Information Literacy for your PolyU Curriculum

What Is Information Literacy?

Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information.”

Chicago: American Library Association, 1989
 

Why is Information Literacy Important to Our Students?

Information Literacy (IL) is recognized internationally as an essential competence for effective participation in education, employment and society. By helping students to develop IL skills, we are preparing them to think critically, use information effectively for their academic, professional and personal lives, and access and use information ethically and legally.

An information literate person is able to:

  • recognise the need for information and determine the nature and extent of the information needed
  • find information effectively and efficiently
  • critically evaluate information and the information seeking process
  • manage information
  • apply prior and new information to create new understandings
  • use information with understanding and acknowledge cultural, ethical, economic, legal, and social implications
 

Milestone

Oct 2000 Topical Library Workshops introduced to the PolyU community.
Oct 2001 Collaborating with Department of Building and Real Estate, an online programme delivered via the WebCT platform as part of the programme of MSc/PgD in Project Management: Research & Consultancy Techniques was started in Oct 2001.
Dec 2002 Online Information Literacy Programme available to all users.
Sep 2003 Information Literacy Certificate Programme of Library workshops launched.
Sep 2004 Trilingual virtual orientation programmes available to all users.
Oct 2008 Launched of the Research Series of Topical Library Workshops.
Feb 2009 A proposal “Pao Yue-kong Library and Information Literacy of PolyU: Working Toward a Curricula” was delivered at the meeting of the Learning and Teaching Committee in Feb 2009. LTC was supportive to the idea of helping students to develop their IL skills, and recommended the Library to approach the Faculties, Schools and Departments for further collaborations.
Apr 2010 Starting Apr 2010, the Library delivers one module of the Compulsory Subject on Research Ethics for all Research Postgraduate Students.
Sep 2010 A new information literacy package was prepared for the Extended Common Orientation Programme (ECOP) for first year students.
Sep 2011 Two new Teaching and Learning Labs with flexible layouts and central AV control systems are available in the Research Enhancement Centre for the conduction of classes and various user education activities.
Oct 2012 Students' topical workshops attendance will be acknowledged as an achievement – those who have attended 3 workshops within an academic year, their participation will be recorded in the Co-curricular Achievement Transcript (CAT) issued by the Student Affairs Office of the PolyU.
Oct 2013 In order to explore the proficiency of our students in the use of information, the Library engaged in the Project SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) International Cohort Assessment Beta Test in 2013. The results of the test will help the Library to develop programmes which can further enhance the IL skills essential to students' studies and research.
Feb 2015 Proposal for the joint project of 8 university libraries led by the PolyU “Enhancing information literacy in Hong Kong higher education through the development and implementation of shared interactive multimedia courseware” successfully received funding support by the University Grants Committee of the HKSAR.
Feb 2018  The shared interactive multimedia IL courseware on MOOC “InfoLit for U” developed by the UGC T&L Project on Information Literacy officially launched.