CDNLAO Newsletter
No. 74, July 2012
Introduction
The National Information Literacy Programme (NILP) driven by the National Library Board (NLB), Singapore aims to nurture a nation of discerning users who can evaluate information in a holistic and balanced manner. NILP'S objective is to promote awareness and understanding of information literacy among Singaporeans.
To raise the awareness and create a better understanding of information literacy, the Information Literacy & Outreach (ILO) department at the NLB conducts training sessions to students, teachers, parents, public officers and senior citizens. In addition, the team also organizes conferences, road shows, and thematic workshops to educate the public on the importance and application of information literacy. Collaboration with other institutions is a cornerstone of NILP's outreach strategy. We work with government agencies and organisations on various info-literacy initiatives and programmes. Below are some examples of our collaboration work with the Ministry of Education (MOE).
Collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE)
Curriculum Support through Libguides
NLB has been working closely with the Ministry of Education, Curriculum Planning and Development Division (CPDD) for the past years. Librarians from the ILO department are attached to curriculum planning officers to provide resource and curriculum support as research assistants. In addition, the librarians also identify and recommend useful resources which are used as supplementary materials by teachers in their classroom teaching. These resources are packaged as Resource Guides (http://libguides.nl.sg/) and are accessible online.
History and Social Studies in School: A library resource guide for history educators and students
Info-Literacy Training for Students
The ILO Department works with schools and MOE to conduct info-literacy training for students to equip them with the skills to be independent, discerning users of information who can navigate the complex information environment effectively and responsibly. One recent example was the training session conducted for a group of promising Junior College students who would be selected to compete at the International Geography Olympiad in Cologne this year. The workshop included challenging brain teasing quizzes and problem-solving 'missions' on real life environmental issues.
Before the students tackled the research-related questions, they were taught skills to glean information effectively from a variety of resources. As not all sources are of equal merit, they learnt to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each and determined the validity when looking for the most useful information available.
Photographs of the students in working together and presenting information on their research-related questions.
Sharing with Pre-service Teachers at National Institute of Education
ILO librarians are also invited by the National Institute of Education (NIE) to conduct Information Literacy sharing for new and graduating pre-service teachers. Through these sharing sessions, the audience can gain new insights on what the library offers and how they can use the resources to plan and conduct their lessons in the classroom.
ILO librarians conducting the workshops for pre-service teachers
Future collaborations
Moving forward, the ILO team is working with various institutions for possible collaboration on information literacy workshops and training sessions. Be InfoSmart!, is a monthly thematic series that seeks to educate participants in various types of information literacy such as Financial Information Literacy or Health Information Literacy and will involve external speakers who are subject matter experts in their respective fields. Besides the Be InfoSmart! series, work is in progress for information literacy sessions for senior citizens. ILO team is working with the Health Promotion Board(HPB), National University of Singapore (NUS) Museum and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for potential collaboration for these sessions.
Copyright (C) 2012 the National Library Board (NLB), Singapore
