Present:

 Patricia Breivik, Chair, National Forum on Information Literacy
 Ilene Bullers, Council for Basic Education
 Krystal Bullers, EDUCAUSE
 Donna Calvert, West Virginia Library Commission
 Kathleen Craver, IASL
 Elisabeth Edwards, American Association of School Librarians
 Don Fork, U.S. Department of Education
 Diana Foster, College Board
 Craig Gibson, Association of College and Research Libraries
 Jeffrey Hale, College Board
 Don Hausrath, California Chancellor’s Office/University of Maryland College of Library and
      Information Science
 Dennis Hinkle, Association for Teacher Education
 Althea Jenkins, Association of College and Research Libraries
 Judith M. Kelly, National Council of Teachers of English
 Keith Krueger, Consortium for School Networking/Friends of the
  National Library of Medicine
 Janet Lieberman, National Council for the Social Studies
 Satia Orange, American Library Association, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services
 David Price, Chief Officers of State Library Agencies
 Robin Taylor Roth, Association for Educational Communication and Technology
 Jan Schmidt, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
 Sylvia Seidel, National Education Association
 Beverly Sheppard, Institute of Museum and Library Services
 Betsy Sywetz, Institute of Museum and Library Services
 Greta Southard, Public Library Association
 Robert Thomas, U.S. Department of Education/ERIC Program
 Julie Walker, American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians
 Geannie Wells, American Association of School Administrators
 Bob Willard, National Council on Library and Information Services
 
 

Before beginning the regular meeting, Dr. Breivik announced that two individuals would receive special awards for their work on behalf of the Forum:

--Vicki Hancock, Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (Jan Schmidt read an  acceptance  letter from Vicki)

--Michael Eisenberg, formerly of School of Information Science/ERIC Clearinghouse,
Syracuse University, now Dean of School of Library and Information Science, University of Washington (Bob Thomas of the ERIC Clearinghouse received award on behalf of Michael)
 

I. Discussion topic:  “Information Literacy and the 21st  Century Learner”

Patricia Breivik introduced Betsy Sywetz and Beverly Sheppard, both of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  Betsy is Deputy Director of Library Services at IMLS and Beverly is Deputy Director of Museum Services in the same organization.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services was established in 1996 through the Museum and Library Services Act passed by Congress.  The agency has been faced from the very beginning with bringing together the two traditions of libraries and museums, with lifelong learning as a particular challenge.

Beverly is especially concerned with “museums as educators”:  the challenge of getting the educational focus of museums into the public’s consciousness.

The overall mission of the IMLS is to sustain conversations related to lifelong learning in the  21st Century.  To this end, the agency will be sponsoring a “think tank” that asks the question, “What will the 21st Century learner look like?”

Beverly and Betsy made the following points:

--The futurist Jennifer James has noted that K-12 education is no longer enough; ---an analysis for NEA showed that informal education is the largest “growth sector” in the entire education arena;
--that job training in the future may follow the military model of active times and “down times:”
--entertainment venues (and their potential uses in education) will become more important than ever;
--visual learning is becoming the primary learning mode;
--learning may have to become available 24 hours a day.

The national “think tank” envisioned by Beverly and Betsy will be broadly inclusive, and will likely be held in various regions of the country.  It will seek to facilitate partnerships and alliances among educators, business people, and entertainment sponsors and executives.

The following are highlights from the discussion.

-- How to help underserved/unserved in terms of lifelong learning?

--Formal educational system fails this group.

--The videotape series “American Promise” shows homeless woman getting online and connecting with other people in similar situations

--Structured learning situations are barriers.

--How will the information that IMLS gathers from its “think tank” be used, for outcomes or perhaps infrastructure issues?

--At this point, the IMLS is interested in gathering preliminary information only, information that will help the agency further develop its outreach related to lifelong learning

--If the “think tanks” take the form of regional institutes, there is a possibility of holding mediated online discussions.  The National Leadership Grant Program will assist with this initiative.

--The ASCD is concerned with standards and filters, particularly with intellectual standards, because of the widely varying standards from state to state and from region to region throughout the country, and the impact these differences have on lifelong learning.

--It is an irony that funding becomes a problem when libraries and museums and similar institutions become successful; many innovative ideas cannot be sustained because of lack of funding.  This means that integration and consolidation of programs across different agencies may be necessary.  Funding to sustain successful ongoing programs will be essential in the future.

--Greater rigor in evaluating programs will be even more important in the future to justify their existence.

