An introduction to QR Codes: linking libraries and mobile patrons

QR codes, or "Quick Response" codes, are two-dimensional barcodes that can be scanned by mobile smartphone cameras. These codes can be used to provide fast access to URLs, telephone numbers, and short passages of text. With the rapid adoption of smartphones, librarians are able to use QR codes to promote services and help library users find materials quickly and independently. This article will explain what QR codes are, discuss how they can be used in the library, and describe issues surrounding their use. A list of resources for generating and scanning QR codes is also provided.     

A two-year experience teaching computer literacy to first-year medical students using skill-based cohorts

Because it is widely accepted that providing information online will play a major role in both the teaching and practice of medicine in the near future, a short formal course of instruction in computer skills was proposed for the incoming class of students entering medical school at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The syllabus was developed on the basis of a set of expected outcomes, which was accepted by the dean of medicine and the curriculum committee for classes beginning in the fall of 1997. Prior to their arrival, students were asked to complete a self-assessment survey designed to elucidate their initial skill base; the returned surveys showed students to have computer skills ranging from complete novice to that of a systems engineer. The classes were taught during the first three weeks of the semester to groups of students separated on the basis of their knowledge of and comfort with computers. Areas covered included computer basics, e-mail management, MEDLINE, and Internet search tools. Each student received seven hours of hands-on training followed by a test. The syllabus and emphasis of the classes were tailored to the initial skill base but the final test was given at the same level to all students. Student participation, test scores, and course evaluations indicated that this noncredit program was successful in achieving an acceptable level of comfort in using a computer for almost all of the student body.     

Teaching students about information: Information literacy and cognitive authority

Scholarship has not undergone a paradigm shift in terms of argument and research with the introduction of the Web-based information world. Searching, on the other hand, has undergone a significant shift. In teaching students to find, use, and evaluate information, librarians and instructors need a useful model of the information world that enables them to teach students about information. A practical example of how this may be accomplished is presented.¹     

Using collaborative teaching and inquiry project-based learning to help primary school students develop information literacy and information skills

Information literacy and information technology (IT) skills have become increasingly important in today's knowledge society. Many studies have shown that students from primary school to postgraduate lack crucial information literacy and IT skills, hence there is a need for an effective pedagogical approach that will develop these skills. This study investigated the effect of combining a collaborative teaching approach with inquiry project-based learning (PjBL) on the development of primary students' information literacy and IT skills. Students in a Hong Kong primary school completed two inquiry-based group projects. A collaborative teaching approach involving three teachers in different subject areas (general studies, Chinese, and IT) and the school librarian was adopted in guiding students through the two projects. Results indicate that this program had a positive impact of on the development of different dimensions of the students' information literacy and IT skills.     

The Virtual Naval Hospital: the digital library as knowledge management tool for nomadic patrons.

OBJECTIVE: To meet the information needs of isolated primary care providers and their patients in the US Navy, a digital health sciences library, the Virtual Naval Hospital, was created through a unique partnership between academia and government. METHODS: The creation of the digital library was heavily influenced by the principles of user-centered design and made allowances for the nomadic nature of the digital library's patrons and the heterogeneous access they have to Internet bandwidth. RESULTS: The result is a digital library that has been in operation since 1997, continues to expand in size, is heavily used, and is highly regarded by its patrons. CONCLUSIONS: The digital library is dedicated to delivering the right information at the right time to the right person so the right decision can be made, and therefore the Virtual Naval Hospital functions as a knowledge-management system for the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.     

Evaluating information literacy educators' practices before and after the course facilitating information literacy education: from tutor to learner-centred

Objective: The article gives an account of a study on the impact of facilitating information literacy education (FILE) on its participants, health librarians who have attended this course between 2007 and 2010. Methods: The analysis presented here is based on the first stage of the research, funded by the Higher Education Academy Information and Computer Sciences and consisting of an online survey. This survey was conducted in Autumn 2010 and examined the respondents’ examples of information literacy practice before and after FILE. Results and conclusion: Two main outcomes can be drawn from the data. First, that overall the respondents’ provision of information literacy education has shifted from a tutor‐centred approach (where the trainer decides what the learner needs) to a learner‐centred approach (where the learner decides what he/she needs). And secondly, that the impact of FILE should be seen in terms of a self‐perpetuating professional development, rather than measured in terms of specific changes that occur at set times (e.g., at the end of the course or 6 months after completion). As one FILE participant puts it: ‘When FILE ends your career as an information literacy professional starts.’     

