The Media and Information Literacy Community of Practice
According to UNESCO, media and information literacy provides answers to questions that we all might ask ourselves at some point. How can we access, search, critically assess, use and contribute content wisely, both online and offline? What are our rights online and offline? What are the ethical issues surrounding the access and use of information? How can we engage with media and ICTs to promote equality, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, peace, freedom of expression and access to information?
The Media and Information Literacy Community of Practice is a collective of people and organisations working together to highlight the importance of media and information literacy skills and the role that library and information staff in Scotland can play in delivering them.
Media and Information literacy are cornerstones of learning and essential in this digital age. They support learning and decision making in all areas of human activity: education from early years through school to higher education, the workplace, adult and lifelong learning and skills development. It supports people to make informed choices about health care, to develop new skills both professionally and personally, and it gives citizens the information they need to make informed decisions about the future of their country.
The Community of Practice is open to everyone both within and outside the information profession, primarily based in Scotland but also beyond. It is for anyone who is interested in media and/or information literacy and associated skills and competencies.
This website acts as an archive of material gathered by the former Information Literacy Community of Practice (2012-2023) and the Scottish Information Literacy Project (pre 2012). It will also act as a place for new posts and resources created by the community.
Definition of Information Literacy
Information literacy is comprehensively explained in CILIP’s 2018 definition, which states that information literacy is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information that we find and use. It empowers people as citizens to develop informed views and to engage fully with society. The definition goes on to stress that information literacy incorporates a set of skills and abilities which everyone needs to undertake information-related tasks; for instance, how to discover, access, interpret, analyse, manage, create, communicate, store and share information. Even more than that, information literacy concerns the application of the competencies, attributes and confidence needed to make the best use of information and to interpret it judiciously. It also incorporates critical thinking and awareness, and an understanding of both the ethical and political issues associated with using information. Importantly, the CILIP definition emphasises that information literacy applies to, and is determined by, broad lifelong contexts: education, citizenship, health, the workplace, as well as everyday life.
Definition of Media Literacy
Media literacy is explained in the UK Government’s Online Media Literacy Strategy (published in July 2021) as follows:
- an understanding of the nature and characteristics of material published by means of the electronic media
- an awareness of the impact that such material may have (for example, the impact on the behaviour of those who receive it)
- an awareness and understanding of the processes by which such material is selected or made available for publication
- an awareness of the available systems by which:
- the nature of such material may be established the reliability and accuracy of such material may be established
- personal information may be protected
- persons to whom such material is made available may control what is received
- an awareness of the uses to which the systems mentioned may be put.