--How do individuals engaged in informal learning get credit/recognition?  How do we  evaluate programs in informal learning?  --Some schools/institutions have models of converting informal learning into credits or formal recognition; Empire State College and other institutions are examples.  The ACE manages diploma conversion through credentialing of “life experiences”; some workplaces and businesses offer credentialing as well.

--Another issue: the leadership within our professions and organizations may not be risk-takers; there’s often too much focus on the “bottom line”—financial considerations only.

--It’s a certainty that leadership issues are large ones, particularly since misconceptions about technology abound among some leaders.  Too, leaders in organizations may find threatening or problematic the new definitions of “literacy.”

--We should be focused on this central issue:  what are the real needs of children and others in relation to information?  The ability to use information effectively is the real challenge that we should address.

--Another challenge is the tendency in education to develop prescriptive learning packages rather than “constructivist” ones.  Prescriptive approaches will short-circuit students’ learning.

--The TEI Initiative is a program that seeks to address many of these concerns through improved professional development programs for teachers, learning on the part of university administrators, and faculty collaboration among universities and public schools.

--Field experience among educators and administrators should become the norm.

--We should constantly reinforce the idea that information literacy is not just a “library issue.”    We should also realize that many adults may be “learning disabled” in terms of information literacy.

--On the other hand, without the assistance of parents and adults, children cannot ultimately become proficient learners and information users; society itself doesn’t value learning enough—meaning adults must constantly emphasize its importance in all contexts for children.

--Definitions of learner, teacher must change.  How does technology change teaching and learning practices?

--Intergenerational learning: generations assisting each other with learning—this is increasingly important, especially in knowing how to use scarce financial resources for learning.  Unfortunately, policymakers and bureaucracies may be barriers.

--Sustainability of educational focus over time, from grade to grade and level to level, is a major challenge; the rapidity of change and our ability to cope with change influences this sustainability of focus.  Our inability to cope with technological change needs further research—we need studies of “information tolerance.”

--The value of information:  how do we motivate people to want it?

--The “nintendo generation” is attracted by the ease of use of information sources.  Does this mean that librarians will become “traffic managers”?

--Equity of access/equity of technology: these are huge problems currently, as is the need for teachers to assist children with technology.

--The explosion of information means that teachers must teach students how to search for, evaluate, and manage information—the entire research/information management process.  This is complicated by students’ skepticism about formal information sources.

--How do we convey the complexity of learning- and technology-related issues to decision-makers?

--Members of the Forum might want to take a look at AdvanceNet, a dynamic Web site (www.Advancenet.org) for ideas about information seeking, regardless if the information is technology-based or not.

In summary, there was general agreement that the College Board book on information literacy should be targeted at policy makers, educators and school/college administrators.  The purpose should be to raise awareness and change attitudes.
 

2. Approval of September 14th meeting summary [summary approved]
 

3. Reports of member organizations and others present

Association of College & Research Libraries—Craig Gibson

Craig distributed the brochure for the Institute for Information Literacy,  a program designed to integrate information literacy throughout all stages of the education process.   The Institute has three programmatic initiatives during its first three years:  (1) an Immersion program, an intensive training program for instruction librarians; (2) Institutional Strategies, emphasizing best practices and assessment, designed to assist individual institutions in developing information literacy programs; and (3) and Community Partnerships, designed to broaden the discussion of information literacy to include librarians from K-12, higher education, and special and public libraries.

Craig also distributed the preliminary conference program for the 9th ACRL National Conference, to be held April 8-11 in Detroit.  The program brochure lists over 15 individual programs focused on information literacy.
 

Consortium for School Networking/Friends of the National Library of Medicine—Keith Krueger

Keith reported on the upcoming COSN (Consortium for School Networking) conference, to be held in Washington, D. C., February 24-26, 1999.  The conference theme is “K-12 Networking: Learning for All in the Digital Age.”  A special focus of the conference is equity of access to technology in schools.  Preconference workshops deal with such issues as: the law, cyberspace, and schools; innovative uses of the E-rate; and policy planning for security issues in school networks.

Keith also reported, on behalf of the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, about an upcoming conference, the Health Care Information Institute.
 

National Council for the Social Studies—Janet Lieberman

Janet reported on the NCSS’s general, continuing activities related to information literacy as well as the following special events:  the NCSS Annual Conference in November 1998 featured many clinics and workshops about related to information literacy, including an interactive workshop that explored how problem-based learning, information literacy, and the Internet merge to prepare students to become competent citizens of the globally interconnected world of the 21st century.  Also, along with the International Reading Association and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, NCSS continues to sponsor Newspapers in Education (NIE) Week, which will be held March 1-5, 1999.  NIE Week celebrates and brings attention to the value of using newspapers in instructional settings.
 

