Information Literacy in the Workplace
by Julie N. Oman
Julie Oman is an Information Steward for The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI. She may be reached at: joman@dow.com
Information literacy is rapidly gaining recognition as the underpinning for both knowledge management and learning organization initiatives
Information overload. Information fatigue syndrome. Information.
Information. Information. Pity the poor employee who deals with this bombardment on a daily basis! Knowledge management has been considered by many to be the solution to our information woes. But the focus on technology in most knowledge management programs has only contributed to the problem. The key is how people deal with information.
Technology has served to highlight some of the fundamental problems related to end user information skills. Individuals do use some sort of process to work through an information dilemma, whether large or small in magnitude. Is this skill set intuitive? At some levels, and for some people it may bebut certainly not for everyone. I do not expect all people to have the level of skills I have developed over the years as an information professional. I do, however, believe they can gain the competencies and confidence to deal with the increasing barrage of content thrown at them dailyand the new channels of access that have contributed to the confusion.
As a corporate information professional, I believe it is important to focus on the "people" component of knowledge management. I feel a degree of responsibility in ensuring the knowledge workers of my organization have the fundamental skills to deal with whatever knowledge management technology and processes are adopted by the company. Through my research I have come to understand and appreciate a concept I consider to be of even greater importance than knowledge managementand that is information literacy. In this article I will share what I have learned so far and ideas for introducing information literacy into a corporate setting.
Dealing with Semantics
My colleagues' eyes tend to glaze over when I get on my information literacy soapbox. Not only does information literacy sound extremely academic, "it takes a familiar termliteracyand adds a modifier both vague and complex."1 This leads me to believe many of us have yet to comprehend the importance of information literacy and the role it plays in building the information skills and competencies of current and future workers.
And while I don't like to dwell on labels (the debate over the word "library" comes to mind), the reality is that part of the success in selling the information literacy concept within a corporate environment is the branding. Information power, information competencies, information proficiency if you choose to pursue the concept further you will need to consider how best to position it within your corporate environment.
SoWhat Is It?
While not a new idea, information literacy is rapidly gaining recognition as the underpinning for both knowledge management and learning organization initiatives. Over the past decade, within education systems in many countries, programs have been designed to ensure students have the skills required to function in an information-rich society. This has occurred to such an extent that information literacy is now being perceived as a "new liberal art."2 A large and growing body of literature now addresses different models for information literacy and documents methods for teaching the skills to be information competent. Interestingly, little has been written about information literacy in the corporate environment. Yet there is a recognition that businesses must employ workers who know how to deal with information and use it for both personal and work success.
The definition that is most widely accepted, and that forms the basis of subsequent definitions, comes from the Final Report of the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, 1989 ([Online] Available: http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/ilit1st.html.):
"To be information literate an individual must recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the information needed. Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how information is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand."
The following attributes of the information literate person were proposed by Chris Doyle in 19923:
· Recognizes that accurate and complete information is the basis for intelligent decision making
· Recognizes the need for information
· Formulates questions based on information needs
· Identifies potential sources of information
· Develops successful search strategies
· Accesses sources of information including computer-based and other technologies
· Evaluates information
· Organizes information for practical application
· Integrates new information into an existing body of knowledge
· Uses information in critical thinking and problem solving
Since information may be presented in a number of formats, the term information applies to more than just the printed word. Other literacies such as visual, media, computer, network, and basic literacies are implicit in information literacy.4 Note that we can take these working definitions of information literacy and augment them with specific knowledge management concepts and behaviorssuch as the capture of knowledge for the purpose of sharing.
And Why Should You Care?
Why get excited about information literacy? To me it is a wonderful opportunity, as it broadens the scope of the information professional's traditional mandate of just being a "provider" of information. An Outsell study states that employees spend an average 9.5 hours a week "obtaining, reviewing, and analyzing information."5 But the skill sets taught in today's classroom have not necessarily made the transition to the corporate setting to ensure that individuals use those nine or so hours wisely. We also cannot assume future workers are bringing with them from the classroom everything they will need to know in a work environment, where in many respects learning becomes more complex. Concurrently, information technology is constantly changing and improving, demanding that employees be flexible and lifelong learners. Like many companies, my organization provides a community that supports the use of information technology and
knowledge management. What many organizations lack is an infrastructure that helps provide the required complementary information literacy skills. Meeting this need is our opportunity as information professionals.
