AARL

Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL): new body to champion information literacy

Can you remember when you first started reading and thinking about information literacy? My engagement with information literacy began in 1992 when that well-known information advocate Alan Bundy asked me to organise the first national information literacy conference. I must confess that prior to this I equated information literacy with how to find information in the library. I suspect that I wasn't the only one. In the early nineties many academic librarians had a very simplistic and narrow conceptual understanding of information literacy. Very few were concerned with

• the need for research into the impact of information literacy on learning outcomes
• professional development programs for practitioners facilitating information literacy
• networks for sharing information about information literacy initiatives
• implications of the teaching role of librarians for generalist librarianship awards.

The drive for the formation of ANZIIL

A decade later many academic librarians are reconceptualising their educative role, examining the value they contribute to teaching and learning and using technological innovations and changes in pedagogy as leverage for creating new alliances with academics. The drive for the formation of ANZIIL comes at a time when:

• higher education is challenged to transform its approaches to teaching and learning by addressing the pervasive impact of information technology and the immediacy of exposure to information
• involvement of librarians in the educational process is increasing
• changes in the philosophy of education and workplace expectations have defined information literacy as the critical underpinning for lifelong learning and identified it as an important graduate quality.

Where did the idea come from?

Diana Kingston (University of Sydney) first proposed the idea of an Australian Information Literacy Institute at the Fourth National Information Literacy Conference. Her proposal drew heavily on the model of the US Institute for Information Literacy sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries. The US Institute has three basic goals, to:

• prepare librarians to become effective teachers in information literacy programs
• support librarians, other educators and administrators in playing a leadership role in the development and implementation of information literacy programs
• forge new relationships throughout the educational community to work towards information literacy curriculum development.

The Kingston proposal was presented to the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) in 1999 but was not acted upon. A year later Alan Bundy, university librarian, University of South Australia, progressed the idea of an Institute for Information Literacy at the CAUL Information Literacy Standards workshop at which Australian and New Zealand universities were represented along with schools, TAFE, the Council of Australian State Libraries (CASL) and ALIA. There was a general consensus from the workshop that an Institute, which would contribute to the national information literacy agenda by addressing the development of information literacy in education, was educationally, professionally and politically desirable. The University of South Australia Library offered to host the Institute for the first three years and provide seeding funds.

What will ANZIIL do?

The mission of ANZIIL is to support organisations, institutions and individuals in the promotion of information literacy and, in particular, the embedding of information literacy within the total educational process. The ways in which ANZIIL can achieve this mission is by the identification, facilitation, fostering and support of best practice in information literacy education through professional development, promotion, marketing and advocacy, and research.

ANZIIL's activities and initiatives will primarily target vocational and higher education. It is intended that the Institute will collaborate with a range of national and international organisations, forums and groups to complement their existing information literacy aims, objectives and initiatives. In particular, ANZIIL will work closely with CAUL, the Council of New Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), NWGTLS (National Working Group for TAFE Library Services) and Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA).

A brainstorming session during the first annual meeting of the ANZIIL Advisory Group identified numerous potential activities, including:

• delivery and coordination of an ANZIIL Immersion Program
• provision of seminars and workshops
• coordination and mediation of mentoring and/or internships
• establishment of recognition/award programs
• continuous review and maintenance of the CAUL Information Literacy Standards
• establishment of quality assurance processes
• identification of key research areas for future consideration
• facilitation of publication of information literacy related research and practice.

I welcome further suggestions.

What is ANZIIL's structure?

The Institute's structure has four components

• Executive committee - four members elected by the Institute (Margaret Appleton, Central Qld Uni Library; Vicki Darling, University of Otago Library; Dee Gillespie, RMIT Library; Linden Fairbairn, Fisher Library, University of Sydney) plus a representative of the host institution - Irene Doskatsch, chair
• Advisory Group - Executive committee plus eight members (Diana Kingston, University of Sydney Dentistry Library; Cathy Robertson, Northern Territory University Library; Prue Mercer, ALIA Information Literacy Forum; Judy Peacock, QUT Library; Chris Van Eijk/Patrick Tooth, University of Technology, Sydney; Theresa Graham, University of Canterbury Library; Merrilee Albatis, Murdoch University Library; Debbie Orr, Central Qld Uni Library; and Helena Zobec, CIT Library). The Advisory Group members are professionals who have demonstrated wide experience in the facilitation of information literacy and commitment to the vision proposed by ANZIIL
• Working parties based on ANZIIL goals - Professional development chaired by Judy Peacock; Research chaired by Margaret Appleton; Promotion, Marketing and Advocacy: there is a vacancy for a chairperson
• Institute members - institutional membership will be available from 2003.

The first tasks of the executive committee and working parties include, respectively, developing formal governance structures and working party action plans.

At the first national conference on information literacy held in Adelaide in 1992 Australian and New Zealand librarians looked towards the United States to learn about best practice in information literacy education. A decade later northern hemisphere librarians laud Australasia's contribution to the advancement of information literacy. Outstanding contributions include:

• Christine Bruce's award winning book The Seven Faces of Information Literacy
• The publication of Information Literacy around the World edited by Candy and Bruce
• LIANZA's National Information Strategy
• Five national conferences on information literacy
• Development of Information Literacy Standards - some claim the world's best
• ALIA Information Literacy Forum with over 500 members
• Statement on Information Literacy for all Australians.

In time ANZIIL will be added to this list!

For further information about ANZIIL contact Irene Doskatsch at the University of South Australia, telephone +61 8 83026279, e-mail: irene.doskatsch@unisa.edu.au.nospam

Irene Doskatsch
Chair, Executive Committee
ANZIIL