What is Information and Digital Literacy?
Information and Digital Literacy (IDL) is teaching delivered by librarians, underpinned by an IDL curriculum. It is defined as “a continuum of skills, competencies, behaviours and attitudes” and encompasses learning, scholarship, being an informed citizen and lifelong learner.
Information and Digital Literacy content is integrated into academic courses across 91桃色 in cooperation with course teams and is aligned with 91桃色's Learning and Teaching Strategy. Content encompasses teaching within the Graduate School Professional Development Programme and a series of elective workshops. We also provide support for researchers through our Scholarly Communications Management Team. Our NHS offer presents IDL as it relates to workplace realities.
Library Services' Learning and Teaching Strategy
This strategy addresses all aspects of teaching that Library Services undertakes. It is delivered across all taught programmes in collaboration with course teams. It was written in consultation with Library Services teams and was finalised in November 2023.
Our Information and Digital Literacy framework
Our Information and Digital Literacy framework incorporates generative artificial intelligence (AI) and consists of six categories of competencies with examples of associated skills:
Sections
- 1. Searching for information
- 2. Critical evaluation of information聽
- 3. Ethical use of information聽
- 4. Creating and communicating information聽
- 5. Discipline-specific management of information聽
- 6. Understanding the AI environment聽
- Identify appropriate sources of information for academic and other uses
- Develop an appropriate research question
- Construct efficient search strategies using keywords, subject headings and appropriate search functions (e.g. Boolean operators, truncation)
- Refine search strategies to optimise results
- Apply effective search strategies appropriate for a range of tools (e.g. databases, generative AI tools)
- Evaluate information sources for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, reliability and purpose
- Consider the strengths and weaknesses of different sources and types of information
- Evaluate source materials relevant to a wider debate
- Understand when to apply appropriate reading strategies including skimming, scanning and deep reading
- Transfer the skills of critical evaluation and deploying information to daily life
- Understand how to avoid plagiarism, deliberate or inadvertent
- Use correct academic practice in quoting, referencing, citing and paraphrasing
- Understand how copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR) issues impact your work
- Understand ethical and legal sharing and use of information
- Understand key ethical issues surrounding use of AI for academic work
- Develop a level of rigour with academic and scientific writing
- Use evidence to justify and articulate a position
- Appropriately develop the structure and content of academic outputs (e.g. reports, essays, posters, literature reviews)
- Understand open research principles and dissemination practices in scholarly communications
- Manage your online identity and understand digital footprints
- Identify discipline-specific information sources and develop strategies for their use
- Understand ways in which knowledge is organised
- Understand use of language, terms and academic idiom in the discipline
- Critically understand and recognise what constitutes expert knowledge
- Use information appropriately to articulate and analyse problems
- Recognise when you are using AI
- Select and use generative AI tools critically
- Make informed decisions about using AI for academic work
- Understand ethical issues related to generative AI including bias, privacy, misinformation, transparency and copyright
- Determine if generative AI outputs are accurate and relevant
- Apply principles of prompt engineering to produce optimal outputs
Our Information and Digital Literacy offer consists of a framework underpinned by . The framework encompasses the support we provide for students and staff, including academic staff and researchers.
What we support
- Teaching within taught courses - this is underpinned by 91桃色's Learning and Teaching Strategy and Curriculum Review processes, in collaboration with course teams.
- Subject Support - each taught course has a dedicated Subject Librarian, providing a formal link between Library Services and each academic department.
- Reference management - Library Services provides referencing and citation support across all taught courses.
- Plagiarism Awareness - each taught course has formal plagiarism awareness instruction delivered by Library Services teams, in accordance with university policies for Plagiarism and Academic Integrity.
- Generative AI guidance - Library Services provides guidance for referencing and acknowledgment of Generative AI sources in accordance with university and departmental policies.
The teams
Meet the team
-
Ruth Harrison
/prod01/channel_3/media/images/non-standard-dimensions/Ruth-Harrison_400X400.jpg)
About Ruth
Ruth is responsible for strategic management of the Library Services education and research support programmes.
-
Coco Nijhoff
/prod01/channel_3/media/images/non-standard-dimensions/Coco-headshot_400X400.jpg)
About Coco
Coco provides pedagogical expertise and guidance to Library Services teams who teach in alignment with 91桃色's Learning and Teaching Strategy.
-
On Ki Choi
/prod01/channel_3/media/images/non-standard-dimensions/OKC2_400X400.jpg)
About On Ki
On Ki is Library Services' Learning Technologist. She provides expertise in the application of educational technology for learning and teaching, embedding learning design principles across the Library’s teaching programmes.
-
Heather Lincoln
/prod01/channel_3/media/images/non-standard-dimensions/Heather-Lincoln_400X400.jpg)
About Heather
Heather supports Library Services’ information and digital literacy programmes, coordinates teaching activities and works with library teams on specific projects.
Teaching is delivered by and other library staff.