Practitioners will gain understanding of best technology trends for information literacy

–In the rapidly changing and evolving Web 2.0 environment, information literacy practitioners must struggle to find the right tools for service and the right approach to meet new expectations. In Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0, twelve experts share their wisdom and guidance on harnessing the best new Web 2.0 tools to address information literacy. Published by Facet Publishing and available from Neal-Schuman Publishers, the book is ideal for librarians wishing to better serve the needs of the born-digital generation.

“We all have to adapt to the realities of an information-saturated world, in which everyone has unprecedented access to vast quantities of content,” says editor Peter Godwin. “It is the cultural response of the generation which has grown up with the Web which is so important in driving change.”

Divided into four parts and twelve chapters, the book begins with an overview of Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, and how students and other library patrons use these tools. The book continues with a focus on how Web 2.0 tools impact information literacy in three different arenas: LIS students, school libraries, and public libraries. Finally, the book discusses and analyzes specific tools and how libraries may wish to integrate them into their services: blogs, Wikipedia, RSS feeds, podcasting YouTube, and more.

“The importance of the information-literate person being able to interpret the context of what is found, based on healthy skepticism of everything they see on the Web of the future, is critical,” says Godwin. “As understanding of this is experienced, learning occurs. In other words, we [librarians] help students to construct meaning from what they find.”

Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
ISBN 978-1-85604-637-4. 2008. 6 x 9. 188 pp. $110.00