Titre du document / Document title

Information literacy: A contradictory coupling

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

PAWLEY Christine ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ School of Library and Information Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1420, ETATS-UNIS

Résumé / Abstract

Information literacy has established itself as an important subfield of librarianship. Yet although librarians justify information literacy as increasing democratic participation by all citizens, their efforts to improve quality control of information also threaten to restrict choice in systematic ways. This contradiction results in part from the genealogy of the terms information and literacy, terms that share a relationship traceable to an Enlightenment ideology, namely, that reading could transform society by informing its people. But reading's power to transform was also a contested issue for groups seeking political and cultural ascendancy, and reading genres that initially challenged conventional thought evolved into those that buttressed it. In the process, some groups came to be defined as information consumers and simultaneously excluded from the role of information producers. Strategies that can raise awareness of the assumptions underlying this legacy include critical analysis of language use and envisioning information use as a process that involves all users in both consumption and production. Adopting these can help librarians recognize that the tensions inherent in the discourse and practice of information literacy are not only unavoidable, but essential, if the basic condition of democracy - citizen participation - is to be fulfilled.

Revue / Journal Title

The Library quarterly   ISSN 0024-2519   CODEN LIBQAS 

Source / Source

2003, vol. 73, n^o4, pp. 422-452 [31 page(s) (article)] (78 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Il, ETATS-UNIS  (1931) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Theory ; Information literacy ; User training ; Information science ; Librarianship ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Théorie ; Culture information ; Formation utilisateur ; Science information ; Bibliothéconomie ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Teoría ; Cultura información ; Formación usuario ; Ciencia información ; Biblioteconomía ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 1502, 35400011706422.0030