Information literacy is extremely relevant in academic education for prospective researchers, teachers and future entrepreneurs. DigComp 2.2 ((Vuorikari, R. et al., 2022) offers many examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes desirable for information and data literate citizens and workers, many related to the retrieval and management of documents, both analogic and digital. Such competences should be part of the learning goals at the end of any academic path; they mark students’ individual growth and foster their future careers, especially if certified. Open badges are a useful assessment tool enabling students to spend those competences in the job market.
Academic libraries that contribute to building these competences may become more visible within their institutions, advocating for themselves.
The University of Trieste Library system took advantage of the pandemic-related closures in 2021 to build an online, self-paced and self-learning information literacy course for students. The project was run at no extra cost, employing the time of librarians during the lockdown. The final product was hosted on the institutional Moodle platform. The course goals aim at increasing information literacy skills, including the ability to “recognize information needs and to locate, evaluate, apply and create information” (IFLA, The Alexandria Proclamation, 2005) including “how to use it in an ethical way” (IFLA, MIL Recommendations, 2011). An expected side-effect of the course would be to enhance knowledge about and use of library services and resources of any format among students, for whom the library is not always the first port of call.
The first edition, developed by the Science and Technology Library in academic year (A.A.) 2021/22, was tailored to the needs of STEM students. In A.A. 2022/2023 the course underwent a restyling. The materials were reorganized and expanded to meet multidisciplinary needs.
Participants who pass the final test earn a digital Open badge, the international standard to valorize individual competencies. Open badges are easily shareable on individual portfolios, CVs, social media accounts, personal websites. Officially announced in October 2022, the second edition of the course, by the 8th of March 2023, had released 432 badges, the highest number among the 8 badges granted by the University of Trieste.
This report sets such experience within the information literacy framework: it describes the genesis of the course, its learning goals (compliant with UN SDGs 4,10,17), and analyses the progress from the first to the second edition. It reports how it became an open-badge course and the resources underlying its development. Analysing the feedback of the participants of the current edition, it discusses lessons learned and ideas for further improvements.
Moreover, the paper puts in question the limits of such experiences: how far are they able to produce a deep change? Can they be defined as “information literacy” or simply “library instruction”? Are they flagships to advocate for the role of libraries themselves?
References
- IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). (2005). Beacons of the Information Society: The Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning. Retrieved June 15, 2023 from https://www.ifla.org/publications/beacons-of-the-information-society-the-alexandria-proclamation-on-information-literacy-and-lifelong-learning
- IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). (2011). IFLA Media and Information Literacy Recommendations. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://www.ifla.org/publications/ifla-media-and-information-literacy-recommendations
- Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S., Punie, Y., European Commission, & Joint Research Centre. (2022). DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence framework for citizens: with new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://op.europa.eu/publication/manifestation_identifier/PUB_KJNA31006ENN
Matilde Fontanin, Cristina Cocever, Federica Moretto, Michele Sommariva, Luca Bencina
University of Trieste, Italy