Case study 2
A young girl walks up to the enquiry desk in the Children’s Library:
Girl: “Have you got any Harry Potter books?”
Librarian: “Yes”
Girl: “Where?”
Librarian: “Do you know who wrote them?”
Girl: “Ruling...? Riddling...? Rowling!”
Librarian: “Well, that’s where they will be. All our fiction books are arranged alphabetically by
author’s surname. We also have them as e-books”
Girl: “What’s an e-book?”
Librarian: “Electronic books. You can download them to your computer or your smart phone (if you
are lucky enough to have one)”
Girl: “I’m doing my homework on her”
Librarian: “Who? J.K. Rowling? Well you’re in luck; we have a subscription to the Who’s Who
online database...”
The librarian goes on to explain to the girl how to access authoritative online information about her
chosen subject, along with hard copies of the books. Starting with one simple question, the girl has
moved leaps and bounds down the road to information literacy, and her guide was a public
librarian.
In Wales, public libraries are attempting a more structured approach to IL. Since the launch of
Phase 3 of the Welsh Information Literacy Project (WILP) in April 2012, public library Information
Literacy Champions have been disseminating WILP training to library staff and users. These
Champions have themselves undertaken formal qualifications, in accordance with the Information
Literacy Framework for Wales (2011) – a scheme that goes right up to Level 8 CQFW, equivalent
to PhD. Promoting various IL campaigns in their authority, Champions ensure local IL strategies
and plans are consistent with the national policies developed by WILP. They operate as a virtual
network and have a regular e-zine to promote good practice.
There is a strong focus on using ’hooks‘ such as local history or debt advice to embed IL amongst
the public library staff and their customers. If you are interested to find out more, Siona Murray’s
article in the Summer 2013 issue of JIL goes into greater detail, but early indications are that this
approach is addressing the pressing need to improve the IL skills of the general public.
Wales has certainly set an admirable precedent for formalising the public library IL offer. It must not
be overlooked, however, that the daily contributions of all UK public libraries towards IL education
have a significant impact. Public libraries facilitate social inclusion, they help people transcend the
digital divide, engage people in political and community forums and generally offer guidance.
Recognised or not, IL is what public libraries do.