Defining Transliteracy
I have been asked this question many times by librarians so I am way overdue for this post.
Most recently I was asked “….are librarians the people best equipped to define and interpret transliteracy (as opposed to say cognitive scientists, anthropologists, or critical theorists).” This is a modified version of my original answer.
No librarians are probably not the best people to define and interpret transliteracy. Fortunately we are (or at least I am) not defining it, and we certainly are not the only ones thinking about it.
Where did the word transliteracy come from?
Transliteracies came first, introduced by the Transliteracies Research Project directed by Alan Liu, Dept of English, University of California at Santa Barbara.
“Established in 2005, the Transliteracies Project includes scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and engineering in the University of California system (and in the future other research programs). It will establish working groups to study online reading from different perspectives; bring those groups into conjunction behind a shared technology development initiative; publish research and demonstration software; and train graduate students working at the intersections of the humanistic, social, and technological disciplines.”
Sue Thomas attended the first transliteracies conference and was inspired to form the PART Group (Production and Research in Transliteracy, now www.transliteracy.com)
” PART is a small group of researchers based in the Faculty of Humanities but researching in the Institute of Creative Technologies. The IOCT, which opened in 2006, undertakes research work in emerging areas at the intersection of e–Science, the Digital Arts, and Humanities”. – Thomas, et al.
What is transliteracy? Sue Thomas and her group use this working definition
Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks.
How is transliteracy different from media literacy or digital literacy or technology literacy?
…because it offers a wider analysis of reading, writing and interacting across a range of platforms, tools, media and cultures, transliteracy does not replace, but rather contains, “media literacy” and also “digital literacy.” Thomas, et al
It also includes technological, economic, social, cultural, and global issues (convergence). While it can be easy to tie transliteracy to technology
it is important to note that transliteracy is not just about computer–based materials, but about all communication types across time and culture. It does not privilege one above the other but treats all as of equal value and moves between and across them. Thomas, et al
Is transliteracy new?
No, but it has just been named recently. We are not seeing any new communication styles, only new ways of capturing and sharing those communications. We are now using video or audio equipment to capture content that could only have been witnessed live. We are using computers and other technology to share information that we would have previously shared over the phone or face to face. Getting information from people you know rather than from a reference book or librarian is traditionally information seeking behavior.
What we are witnessing today is thus the acceleration of a trend that has been building for thousands of years. When technologies like alphabets and Internets amplify the right cognitive or social capabilities, old trends take new twists and people build things that never could be built before. – Rheingold (pdf)
Will all this new technology change how we think and act?
Probably. But even the bemoaning of the change in the format in which content or information is shared is new. Socrates beat us to it when he complained the the written word is
an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality. Pluto, The Phaedrus
References:
- Transliteracy: Crossing Divides – Sue Thomas, Chris Joseph, Jess Laccetti, Bruce Mason , Simon Mills, Simon Perril, Kate Pullinger
- Technologies of Cooperation (pdf) – Howard Rheingold
Empowering Library Users to Work with Digital Media
I have been in awe of the Digital Media Lab at Skokie Public Library since I first heard about it. The Skokie Public Library Media Lab is a space (a whole room!) where patrons can use an amazing array of software and hardware to create digital media. This is the kind of space and service all libraries should be offering patrons to support transliteracy.
Learn more about starting a digital media lap from Richard Kong
Video from Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy
Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.
In October 2009 the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy released its report. The report itself is over 100 pages and worth reading. It is available to download as a pdf or to read online. If you just want the bottom line, you can see just the recommendations it makes or the ones that especially pertain to libraries.
New Project – Libraries and Transliteracy Blog
CC image used courtesy of Meredith Harris on flickr
I am excited to announce the kick-off of a new project, the Libraries and Transliteracies blog! The blog is a group effort from me, Buffy Hamilton and Tom Ipri. Due to the amount of interest in transliteracy and the role libraries play, we have created one place to share information and resources. The blog will contain information, resources and links to other new literacies related content from all three authors.
I will still be posting about transliteracy here, but you will find more transltiteracy related content more often on the Libraries and Transliteracies blog. So add the feed to your feedreader.
How this came about (if you’re interested in that sort of thing). Due to the amount of interest in transliteracy and the role libraries play in 21st century literacies, I wanted one place to share information and resources. I decided this blog was not the best venue as I wanted everything pertaining to transliteracy to be easy to find and adding to the current page doesn’t help others keep track of new information. I also I did not want all of the information to come from me, this is an important issue to ALL libraries. This led to the idea of a new blog, with additional authors, but even more importantly, authors from a variety of library types. Having worked with both Buffy, a high school librarian and Tom an academic librarian, before and knowing their interest in transliteracy, they were obvious choices and I am so grateful they said yes.
If you are not familiar with Butffy and Tom, here’s a little about them. The short version – They are both awesome!
The long version:
Buffy Hamilton–Buffy is the lead librarian at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia. She is passionate about creating library experiences for her students that will encourage them to be lifelong learners and advocating for the power of the library in her community. She collaborates extensively with the teachers and students in her school to create learning experiences to foster students’ information fluency and digital citizenship, the cultural capital students need to fully participate in today’s society. Buffy shares and teaches through her work as a keynote speaker, workshop consultant, adjunct trainer, and guest speaker. Her professional interests include applications of Web 2.0 tools in library programs and instruction, participatory librarianship, an inquiry stance on traditional and new literacies, social scholarship, libraries as sponsors of multiple literacies, social media, and connectivism. She writes at http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com .
Tom Ipri – Tom is currently the Head of Media and Computer Services at Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In this position, he directs the future of the libraries’ media collections and services and leads the development of the media design studio, the learning commons, and the strategic evolution of media services within the University Libraries. Tom has published in Computers in Libraries, Lore: An E-Journal for Teachers of Writing, and Information Technology and Libraries. He has presented at Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian, as well as presented at a variety of workshops. He also reviews films for Educational Media Reviews Online. He writes at http://tombrarian.net
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