Information Literacy Programs and Research: Reflections on 'Information Literacy Programs and Research: An International Review' by Christine Bruce. 2000. the Australian Library Journal 49 No. 3: 209-218 (Column‪)‬

Although in the late 1990s there was much discussion as to whether the idea of information literacy was necessary or had longevity, global interest in the phenomenon has increased rather than diminished. Information literacy standards have been developed and become widely accepted in educational systems. Research centres for information literacy have been established. Conferences continue to be held around the world with information literacy as a special focus. In Australia a series of Information Literacy conferences was followed by the Lifelong Learning Conferences, and presently early research in the field is being showcased at the RAILS conferences. The Prague Declaration (National Forum on Information Literacy 2003) and the Alexandria Proclamation (National Forum on Information Literacy 2005) were issued from expert meetings convened jointly by UNESCO, the US National Commission for Library and Information Science and the National Forum for Information Literacy. More recently, the International Federation of Library Associations collected and presented international perspectives (Lau 2008); UNESCO issued papers (Catts & Lau 2008; Horton 2007) and conducted many train-the-trainer programs under its auspices. In 2009, US President Obama established October as an information literacy month and Purdue University created an information literacy endowed chair held by Professor Sharon Weiner. In the midst of all this activity, what has happened to the way in which we interpret the idea of information literacy in the last decade or more? The label of information literacy has certainly become widely applied, especially to library based programs and remains more popular in formal learning environments. Unfortunately, the interpretation of information literacy as a set of skills and competencies remains the primary driver for the vast majority of information literacy programs and research, reflecting the strength of that paradigm particularly in educational and workplace settings. Nevertheless, attention to alternative ways of thinking about information literacy, especially thinking about information literacy as the experience of using information in particular contexts has continued to grow. At the same time continued emergence of new technological environments has led to the idea of information literacy being broadened to incorporate digital literacy or multi-literacies. While technology continues to challenge our interpretation of information literacy, in the end it is how information is used, and the empowering experience of information use that lies at the heart of interest in information literacy.