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development—Jan Schmidt

The ASCD is currently much interested in brain-based education and is engaged in research and product development related to this topic.  Other current interests focus on multiculturalism and standards.

Jan mentioned “Compass Quest”, a software tool using problem-based learning.  Also of some interest is the “Partners for Life” program for middle and high school students, which is concerned with raising awareness about public health.
 

National Council of Teachers of English—Judith Kelly

The NCTE now has a committee on information literacy; the NCTE strongly subscribes to concepts related to information literacy.

The NCTE and the NCSS will hold a joint conference in July 1999.
 

National Council on Library and Information Science—Bob Willard

Bob reported on several items of interest:

--Hearings were held in November 1998 about the proliferation of inappropriate material on the Internet.
--A special cooperative program with the Department of Education/NCES is gathering statistics on the penetration of the Internet into public libraries.
“Effective access” in public libraries is now an issue (meaning types of workstations available to library users).
--The rising costs of scholarly publishing continue to be major issue for libraries.
--NCLIS meetings are open to the public; there will be NCLIS-sponsored meetings at ACRL/Detroit in April at which tentatively a presentation and discussion of information literacy is planned.
 

College Board—Jeff Hale

Jeff reported the following:

 --The College Board is now retooling publications and programs for younger students
 --The Advanced Placement Commission is now meeting.
 --A special interest of the College Board is quantitative literacy, especially beyond high school; and where quantitative literacy should be taught.
 --The Standards Correlations Project seeks to get schools administrators, educational researchers involved at looking at comparisons of standards from diverse sources and regions.
 --An innovative Arts Project program is the Lopez Museum, based in Brownsville, Texas—an online museum.
 --The Centennial Leadership Project focuses on the direction of the College Board in the next century.
 

Association of College & Research Libraries—Althea Jenkins

Althea supplemented the information distributed by Craig Gibson regarding the Institute for Information Literacy by pointing out that the Institute’s Immersion Program has attracted 260 applicants for 80 positions available in the first offering of the program next summer.  The SUNY system has negotiated its own contract with ACRL to offer the Immersion Program to librarians in its system.  In addition, ACRL has requests from librarians in Seattle, Washington, and California, to bring the program to those regions.

The ACRL Board of Directors has established an Information Literacy Competency Standards Task Force to develop a framework for identifying postsecondary student learning outcomes.  The timeframe for completing this project is to be within two years.
 

American Association of School Librarians—Julie Walker

Julie mentioned the YALS (Young Adults Library Services) program, “Serving the Underserved.”

The AASL is now involved in the World Book Gold Grant to develop statistical methodology for information literacy skills in K-12; this involves attention to data collection measures.

The AASL is also involved in an “Action Research” pilot project in ten states.
 

International Association of School Librarianship—Kathleen Craver

IASL was welcomed as the first international member organization to have a representative attend a Forum meeting.

The IASL holds meetings in various countries because of its international membership; the association’s conferences have various themes, but information literacy is an increasingly important one.

The IASL sponsors a Research Award each year.
 

Chief Officers of State Library Agencies—David Price

David reported that his organization, COSLA, is involved in administering funds received from IMLS and in developing literacy programs.
 

Association for Educational Communications and Technology—Robin Taylor Roth

The AECT’s information literacy activities this year focus on the implementation of the new Information Power guidelines, which include statements of desired information literacy student learning outcomes for students, chiefly through regional workshops.

The association’s annual convention in Houston, February 10-14, will have several sessions devoted to information literacy and Information Power.  These include a workshop by Lynn Milet and Sandy Patton entitled “Power Libraries:  Improving Student Achievement.”
 

American Library Association/Office for Literacy and Outreach Services—Satia Orange

Satia was representing ALA Executive Director, William R. Gordon.

Satia’s division of  ALA is concerned with underserved populations and helping librarians address “equity of access” issues.

A new publication of OLOS is:  ALA Resources for Underserved Populations.

A “Diversity Fair” will be held at ALA’s annual conference in New Orleans in 1999; the purpose is to identify and highlight libraries’ diversity initiatives and programs.

There will also be two preconferences at the ALA annual conference dealing with underserved populations.

An article in American Libraries by Carla Stoffle (December 1998 issue) is entitled “Literacy 101 in the Digital Age.”  Focusing on information literacy, it is part of a special section dealing with adult literacy.
 