Information literacy is the next step in continuous business improvement. As we entered the new millennium one assessment of what comes after knowledge management offered the following: "Enterprise wide information literacy needs the same attention as computer literacy received during the last decade. Ensuring that everyone in the organization has the ability to use the same base IT tools does not, on its own, enable knowledge mobilization."6
The president of the Toshiba Corporation stated:
In the private sector, to cope with big challenges in the information age, organizations are rushing to reform business processes based on information technologies and networking. This also needs drastic change of working style of people and improvement of individual's business ability, i.e. more information-centric, and more information literate. To get the job done quickly, effectively and creatively, people need to communicate and collaborate with each other through the networks, often beyond the boundaries of time, location and organizations.7
It is hard to dispute the fact that, simply put, end userswhether they recognize it or notneed help in dealing with information.
How to Get Started
Questions You Need to Ask:
To begin improving information literacy within your organization, start with a fundamental assessment that includes your information infrastructure, the demographics of employees and information literacy competencies. You are probably already asking many of the following questions in order to provide current products and services.
1. Information Infrastructure of Your Organization:
What is your current infrastructure? What are the disconnects/gaps in that infrastructure?
Content + Technology = Enablers
· What information technologies are made available to employees?
· What computer literacy programs are in placeand do you have a baseline knowledge of the level of computer literacy skills in your organization today?
· What content (internal and external) is made available and how?
· How, if at all, are information literacy concepts integrated into enabler design/selection, development and implementation?
Methodologies
· What are the information process (see side bar page 40) and related best practices in your organization?
· How do you define and develop the related employee competencies?
· How do you articulate corporate guidelines, policies and procedures around information management so employees may be in complianceand know how/why?
2. Demographics of your Organization:
How many times have we heard "understand your customer base"? To appropriately introduce and support information literacy within an organization, segment the population to understand the impact of:
· Geography
· Roles and responsibilities
· Language
· Age
· Time on the job
· Education
· Use of information in personal life (e.g. Internet)
· Base skillsboth computer and information literacy
· Work/Life integration
By understanding these factors you can build and strengthen your infrastructure, providing enablers and methodologies that best meet the requirements of specific population segments. For example, what are the information literacy requirements of a new hire from college versus a long-term employee? Or a scientist versus an office professional?
As an aside, assisting employees with information literacy affects both their work life and personal life. Consider the influence of information literate workers within their local communities. Many corporations are judged by their impact on societytheir stand on environmental issues, their contributions to local communities, or their support of external programs designed to benefit specific groups or individuals. Communities today face the very real issue of what is known as the "digital divide"individuals who have or do not have access to information. Groups like the National Forum for Information Literacy (http://www.infolit.org/) have highlighted the fact that not everyone in today's society, whether in the United States or elsewhere, have the fundamental information skills to survive in today's information-rich world. The information literate have an opportunity to address this imbalance. Many employees will carry their workplace competencies into their communitiesand in some small way will contribute to lessening the digital divide.
3. Information Literacy Competencies:
Clearly define what information literacy means for your organization and then use this knowledge to determine your course of action. Information literacy could encompass:
· The knowledge and use of information technology, information resources, an information process, and information control
· Construction and leveraging of personal and corporate knowledge bases
· Being a responsible corporate citizenthe "wise use" of information
One thing is certainbe sure not to equate information literacy with just the Internet! The glamour of the technology has blinded end users to the fact that information does exist in other formats and may not even be available on the Web.
Where to Go from Here
The quickest road to failure is attempting to introduce information literacy into your organization in isolation. Placing your initiative in the silo of your group will not work. Success is more likely when you tie information literacy to internal employee development and compensation plans. The reality is, the "what's in it for me" factor is a much stronger incentive than any other benefit your group can describe. This needs to be explained to management, potential internal partners, and individual employees.
In a corporate environment it's best to quickly get past "theorizing" and start talking about demonstrated value. What are the benefits to having an information literate population within your company's (virtual) walls? And what are the tactical solutions for making this happen? Remember that Outsell figure? If we can improve the use of information by decreasing the time by just one hour a week, consider the consequences for an organization with 40,000 employees!
In my experience, internal service providers have welcomed participation in corporate programs by the company's information professionals because of the competencies we represent. Information expertise plays well with my partners in Human Resources who are dealing with the learning organization and my colleagues in Knowledge Management who are working to bring technology together with people. An effective approach is to explore all avenues. Proactively identify and talk to all potential stakeholders to gain understanding and buy in. Some suggestions are:
Knowledge Management
· If your organization has a knowledge management program, get integrated! Explain the information literacy concept and demonstrate its links to knowledge management, and the value proposition.
