INFORMATION COMPETENCIES: A BRIDGE TO NARROW THE NORTH-SOUTH KNOWLEDGE GAPS Mortenson Distinguished Lecture Mortenson Center for International Library Programs University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA, September 23, Jesús Lau, Ph.D. Director, USBI Veracruz Library, and UV Virtual Library Coordinator Veracruz, México / Personal: Institutional:

Topics  The North-South knowledge gaps  Southern socio-economic development  Information literacy challenges  Indicators of information growth  The role of education and pedagogy in information literacy

Decision Making - Information  Cancun, the sunny beach resort  World Trade Organization, 5th. Ministers Meeting / 2003  Information is needed for Negotiation Planning  International negotiations have a great impact on local economies  Agriculture is a trade battle arena between developed and developing economies  International negotiations cannot be based on just good will  Leaders require information about decision alternatives

International Trade Competition  The world is not a charity planet, it is a highly competitive place  International trade competition is fierce  Developing countries require information intelligence  Southern leaders seldom come to a negotiating table with background information  Their information competencies tend to be limited

Leaders Need Information Competencies  Governments need to know about: Competitors and potential allies New goods and products entering to the world market New technologies New entrants to the economy  Information/knowledge is essential to compete  Maquila industry is moving to China  China has taken 15 years to become a world industrial power, but Mexico did not notice it until now

Information Competencies Socio-Economic and political development is best advanced by people who recognize their need for information, and identify, locate, access, evaluate and apply the needed information.

North – South

World Social Stratas Poor Very poor Middle class Wealthy

Wealth/Poverty Connotations 1.Income Gross National Income per Capita 2.Basic needs Food Health Housing Education Employment 3.Capability Information competencies Research Management

Population 2002 (World Bank, 2002)

Developing Regions (World Bank, 2002)

2 Knowledge Gaps

Internet: A great Venue for Information  Internet is opening access to information  Great amounts of resources are available  Some information aggregators are giving information away  However, low use capacity limits information benefits in Southern populations

Information Development in the Southern Hemisphere  Publishing is limited  Scientific serials are just a few  Nobel prizes are not from developing countries  Reference publications are also scarce

Information/Knowledge Chain 2. Packaging Editor Databases/electronic media companies Information aggregators 1. Production Authors Inventors Researchers 4. Storage/ Distribution Bookstores Libraries Information services 3. Use/Demand Researchers Academics Students Companies

Researchers (Unesco, different years) Notes 15 Data for researchers refers to full-time equivalent. Data are from OECD -12 Not including data for law, humanities and education -13 Data refer to researchers only

Serials (ISSN, 2003)

National Libraries / Collections (Unesco, different years) General note For general explanations and definitions, please refer to the beginning of this chapter. 17 Data refer only to books. 18 Data refer only to gramophone records. 19 Data refer only to the number of visits to reading rooms.

Public libraries / Collections (Unesco, different years)

Newspapers / Circulation (Unesco, different years)

Newsprint Paper

Patents (´000) (WIPO, 2002)

Internet ( 2003) USA, Canada, Japan, and West Europe 90% Demand 70% Computer servers English Language 60-80% Internet content 60 % English speakers users 8 % English speakers of total world population

3 Knowledge Bridge

Education - Development  Education enables people to be better citizens  It helps economic mobility of individuals  It determines national progress  Education access is a challenge  Education quality is even a greater one  Information development is related to education  Education fosters information competencies

Teacher-Centered Education  Equips students with static knowledge  Teaching to the test  Reproducing texts  Students are classroom-bound  Predominates in developing countries

Information Literacy - Hurdles Hurdles Professors´ course notes Textbooks Professor lecture- based learning Rote learning Memorization

Learner-Oriented Education  Fosters: Information competencies Knowledge construction by learners Life long learning Independent students Creativity and innovation Open-horizontal management Contributes to create a base for democracy

Learning Is Changing (Goldfarb, 1999) Internet summarizes and orders information in a hierarchical order The book-reader interaction has changed because “words become pictures and pictures become words” Readers “gain information from bytes and text fragments that are not organized in a straight line from beginning to end or from left to right” Successful books that have appeal to new cyber readers are non-linear, similar to computer formats: “graphics in exciting new forms and formats¨

4 Information Competencies

Information Age (Kuhlthau, 1999)  It is characterized by instability and uncertainty because of constant state of innovation and development  Society is shifting from scarcity of resources to an abundance of resources  Computer technology is changing learning environments, communication and the way people create

Information Literacy: A Must for Socio- Economic Development  Workers need to be learning constantly, jobs are for a short time-span  The work place is moving from routine to rich-thinking activities  Education for future citizens is focusing on learning how to learn in information-rich environments  New education models are based on inquiry approach to learning rather than on transmission approach to teaching  Education´s new paradigm is to prepare students to know and to be able to do  Information competencies are a critical life skill

Competencies / Skills  Reading  Numerical  Writing  Information  Computer  Research

Professional Competencies (Evers, Et al) A. Mobilizing Innovation and Change: Conceptualizing as well as setting in motion ways of initiating and managing change that involve significant departures from the current mode. - Ability to conceptualize - Creativity, innovation, change - Risk-taking B. Managing People and Tasks: Accomplishing the tasks at hand by planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling both resources and people - Coordinating - Decision-making - Leadership and influence - Managing conflict - Planning and organizing C.C ommunicating: Interacting effectively with a variety of individuals and groups to facilitate the gathering, integrating, and conveying of information in many forms (for example, verbal, written) - Interpersonal - Listening - Oral communication - Written communication D. Managing Self: Constantly developing practices and internalizing routines for maximizing one’s ability to deal with the uncertainty of an ever-changing environment - Learning - Personal organization and time management - Personal strengths - Problem-solving and analytic

Information Core Competencies INFORMATIONINFORMATION Identify Locate Access Evaluate Apply

5 Library Role

Information Competencies (American Asocciation School Libraries) ”Information users should have both information-gathering strategies and the critical thinking skills to select, discard, synthesize, and present information in new ways to solve real-life problems.”

Information Literacy Actors  Parents  Teachers  Professors  Librarians/Information Professionals  Managers

The Librarians´ Role  Librarians provide essential expertise: Access to information, Selection of information resources, and Facilitating the use of information in learning process  Librarians and information specialists´ new roles: Knowledge facilitator Instructional facilitators

Libraries´ Role in Information Literacy  Libraries´ new paradigm is to prepare users to know and to be able to do  Libraries have the leading position of focusing on learning Libraries are knowledge repositories and offer a wealth of information  Libraries should be learning-centered institutions  Libraries are or ought to be information literacy centers  Libraries ought to be: An extension of the classroom Integrated into the curriculum Providing opportunities and resources to students´ inquiry process

Cancún: An Example of the Importance of Information.

Conclusions  The North-South knowledge gaps can be bridged by information competencies  Individuals of all ages need information literacy competencies  Good decisions are based on good information  Education needs pedagogical changes in developing countries  Librarians are information experts who can advocate information development in Southern countries