Association of Teacher Educators—Dennis Hinkle

There is much interest currently in the “new learner,” in relation to libraries and museums.

The ATE is much involved with standards for teacher education and has endorsed the NCATE standards; of special interest is the “technology link” within the NCATE standards.

The ATE’s current theme is “Partnerships, Technology, and Assessment.”  The ATE is heavily focused on the teaching/learning process and is much interested in the possibility of partnerships with the Forum and other organizations.

ATE is interested in establishing a joint commission with the Forum to explore information literacy within the framework of improved student learning.  The current ATE president and the Forum chair will be in contact.

Dennis is also a faculty member in Towson State’s College of Education, which has requirements for technology use.  Of special interest are the teacher education standards that will soon be implemented statewide in Maryland.
 

EDUCAUSE—Krystal Bullers

The newly constituted EDUCAUSE is focused on information technology in higher education and the teaching and learning issues associated with it.  The NLII (National Learning Information Infrastructure) is geared toward online learning.

EDUCAUSE is currently involved in developing an Instructional Management System Project as part of the NLII.
 

U.S. Department of Education/Office of Educational Research and Improvement—Barbara Humes

Barbara discussed the OERI’s “Consumer Brief,”  from the Office of Media and Information at OERI.  This publication treats the implications of information literacy for teachers, students, and librarians; the purpose of the publication is to promote the concept of information literacy in the general educational vocabulary.
 

Council of Basic Education—Ilene Berman

The Council for Basic Education (CBE) has been active in assisting many states and districts in the development and implementation of their standards and standards-based education systems.  These locates include Nevada, Maryland, Ohio, Los Angeles, and Cleveland.

In Fall 1998, CBE published Standards for Excellence in Education (SEE), a condensed and edited version of the standards developed by national professionals.  The SEE materials include a 300-page standards book, a searchable CD-ROM, and essays that explain how parents, teachers, principals, and policy makers can use standards to drive education reform.  To order a SEE kit, contact the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development at 1-800-933-2723 (Alexandria, VA 703-578-9600).

The Schools Around the World (SAW) program is preparing to work with teachers in Palatine, IL, Cincinnati, OH, Arlington, VA, and Myrtle Beach, SC, to provide an Internet-based professional development program using student work in science and history to improve teaching and student achievement.

The Standards-based Teacher Education Program (STEP) has expanded to include Maryland colleges.  Georgia, the program’s pilot state, completed its first year of the program.  The STEP initiative is designed to work with colleges to ensure that their teacher-candidates graduate from college ready to work in a standards-based school system and possess a strong content knowledge of the subjects they will teach.

John Goff, Ed.D., former Superintendent of Public Instruction in Ohio, has joined the staff of the Council for Basic Education.  Goff, who retired last month from the Ohio Department of Education, joins CBE has a senior fellow to assist in the development, marketing, and implementation of CBE programs.

The Keys to Literacy, a CBE special report on excellent reading instruction, includes articles by seven authors, chosen for their national reputation and commitment to a literate society.  The essays address reading research, teacher training, student instruction, and reading comprehension.  A list of follow-up actions accompanies the articles to assist administrators, teachers, and parents in applying this knowledge to their own instructional activities.

The latest issues of CBE’s Basic Education discuss teaching in the humanities (December) and professional development for teachers (January).

Applications are now available for the 1999 Charter School Teacher Fellowship Program and 1999 Humanities Scholars Program.

For additional information about CBE’s programs and publications, contact Selina Newell Winchester at (202) 347-4171, or visit the CBE website at:  www.c-b-e.org.
 

National Education Association—Sylvia Seidel

The NEA’s primary focus now is advancing professionalism.  In the fall NEA had the Forum chair do a presentation on information literacy at the national meeting of NEA’s Teacher Education Initiative project; the audience included K-12 and College of Education personnel.  Follow up letters to  directors of academic libraries from campuses involved in the fall conference were jointly sent by Sylvia Seidel and Patricia Breivik as well as to deans of any library schools on those campuses.  The NEA is also very interested in partnering with other organizations dealing with literacy issues.

Sylvia commented on the crucial nature of changing the structures in public education if real progress in educational reform is to occur.
 

Public Library Association—Greta Southard

The PLA is concerned currently with pragmatic continuing education issues for its membership.  The organization will have its next national conference in March 2000; it has also published a new book on technology, Planning for Technology.
 

