Addressing New Literacies in LIS Curriculum

Abstract

Teaching new and emerging literacies is of utmost importance in LIS programs because LIS students will become the information professionals who will educate and lead patrons, students, clients, peers, and co-workers in detecting and avoiding misinformation. This poster aims to study the availability and substance of information literacy, digital literacy, and media literacy courses currently taught in ALA-accredited LIS masters programs in the United States. We will identify courses that are primarily or substantially focused on information literacy, digital literacy, and/or media literacy. Using content analysis, we plan to generate the number of courses taught in each program, their titles, descriptions, and lists of required resources, if available. Results will demonstrate how LIS programs are addressing the demand for new and emerging literacies in our curriculum in a time when these areas are of increasing consequence not only in education, but also for public life and civic engagement.