Abstract
In May 2022, I started as scientific information specialist for student’s digital literacy at the library of Maastricht University (UM). At UM Library, we understand digital literacy as not only knowing the technical aspects, but also having a critical and conscious attitude towards them (Becker, 2018). Although I am aware of theoretical debates whether one literacy is part of the other (Tuominen et al., 2005), or the other way around (JISC, 2022; Vuorikari et al., 2022), I will leave this discussion for elsewhere and will focus on the complementary (Cordell, 2013) and practical aspects that I combine in my teaching.
Even before the hype of ChatGPT and the rise of AI tools, has there been a link between information literacy and digital literacy (see for example: Becker, 2018; Cordell, 2013). Probably like many of you, at Maastricht University Library, we have been looking with great interest on how AI tools develop and how our institutions deal with these. Generative AI is developing fast and affects (higher) education; especially the assessment of written papers is considered a challenge. However, dealing with AI in a responsible way is an important aspect where academic libraries can play a role (Michalak, 2023).
At the library in Maastricht, we also realised that the development of AI tools requires linking information literacy and digital literacy. In this presentation, I will share my wider experiences and the challenges I encountered in my position as digital literacy expert in a University Library over the past year, and how I dealt with these in my teaching. As a specific case, I will share one of my teaching examples, where I took an information literacy session on plagiarism and included digital literacy elements: the use of AI tools. I started with an existing frame of an information literacy workshop on plagiarism, where students first get to guess whether a certain case is plagiarism and later they get to see what plagiarism entails and how to prevent it, and included the use of AI tools, mainly ChatGPT. Here the complementary aspects were leading, such as scientific integrity, transparency, and referencing of AI tools.
By providing this example, I want to stimulate your thinking on how you can go beyond the theoretical debate and give some tips on how to connect information- and digital literacy in your teaching material and sessions. I will also provide a quick glimpse into our future plans, where we will also combine digital and information literacy, by experimenting with the use of AI tools for other aspects of our information literacy programme, such as resource discovery. At the end of the presentation, I would like to invite the audience to share their experiences and provide feedback.
References
Becker, B. W. (2018). Information Literacy in the Digital Age: Myths and Principles of Digital Literacy. School of Information Student Research Journal, 7(2). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31979/2575-2499.070202
Cordell, R. M. (2013). Information Literacy and Digital Literacy: Competing or Complementary? Communications in Information Literacy, 7(2), 177-183. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2013.7.2.150
JISC. (2022). Building digital capabilities framework. https://repository.jisc.ac.uk/8846/1/2022_Jisc_BDC_Individual_Framework.pdf
Michalak, R. (2023). From Ethics to Execution: The Role of Academic Librarians in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy-Making at Colleges and Universities. Journal of Library Administration, 63(7), 928-938. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2023.2262367
Tuominen, K., Savolainen, R., & Talja, S. (2005). Information Literacy as a Sociotechnical Practice. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 75(3), 329-345. https://doi.org/10.1086/497311
Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S., & Punie, Y. (2022). DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens - With new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2760/490274
