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Questions to be Addressed:
1. What is information literacy?
2. What is social justice?
3. How are libraries related to information
literacy and social justice?
4. To what extent does the scholarly LIS
literature address the connection between
information literacy, librarianship, and social
justice?
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What is Information Literacy?
Literal meaning:
‘Information’ from Latin informatio (concept or idea)
‘Literate’ from Latin literatus (learned or lettered)
Traditional literacy - basic ability to read, write,
calculate
Read and comprehend a map, recipe book, labels
Fill out a job application
Add, subtract.
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How does LIS define Info Literacy?
‘knowing when and why you need information,
where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and
communicate it in an ethical manner’ (CILIP, 2004)
(focus on academics, students)
‘ability to think critically and make balanced
judgements about any information we find and use.
It empowers us as citizens to develop informed
views and to engage fully with society’ (CILIP, 2018)
(focus on informed citizenry)
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Information Literacy: A Meta-Literacy
‘1st century demands that a
literate person possess a
wide range of abilities
and competencies…
many literacies’ (NCTE, 2013)
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Why is Information Literacy Important?
According to ALA (2000), information literacy
is ‘increasingly important in the contemporary
environment of rapid technological change
and proliferating information resources…’
‘Information literacy forms the basis for
lifelong learning and is common to all
disciplines, to all learning environments, and
to all levels of education’
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What is Social Justice?
‘Distribution of wealth, opportunities, and
privileges within a society’ (Oxford Dictionary)
Left view – equitable distribution of wealth and
privileges
Right/libertarian view - equitable distribution of
access and opportunities
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Why are Libraries Important for
Information Literacy & Social Justice?
‘Access to information is a fundamental human
right that can break the cycle of poverty and
support sustainable development.’
‘The library is the only place in many communities
where people can access information that will help
improve their education, develop new skills, find
jobs, build businesses, make informed agricultural
and health decisions, or gain insights into
environmental issues’ (IFLA, 2016).
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Problem Statement
To what extent does the scholarly LIS literature
address the connection between information
literacy, librarianship, social justice?
This bibliometric study examines publication
pattern and content of scholarly LIS literature
related to libraries, information literacy, and
social justice: publication trend, core journals,
most prolific authors, and types of libraries that
were the focus of the articles.
10. Research Questions
1. How many scholarly LIS articles per year have
been published on information literacy,
libraries, and social justice?
2. In which journals were the articles in this
study published?
3. Who authored the articles in this study?
4. What type of libraries were the focus of the
articles?
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11. Limitations and Assumptions
This study is limited to peer-reviewed articles in
scholarly LIS and educational databases available
at USM University Libraries
It is assumed that the databases used in this study
are indexed accurately so that relevant articles are
retrieved with appropriate search strategy
It is further assumed that articles retrieved in this
study are representative of scholarly LIS literature
related to information literacy, libraries, and social
justice.
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12. Methodology
Searched 2 LIS and 2 educational databases
(LISTA, LISS, ERIC, and Education Source)
available through USM University Libraries
Searched for ‘information literacy’ and ‘social
justice’ in title fields and in subject fields
Limited results to peer-reviewed journals,
academic journals, and English language
Omitted false drops (non-relevant items).
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14. Core Journals
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Journal title Number of articles
Library Trends 5
Library Quarterly 4
9/38 articles published in 2 journals (24%)
Not exact 33% of Bradford’s Law but supports
general principle
Core journals: Library Trends, Library Quarterly
15. Bradford’s Law of Scatter
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Few core journals
publish 1/3 of
articles on a given
subject
Moderate # publish
a further 1/3
Larger # publish
remaining 1/3
Useful tool for
collection
development.
16. Most Prolific Authors
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Paul T. Jaeger authored four articles
Bharat Mehra authored three articles
Jaeger and Mehra most prolific authors on the
topic of information literacy and social justice
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Some Questions for You…..
Do you think there is a link between information
literacy and social justice?
Do libraries have a role in promoting information
literacy as it related to social justice?
What type of libraries do you think can make
more of a difference?
What can librarians and LIS academics do to
promote information literacy?
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Thank you for your attention
Questions?
Contact me at
teresa.welsh@usm.edu