INTERCULTURAL PROBLEMS FOR INFORMATION LITERACY: A SYSTEMS SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE

摘要

Information literacy is a most important concept today. The information literate personrngains power through the efficiency with which he can access and use information. It isrntherefore urgent that all people are offered the opportunity to develop their informationrnliteracy to a sufficient level. To reach the majority of people that development shouldrnstart at school.rnAt school the process when the students develop information literacy is often performedrnthrough the school library. The library constitutes a culture that is different from thernteaching situation in the rest of the school. The students have adapted to the generalrnschool culture and when meeting the library culture the difference between the tworncultures may result in communication difficulties for the students that may affect theirrnpossibilities to develop their information literacy. In order to bridge over thesernintercultural problems it is necessary to establish a close cooperation between therncultures. The key persons in the two cultures are the librarian and the teacher.rnThe student, the librarian and the teacher will be part of a human activity system whichrnhas as a common goal to enhance the student’s information literacy. It is therefore ofrninterest to investigate, from the student’s perspective, how that system may influence thernstudent’s information literacy. How information literate the individual student is willrnhave an impact on how the student, the teacher and the librarian will interact during thernwhole process. From a systems science perspective that process could therefore be seenrnas cybernetic loops. Earlier experience from information seeking activities will influencernthe process and new experiences will contribute to the level of information literacy.rnIn this paper different aspects of the interaction between the student, the librarian and thernteacher are discussed. We use Checkland’s (1999) CATWOE categories as the base forrnthat discussion. A cybernetic loop in the process when the students are creatingrninformation literacy is also identified.rnOne important aspect of the interaction to develop information literacy of the students isrnInternet. That media is a powerful tool for finding information but raises questions aboutrninformation quality and the necessity to evaluate information. To be able to use the fullrnpower of Internet the students must possess a sufficient level of information literacy.rnIn the end of the discussion this paper will present communication models from arnsystems science perspective that illustrates the influence of the human activity system