INFORMATION LITERACY IN COLLEGE LIBRARY

The concept of Information Literacy is not foreign to a library environment. User education programme has been there in libraries since 1960’s to instruct users how to make the best possible use of library resources, services and facilities. There is a significant relationship between user education and information literacy. User education results in information literacy. That is, the training/instruction which users received through user education programme results in their information literacy. User education is the means of making library users information literate. The user education programme should expand its dimensions and instruct users to develop information seeking skills and prepare them to use information effectively in any circumstances. A successful user education programme eventually develops information awareness and information capacity. Information awareness refers to the sensitivity of information and information capacity refers to ability to access information, process information, absorb information and create new information.

Various organization are engaged in formulating IL model at various level and many institutions also engaged in delivering IL programmes in varied forms and formats. Research and Development Division at Educational Testing Service, New Jersey has came to the conclusion with seven preference areas to being information literacy in digital environment, i.e. Define, Access, Evaluate, Manage, Integrate, Create and Communicate.

Digital India Initiatives a flagship programme of the Govt of India started on 2nd July, 2015 with a vision to transform India into a digally empowered society and knowledge economy. It aims to promote digital literacy along with other objectives. Directorate of Higher Education in Assam issued a circular to all the Govt and Private college to implement Digital Literacy Training under Digital India Initiatives . National Digital Literacy Mission(NDLM) will initiate the programme with a One Day Workshop programme. Such initiatives cannot be undertaken as a alternate to Information Literacy. Information Literacy has a larger significance and has the ability to accelerate one’s personal and professional life.

The College Development Council (CDC) of Dibrugarh University gave a directional notice to the college authorities to incorporate library user instructional classes in college routine from the year 2014.

The concept of user education is quite interesting and innovative ideas are coming out as the result of various researches conducted globally. ACRL has adopted a framework on Information Literacy in 11th February, 2016 which opens the way for librarians, faculty, and other institutional partners to redesign instruction session, course and even curriculum. It encourages implementing Information Literacy programme in formal education system and encourages librarians to work with faculty, college/university curriculum committee, instructional designers, teaching and learning departments and others to design Information Literacy programme in a holistic way.

College Libraries have long been engaged in training and educating their users in the process of effective library use. Terms such as user education, computer instruction, library instruction, bibliographic instruction have been used to indicate the process of helping users how to use library, how to access and pick information and familiarizing various bibliographic tools. To provide more ease in this process