General Announcements from Chair—Patricia Breivik

--The ERIC Digest on Teacher Education and Information Literacy is now published and ready for distribution.  The ERIC Clearing House on Information and Technology has a major new publication out, “Information Literacy:  Essential Skills for the Information Age.”

--The Forum’s member organization list needs updating; members of the Forum should check for needed revisions.

--Australia is holding its Fourth National Conference on Information Literacy, with a strong focus on lifelong learning.

--Other international contacts:  Patricia mentioned a recent e-mail communication from a French student regarding information literacy; and her communication with an expert  on information literacy in Singapore, who has conducted research on information literacy in accountancy.  In Singapore, information literacy is considered essential in elementary education; there is a major interest in information literacy training for teachers, and in linking information literacy with thinking skills and creativity.

--The American Association of Community Colleges plans on becoming more active again in the Forum.  Lou Albert, formerly the American Association for Higher Education’s representative to the Forum, is now a community college Vice President and will be AACC’s representative.
 

4.  Discussion of possible College Board publication—Diane Foster/Jeff Hale

The College Board has a series on literacy issues with the first book being on quantitative literacy; a future companion volume on information literacy is also being planned.
Diane and Jeff asked for ideas from members of the Forum about audience, purpose, and scope of this publication.
The intended audience: academics, teachers in secondary grade levels, and administrators.
Some members of the Forum suggested gearing the publication to policy makers and state legislators.

Publication’s scope:  to be a comprehensive treatment of information literacy for practitioners?  What about having an “advocacy piece” included?  What about including examples of “best practices,” including lesson plans, as well as a rationale for information literacy for policy makers?

One Forum member suggested the need for “network creation” through this publication; this means including “success stories” about information literacy programs.  Sustainability of programs should be a major focus of the publication.

Another suggestion:  update the book with a web site about current and ongoing developments.
 

5.  Next OERI research grant competition announcement—Barbara Humes

The OERI is offering grants to schools conducting “Field-Initiated Research.”  The announcement about the competition will be forthcoming; the applications are not yet available.

The Field-Institute Studies Grants can be multiple-years projects, up to three years.  Grant awards range from $400,000 to $1,000,000.  The criteria for acceptance focus strongly on educational significance of the proposal, and the descriptions of personnel involved, detailing their qualifications.  Successful applicants will be appointed to one of the five National Research Institutes of the OERI.  There are no invitational priorities this year, as in previous grant cycles; collaboration of applicants will be a strong consideration in favor of giving an grant award.  Information about the program is on the OERI’s web site at:  www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/FIS.  There is a March 26 deadline.

The STAR Schools Program will have an announcement forthcoming; there is a March 26 deadline for the applications.  The focus in this cycle is on distributed education and telecourses.
The Technology Innovation Grants currently are sponsoring 82 projects, with particular focus on consortial arrangements;  grant awards range from $500,000 to $2,000,000 and are multi-year--in some cases, up to five years.
 

6.  Report on California Community Colleges Information Literacy Project—Don Hausrath

Don Hausrath, consultant for the Information Competency Plan Project for the California Community College system, gave a presentation on the project.

Project facts include the following: the plan is coordinated by the community college system chancellor’s office, working with a 13-member Advisory Committee; project was funded by a Fund for Instructional Improvement and was completed in nine months, by May 1998.
The Information Competency Plan involved holding five regional library workshops throughout California; there were 139 participants from 67 community colleges.  The participants reviewed a number of different information competency program models, including six California Community College models, the California State University model, and the George Mason University model.

The Plan was developed through wide consultation with faculty, administrators, student services personnel, and students themselves.  The Report on the Information Competency Plan has five major topics:  (1) the need for staff development (2) promoting a collaborative environment (3) addressing knowledge and technology infrastructure (4) integrating information competency into the curriculum, and (5) identifying and promoting sound curricular models.

The Final Report has been accepted by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, and is available on the Web at:  www.santarosa.edu/~kathy/ICC.
 

7.  Set upcoming meeting dates for April/May, September, and December/January

These dates were identified for future meetings:

May 21st for the April/May meeting  (NOTE:  THIS IS A CHANGE FROM DATE SET AT MEETING.)

October 1—fall meeting

A decision about the December/January meeting was deferred.
 

8.  Discussion of Agenda for April/May meeting, including choosing of initial discussion topic

Ideas for discussion topics for the April/May meeting and other future meetings:

--Copyright issues
--Citizenship issues
--Distance learning/distributed education
--Workforce training (JETCOM)
--Literacy/Information  literacy