3.4 Information Literacy
3.4.1 Information Literacy at the Workplace
Application of IL in the workplace context is likely to be more challenging compared to educational contexts. Williams et al. (2014) observed that, whereas information sources in educational settings comprised print and digital information, at the workplace sources of information were predominantly people, with the settings being very different from institutional ones.
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A key study on IL at the workplace was undertaken by Christine Bruce in Ausralia (Bruce, 1999). Bruce used the Seven Faces of information literacy as a framework to investigate information experience of IL among various types of professionals. Findings revealed that workers experienced IL in seven ways that were closely related to their work processes, including scanning the environment to find and be aware of what was happening around them, provision of internal and external information resources and services, information processing, corporate memory, information and records management, research and development and professional ethics and codes of conduct. The study established that IL has a key role to play in organizational processes and is also an important characteristic of 21st century employees.
Awareness of the importance of information by individual employees and the organization will help organizations prioritize information in planning and budgeting processes.
Similar realizations of the place of IL beyond the academic setting are evident in Europe, Australia, Singapore and South Africa, where IL is considered economically necessary (Cheuk, 2002:1). In a paper presented at the Australian Library and Information Association, Special Health and Law Libraries Conference, in August 2001, O’Sullivan (2002) presented information literacy skills as a solution to the information overload. Her study concluded that, while the important role of IL in a knowledge-based economy cannot be overemphasized, IL is poorly addressed, resulting in a workforce that is poorly equipped to effectively deal with information at their workplaces.
Cheuk (1998) investigated auditors’ experiences of seeking and using information at their workplace in Singapore. Applying an in-depth case study approach, the findings revealed that for an employee to be information literate, searching data and finding it must translate to useful information to answer specific questions from their roles and tasks at work. The study revealed the need to introduce employees to possible sources of information for their particular areas of work and strategies for retrieving them.
A study by Grieves (1998) compared several studies in the UK and Canada on the use of information in decision-making at various places of work. Different groups had different accesses to information sources for comparison purposes. Findings from the study revealed that use of timely and appropriate information resulted in better decision-making, handling the
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decision-making process differently, acquisition of new knowledge, time was saved, information added a new dimension and substantiated prior knowledge. The study revealed that information positively impacted other activities, including avoiding conflict among employees or with their external environment.
The significance of information literacy to individuals and businesses is seen in their ability to keep people informed on how to get information needed from the vast quantity and quality of information that is in different formats for their daily information needs (ALA, 2006). Irving’s (2007) study of IL in the workplace found employees’ lack of information literacy skills as one of the main difficulties in handling the vast amounts of information in different formats.
Although he found this as varying from one profession to another, similar findings had earlier been documented in Bruce’s (1999) study. The American Library Association concludes that information literacy, therefore, is a means of personal empowerment that allows people to verify or refute expert opinion and to become independent seekers of truth. The study further revealed that information literacy is central to the practice of democracy, because it enables citizens to recognize propaganda, distortion of facts and other abuses of information and statistics (ALA, 2006). The United States House of Representatives member from New York, Major R. Owens, said: “Information literacy is needed to guarantee the survival of democratic institutions.” He added that voters with information resources are in a position to make more intelligent decisions than citizens who are information illiterate (Owens, 1976:27).
Moreover, the corporate world embraced IL when Drucker (1992), the management expert, observed that it was not only imperative to have information literate executives, but that companies, as well, needed to be information literate. Questions to be asked by businesses include the type of information needed, when it is needed, the format in which it is needed and where to find it. Drucker felt that although information was an organization’s main tool, it did not receive the attention it deserved, with many employees unable to use it effectively (Drucker, 1993). Rockman (2004) stated that a shift to knowledge-based economy calls for IL skills for workers on a daily basis. They need to be able to locate relevant information, critically analyse and access its value and authority and use it legally and ethically. He observed that lack of this can negatively affect a business and make it less competitive in the national and world economic environments. Foreman and Thomson (2009) investigated IL in
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the Scottish government. The results revealed that IL was a critical skill needed by government staff for decision-making. This required training in information skills for accessing, critical thinking and evaluation of sources of information.
This section has attempted to demonstrate that information literacy is no longer a preserve of an educational institution setting, but has attracted more attention in the workplace and continues to do so (Kirk, 2004). IL at the workplace can increase productivity by saving time and wastage in the line of production and improving the quality of decisions and communication among employees and their external environment and by increasing access to quality and reliable information.