Librarians Play a Vital Role in 21st Century Literacies
We know it, but no one else seems to.
Many organizations are looking at the definition of literacy and expanding it to include the knowledge and skills it takes to be an active participant in today’s society. What baffles me as I read through reports and recommendations from so many organizations is the lack of mention of libraries and librarians. There are a few such as this one from the Report from the Knight Commission:
Recommendation 7: Fund and support public libraries and other community institutions as centers of digital and media training, especially for adults.
or this one in a white paper from the MacAuthor Foundation
If anything, these traditional skills assume even greater importance as students venture beyond collections that have been screened by librarians and into the more open space of the web. Some of these skills have traditionally been taught by librarians who, in the modern era, are reconceptualizing their role less as curators of bounded collection and more as information facilitators who can help users find what they need, online or off, and can cultivate good strategies for searching material.
These are the only two I have found. Why are libraries missing?
The only place most people can receive instruction on these new literacies is at a library. There is no one else. While some students may be fortunate enough to be exposed in at school, either through teachers or the library, most are not. Adults have nowhere to turn but the public library. While I applaud all of these organizations for their efforts and reports and recommendations, I am dismayed at the lack of recommendations for funding and support for libraries. It is all well and good to write a report and a recommendation but what about real world application?
We (library people) know we are the ones providing this training. We know there is no one else. I have to ask – What are we doing wrong that no one else seems to know this? How do we communicate our role?
- Center for Media Literacy
- Partnership for 21st Century Skills
- National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)
- National Council of Teachers of English
- Digital Media and Learning – MacAuthur Foundation
- Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy
- 21st Century Literacy Summit
- ICT Digital Literacy Portal
- Center for Digital Literacy
Transliteracy is 3D
Since posting the Libraries and Transliteracy slideshow I’ve been asked many times to define transliteracy. Its a slippery term, people often confuse it with digital literacy or technology literacy. Sometimes I’m not sure I even have a good grasp on the concept. So a colleague and I sat out to hash out the details, here is what we came up with.
In collaboration with Brian Hulsey
Special thanks to Sue Thomas and Tom Ipri for their input & approval.
If you’d like to learn about libraries and transilteracy please visit my Transliteracy page
If you’d like to know more about transliteracy in general please visit transliteracy.com and follow the conference on February 9th.
Registration Open for the first Transliteracy Conference, Leicester UK, 9 Feb 2010
The first Transliteracy Conference takes place at Leicester’s new Phoenix Square Digital Media Centre on Tuesday 9 Feb 2010
Find out more and register at http://www.transliteracy.com
The full schedule for the day will be released soon but in the meantime a list of speakers and abstracts can be found at http://nlabnetworks.typepad.com/transliteracy/2010abstracts.html
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. Since 2005, when Professor Sue Thomas introduced the concept in the Institute of Creative Technologies at De Montfort University, transliteracy has been taken up and explored by a broad range of academics and practitioners, from information scientists to literary theorists, artists and writers. This one-day event offers an opportunity for academics, artists, business people and practitioners to share discoveries, ideas, and creative works that amplify and augment transliteracy research.
For more about The Transliteracy Research Group (TRG) see http://www.transliteracy.com
To discuss transliteracy visit http://transliteracy.ning.com/
For information specific to libraries visit my Libraries and Transliteracy page or visit our forum in the Ning group.
Andy Woodworth’s 5 Universal Truths That All Librarians Can Agree Upon
Andy has put together a list of 5 Universal Truths That All Librarians Can Agree Upon Right Now.
- Perception of information is changing
- Literacy is changing
- Libraries are now part of greater information chorus
- Communication is our friend
- The underlying philosophies of the library have not changed
I like the focus on the positive and of course I want to know – do you agree?
Libraries and Transliteracy Blog- FCC Proposes Digital Literacy CorpsFCC sent it’s National Broadband Plans to Congress today and according to the Washington Examiner The plan also calls for every American community to have at least one “anchor” institution, such as a school, library or hospital, that has ultra-high-speed Internet access. The FCC defines that as at least a gigabit per second, 10 times faster than the [...] […]Bobbi Newman
- 21st Century Fluencies ProjectThe 21st Century Fluencies Project is a for-profit effort focusing on 21st century skills. This resource is the collaborative effort of a group of experienced educators and entrepreneurs who have united to share their experience and ideas, and create a project geared toward making learning relevant to life in our new digital age. Our purpose is [...] […]Bobbi Newman
- Handbook of Research on Social Software and Developing Community OntologiesAlthough full preview is not available, I believe enough of the chapter, “Transliteracy as a Unifying Perspective” is available to give a reader the essence of the full chapter text; you may access the chapter preview by clicking on the Google Book preview of Handbook of Research on Social Software and Developing Community Ontologies. From [...] […]theunquietlibrary
- FCC Proposes Digital Literacy Corps
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