Information Literacy, Work, and Knowledge Creation: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Point of View

Abstract

This theoretical article examines the conceptual premises of the research and practice of information literacy (IL) in the workplace in relation to research on knowledge creation in the field of knowledge management. As with education more generally, IL should prepare students for life after formal schooling ends. How can we make the leap, though, from IL in the educational context to successful participation in an information-rich work environment? A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of IL and knowledge creation presents IL as a way of being able to sense, live, and be in the world with an open and dialogic attitude. This approach might offer some clues that bridge IL in the two environments while extending IL practices in the Association of College and Research Libraries “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.” As such, the study builds on the understanding of IL and knowledge creation as situated, experiential, and collective phenomena.