Web 2.0 and Critical Information Literacy

Abstract

The Future Voices in Public Services column is a forum for students in graduate library and information science programs to discuss key issues they see in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to tell us of their visions for the profession, or to tell us of research that is going on in library schools. We hope to provide fresh perspectives from those entering our field, in both the United States and other countries. Interested faculty of graduate library and information science programs who would like their students’ ideas represented in these pages are invited to contact Nancy H. Dewald at nxd7@psu.edu. Michelle Dunaway is a student in the School of Information Sciences (the iSchool) at the University of Pittsburgh. Whereas Web 2.0 technologies and tools are already being used to facilitate traditional information literacy instruction, in this essay, she discusses going beyond this to engage students in critical information literacy that helps them to recognize political and social aspects of the creation of information. The School of Information Sciences (the iSchool) at the University of Pittsburgh educates the professionals who will lead society through the Information Age: librarians, knowledge managers, archivists/records managers, and digital-content managers. The iSchool offers graduate degree programs and specializations in Library & Information Science that prepare students for lifetime careers in this critical profession. The MLIS degree program, offered online and on-campus, is accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). From the faculty who drive the iSchool's reputation as a top-tier research university to course work, which is highly relevant to a field that is always changing, the iSchool offers the right environment to prepare individuals for successful and challenging careers in the library and information science field. *****