Human Resources
· If your company has a set of standard "competencies" expected of all employees, look to see if elements of information literacy are there. Partner with Human Resources and work to gain acceptance, and integration, of information competencies. Remember to speak your corporate languageconcepts like "knows how to find internal and external information effectively" are clearer then "demonstrates information literacy."
· If your group has its own employee training initiatives, review them in light of information literacy. What offerings specifically help develop information competencies (e.g. Effective Searching of the Intranet/Internet, Personal Strategies for Combating Information Overload). Are you a "silo" of offeringsor are you fully integrated into your organization's offerings for employee development? Can you align your offerings to corporate programs?
Business Processes
· What other processes exist in your organization (e.g. Competitive Intelligence, Market Research, Scientific Method)? It is quite likely that information literacy is fundamental to many of them. You can map the information process (see side bar) with other processes. Work with the process owners to enhance what they do with information competencies.
The Information Process:
This model is a variation on several in the literature. Information professionals will recognize that each label encompasses a number of skills that employees can acquire to make them effective with this process. The model applies to any job, regardless of complexity. A caveat: one size does not fit all. Individuals may move in and out at any point in this process, or they may recycle at specific steps. The point is not to proceed lock-step through a specific sequence, but rather to recognize that all of these things are happening and that it takes a degree of information literacy to deal with them successfully.
Information Systems
· Chances are your I/S group also needs to be approached. For example, they will be the group providing training on how to user Internet browsers. We represent the complementary courseeffective search strategies and assessing the quality of informationthat is based on information literacy. Addressing these two different aspects of the same challenge can have tremendous advantages for employees.
Other considerations include:
· How would an information literacy program potentially affect current delivery channels for your products and services?
· What resources are needed to support the infrastructure you are proposing?
· How will you market and brand information literacy?
· Do you have a well thought out employee education offering?
· How will you measure success and improvement?
The way to succeed is through proactively understanding and leveraging your current corporate infrastructure. Through open dialogue and partnerships you can move towards a goal of providing employees with the skills and resources to be effective users of information.
In conclusion
We will soon start to see more about information literacy in the workplace. Those who read year-end predictions and forecasts have noted the shift of focus from technologies as the end product back to the basics of how individuals want to use content. The "failure" of many dot-coms is one aspect of this shift. Already, experts on information literacy have started to articulate how the concept can be translated into the corporate environment. The challenges for information professionals are explaining information literacy to our management to gain support and helping employees obtain lifelong skills without appearing to be the "program of the month." My hope is that I've given you some ideas to ponder and some actionable items to take away that will help you improve information literacy where you work.
Note:
An enormous number of resources are available on this topic (many on the Internet). To get you started, I recommend:
Behrens, Shirley J. 1994. A conceptual analysis and historical overview of Information Literacy. College and Research Libraries. (July):309-322.
Spitzer, Kathleen L. et al. 1998. Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology.
For more focus on information literacy and the workplace see:
Bruce, Christine, and Philip Candy, eds. 2000. Information literacy around the world: advances in programs and research. New South Wales: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.
Bruce, Christine. 1999. Workplace experiences of information literacy. International Journal of Information Management. 19:33-47.
Endnotes/References:
1. Adler, Richard P. 1999. Information Literacy: Advancing Opportunities for Learning in the Digital Age. A Report of the Aspen Institute Forum on Communications and Society. Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute. Pg. viii [Online] Available: http://www.aspeninst.org/publications1/bookstore_communications_literacy.html
2. Shapiro, Jeremy J. and Shelly K. Hughes. 1996. Information Literacy as a Liberal Art Enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum. Educom Review 31(2) [Online] Available: http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/review/reviewarticles/31231.html
3. Doyle, C.S. 1992. Outcome measures for information literacy within the National Educational Goals of 1990. Final report to the National Forum on Information Literacy. Flagstaff, AZ: National Forum on Information Literacy. (ED 351 033)
4. Spitzer, Kathleen L. et al. 1998. Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. Pg. 26
5. Corcoran, Mary and Anthea Stratigos. 2001. Knowledge Management: It's All About Behavior. Information About Information Briefing. Burlingame, CA: Outsell, Inc. (January):3
6. Abell, Angela. 1999. Information Literacy, the Next Challenge? Information World Review (December): 60
7. Nishimuro, Taizo. 1999. "Information Literacy: How does it differ from Traditional or Computer Literacy?" TechKnowLogia (September/October) [Online] Available: http://www.techknowlogia.org/ 
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