Information literacy at CILIP Conference 2016

Rebecca Jones, Schools Representative for the CILIP Information Literacy Group (ILG), has kindly provided a report on the CILIP Conference 2016, held in Brighton on 14th-15th July.

NHS Widening Digital Participation programme

"This programme is about ensuring – regardless of income, location, age, gender or ethnicity – people can access the support and information they need to improve their health and make informed choices. The fact that those most in need of NHS services are those least likely to have the skills they need to access online services is something that needs to be addressed urgently.”

Co-ordinated by Tinder Foundation, the programme supported people in some of the hardest to reach communities in the UK through a network of local places that offered specialised digital health literacy support.

Critical Literacy for Information Professionals

This new book explores critical literacy theory and provides practical guidance to how it can be taught and applied in libraries.

The approach taken in critical literacy is not to read texts in isolation, but to develop an understanding of the cultural, ideological and sociolinguistic contexts in which they are created and read.

 The book introduces critical literacy concepts in ways that are accessible to readers who are new to the subject while also appealing to those with greater knowledge by exploring critical literacy from a range of theoretical perspectives and linking these ideas to current debates in information studies.

 Critical Literacy for Information Professionals also contains a series of practically-focussed case studies that describe tools or approaches that librarians have used to engage users in critical literacy. Drawing on examples from across library sectors including schools, public libraries, universities, workplaces and healthcare, these illustrate how critical literacy can be applied across a variety of library settings, including online and new media environments.

The book will be essential reading for librarians, information professionals and managers in all sectors, students of library and information science, school and higher education teachers and researchers.

 More information: http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=300822#

The book is also avaiable for consultation in the National Library of Scotland Reading Rooms in George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. The shelfmark to request this item is PB8.216.214/3

The economic impact of Basic Digital Skills and inclusion in the UK

This report  presents for the first time both the costs, and the significant benefits of equipping everyone in the UK population with Basic Digital Skills. Findings reveal significant benefits for individuals (including both cost and time savings, as well as social and wellbeing benefits), and for the UK as a whole, in terms of productivity and savings.

Response from the Tinder Foundation

Digital skills articles

Over the past couple of months I have been adding links to articles that I thought may be of interest to the community under the Resourses tab. I now realise that doing this does not send out an alert/

I am now adding them as a blog post so I hope that if you haven't already come across these you will find them of interest.

Internet giant Google to open 'digital garage' in Newcastle City Library 

Young workers lack digital skills - April 2016

Digital Skills for the UK economy. Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Jan 2016

Geoff Walton's Information Literacy Blog

Doteveryone article from House Magazine  25th May 2016 Doteveryone seeks to ensure all British adults are using the internet

Fiona Laing

National Library of Scotland