group tasked with this initiative, Chris Milne describes how it came about and discusses other avenues to be considered to take forward information literacy developments.

In the summer of 2006, the Library and Information Services Committee of CILIPS convened an information literacy task and finish group (ILT&FG) to “develop an advocacy document and toolkit for members to help them establish a [information literacy] programme in their school.” Evidence had suggested that despite the wide range of resources to support the development of information literacy programmes, there remained a number of barriers to be overcome. These included advancing information literacy from a ‘good idea’ towards a programme (preferably integrated into the curriculum) capable of supporting positive change.

There is no shortage of information literacy materials, standards and definitions to support the development of information literacy programmes. However, to help drive change, it was felt that more guidance was required to support librarians when making the ‘business case’ for information literacy. They may need help in securing political leverage and resources to develop and implement information literacy programmes. Support may be particularly welcome in institutions where embedding a skills programme involving librarian input into existing activities led or owned by other educationalists has not been encountered before.

The ILT&FG consisted of: Jeanette Castle (West Lothian Council); Margaret Forrest (University of Dundee); Ian McCracken (Govan High School); Chris Milne (University of Abertay Dundee); and Rhona Arthur CILIP in Scotland.

A flexible ‘toolkit’
The group is knowledgeable and experienced in delivering on information literacy projects in a number of different environments, but we do not pretend to have all the answers. We have collected a range of best practice lessons and aim to present these as a toolkit blended with our own personal experiences. We wanted to provide a cohesive and innovative approach in further developing information literacy, focusing on advocacy, making and winning arguments, and securing organisational change. You may wish to incorporate your own solutions. Rather than being viewed as the finished article, this toolkit should be viewed as a flexible device. With input from the wider community other tools can be added, and existing ones removed or upgraded.

The toolkit
The toolkit is available on the SLAINTE website. It aims to do three things:
1 Provide a roadmap for securing organisational change
2 Act as a platform/resource providing direction when making the case for information literacy
3 Support Continuing Professional Development by illustrating where outputs from the process of developing and establishing an information literacy programme can be used as evidence when building a portfolio for the CILIP Framework of Qualifications and accreditation.

Securing organisational change
Although we discussed episodes where we had either been directly involved in securing organisational change, or where we assessed the success factors associated with securing change, we found that the concepts being discussed frequently revolved around project management themes. Processes allied to planning, developing business cases, communication, gathering evidence, securing stakeholder support, identifying barriers and opportunities featured heavily in our discussions. We outlined pathways critical to securing organisational change under the headings planning, advocacy for change and implementing change. In considering the various tasks falling under each heading, it became apparent that many of the transferable skills developed and practised by librarians in our day-to-day work form the basis of securing change, to varying degrees:

• Research, understanding a problem, identifying credible solutions
• Building a persuasive business case i.e. explaining the rationale for a programme/development, while setting out or selling the anticipated benefits expected from making the change
• Seeking ideas and solutions, including securing internal sponsors capable of championing the proposed change and providing alternative positive arguments for change beyond those offered by the librarian/information professional
• lCommunicating
• Planning: breaking a project down into tasks and setting realistic time-scales for completion

Advocacy for information literacy
While the first section of the toolkit provides a generic framework to help deal with the issues under consideration, and determining which actions require to be addressed, the ‘Advocacy for change’ section of the toolkit presents key references which may help when building an effective case for implementing an information literacy programme.

The resources provide information and guidance on:

• Information literacy standards/models
• Best practice approaches, across a range of sectors
• Online communities of practice dedicated to information literacy
• Pedagogy:
  -Learning styles
  -Lessons plans
  -Learning objectives

We would very much welcome your suggestions and input to this section of the toolkit. Please pass on details of any resources which have helped you.

Continuing professional development
The final section of the toolkit acts as a reminder that we should acknowledge and celebrate our professionalism. Reflecting on the processes and outputs surrounding the development and implementation of a programme (in this instance information literacy) and supplying evidence of the work undertaken should be considered for inclusion when compiling a portfolio for the CILIP Framework of Qualifications and Accreditation.

Let us know how you use it – get in touch
There is a wealth of valuable resources on information literacy to develop course content. However, in many respects the issue is now one of advocacy. How do we as professionals secure the necessary levels of organisational change to implement information literacy programmes? The ILT&FG hopes that you find this toolkit useful both in making the case for information literacy, and in other arenas where the principles of the toolkit can be applied to other aspects of your work.

The group is going to evaluate the toolkit in 18 months time. We would like to know how the toolkit has worked well from your perspective, and where it could be improved. We would also like to celebrate successes in information literacy. We would like to hear from you about your work, with a view to publishing case studies reflecting best practice that others may benefit from.

We’re looking for further ways in which we can encourage library and information staff to increase the range and scope of information literacy programmes across library and information services in Scotland and, if you have any ideas, we’d like to hear from you.

Get in touch with feedback on using the toolkit, examples of good practice, resources that have helped you, and any other ideas – e: cilips@slainte.org.uk

Information Scotland Vol. 5(3) June 2007

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.