Microcomputer systems: what to look for and where to go for help*

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Health literacy for older adults: using evidence to build a model educational program

HeLP MN Seniors was a pilot program aimed at developing an evidence-based educational program to improve health literacy/health information literacy skills in older adults. A two-part workshop series was created and a pilot test was conducted with residents of a senior living community. After attending the pilot workshops, older adults reported that they used several workshop tools and tips, were more empowered to ask questions, and were more successful in finding online health information. Based upon evidence gathered through formal program evaluation, the pilot curriculum was further customized and developed into a model educational program that has been made available for use by others.     

The peritextual literacy framework: Using the functions of peritext to support critical thinking

The peritextual literacy framework (PLF) is a tool for accessing, evaluating, and comprehending the content of media using elements that frame the body of a work and mediate its content for the user. Paratextual elements are the focus of research in classification, bibliometrics, reader’s advisory work, and in studies of authorship and publication. However, paratextual theory is just beginning to be acknowledged in LIS. The PLF closes a gap in paratext theory by categorizing the functions of peritext into six types: production, promotional, navigational, intratextual, supplemental, and documentary. The PLF is unique that it provides both a framework for further research on peritext, as well as a pedagogical tool that supports teaching in the areas of information literacy, media literacy and analysis, critical thinking, reading, and media design and production.     

An index to medical book reviews: a computer experiment

The experimental production of an index to book reviews of medical publications is described. Details of compilation and preparation of data for processing by an IBM 1440 computer are outlined. Results of a survey testing the response to the index in its present form by medical libraries are presented.     

从媒介使用到媒介参与:中国公众媒介素养的基本现状

本研究聚焦媒介素养的两个维度——媒介信息处理能力和媒介参与意向,探讨个体政治认知、人际讨论模式、媒介使用、媒介评价和媒介参与功效意识对它们的影响。在对四城市2409名市民随机面访调查的基础上,研究发现:公民的政治与公共事务兴趣和开放型的人际讨论模式对媒介素养的两个维度均有显著的正面影响,网络新闻和海外媒介的使用对媒介信息处理能力有重要贡献,媒介评价和媒介参与功效意识正向影响公众的媒介参与意向,而更高的媒介信息处理能力也预示着更高的媒介参与意向。     

Teaching MEDLINE to non-urban end users.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) Library conducted a two-year program, funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), to teach Oklahoma's nonurban health professionals to perform searches of NLM's MEDLINE files using microcomputers. The training program included lectures, online demonstrations, and hands-on practice time. The initial target audience of non-urban physicians was later broadended to include other health professionals. Data collected on the 334 seminar participants included professions and specialties, previous microcomputer usage, and the size of their hospitals. On-site evaluation indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the trainers' communication skills, preparation, information imparted, and the visual aids used. The results of a follow-up survey to determine how many trainees subsequently obtained NLM codes, the amount of searching done, and the problems experienced await analysis.     

Time to rethink the role of the library in educating doctors: driving information literacy in the clinical environment

Question:

Can information literacy (IL) be embedded into the curriculum and clinical environment to facilitate patient care and lifelong learning?

Setting:

The Australian School of Advanced Medicine (ASAM) provides competence-based programs incorporating patient-centred care and lifelong learning. ASAM librarians use outcomes-based educational theory to embed and assess IL into ASAM''s educational and clinical environments.

Methods:

A competence-based IL program was developed where learning outcomes were linked to current patients and assessed with checklists. Weekly case presentations included clinicians'' literature search strategies, results, and conclusions. Librarians provided support to clinicians'' literature searches and assessed their presentations using a checklist.

Main Results:

Outcome data showed clinicians'' searching skills improved over time; however, advanced MEDLINE searching remained challenging for some. Recommendations are provided.

Conclusion:

IL learning that takes place in context using measurable outcomes is more meaningful, is enduring, and likely contributes to patient care. Competence-based assessment drives learning in this environment.     

Following the red thread of information in information literacy research: Recovering local knowledge through interview to the double

To understand a complex social practice such as workplace information literacy and capture the nonnormative and nuanced local knowledges that are specific to the performance in a setting, requires that additional tools be added to information literacy researchers' methodological toolbox. One such tool, interview to the double (ITTD), is introduced and explored through a study that focused on understanding how aged-care workers developed their understanding of safety in the workplace. The addition of the ITTD technique was to recover local knowledges that are present in the daily routines of workers or available only at the moment of practice. The ITTD technique is described and its potential and limitations are also considered in relation to information literacy research.