CDNLAO Newsletter
No. 75, November 2012
UNESCO's Information for All Programme (IFAP), based on Alexandria Declaration of 2005, defined media and information literacy as the capacity of people to recognise their information needs; locate and evaluate the quality of information; store and retrieve information; make effective and ethical use of information and apply information to create and communicate knowledge. Over the years, the concept has become increasingly important, especially with the explosion of information and new media emerging in this era of globalization.
UNESCO sees media and information literacy as necessary to the teaching and learning process to empower citizens with essential knowledge about media functions and information sources, the role media and information play in democratic societies, and how citizens can evaluate performance of their media and information systems in light of the expected roles.
Thus, libraries in Malaysia need to keep pace with information literacy initiatives that are underway worldwide. Stakeholders who are directly and indirectly involved with information literacy programs in Malaysia must come together in order to determine the direction we must take with regards to media and information literacy. However, at the present moment, there is no coordinated National Media and Information Framework in Malaysia. Hence, in order to achieve a knowledge society as envision in our vision 2020, there is a need to formulate a National Media and Information Literacy Agenda or NMILA, which could be used to plan, implement and evaluate information literacy programs. NMILA will be able to provide a framework that will include the principles, standards and practices that will support media and information literacy education in all sectors.
This was achieved through a Training of Trainers Workshop on Media and Information Literacy conducted by the National Library of Malaysia. The National Library of Malaysia (NLM) was given a grant of RM 20,000 (USD 6,000) from the Malaysia National Commission on United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to conduct the Training of Trainers Workshop on Media and Information Literacy for librarians in Malaysia from the 22-24 November 2011.
Deputy Director General, National Library of Malaysia delivering the Opening Speech during the Training of Trainers Workshop on Media and Information Literacy held at the National Library of Malaysia, 22-24 November 2012
Thirty (30) librarians from various types of libraries in Malaysia attended the workshop held at the National Library of Malaysia. Among the objectives of the workshop are:
- (a) To understand the concept of media and information literacy and lifelong learning;
- (b) To apply media and information literacy concepts and skills in their professional practice aiming at the users they served;
- (c) To develop media and information literacy content and syllabus for information literacy courses; and
- (d) To formulate a National Media and Information Literacy Agenda
Librarians from various libraries in Malaysia attended Workshop
The workshop was conducted by an Associate Professor from a local university who is an expert in Information Literacy. Among the topics covered in this workshop include overview of concepts, relevance of Information Literacy; overview of Information Literacy development in the United States, Australia and Malaysia; Information Literacy Models/ Search Process Model; Identifying Information Literacy Skills, Matching Information Literacy Skills with Information Literacy Behavior and Search Process Models; Policies and Standards for Information Literacy and Identification of Information Literacy skills/ Developing Information Literacy modules.
At the completion of the workshop, participants were able to acquire the basic skills, competencies and attitudes for the teaching of media and information literacy. Participants were also able to use the knowledge and skills acquired through the workshop to develop public and students' skills in using media and library resources as tools for research and learning at their respective libraries.
The Media and Information Literacy Module which is divided into basic, intermediate and advanced level was launched in December 2011 by the Deputy Minister of Information Communication and Culture, Malaysia. The modules are now being used by the National Library of Malaysia to conduct its Media and Information Workshop to the various communities in Malaysia.
Front Cover of Media and Information Literacy Module National Library of Malaysia
Copyright (C) 2012 National Library of Malaysia
