Project Information Literacy: What College Students Say about Conducting Research in the Digital Age

Webcast sponsored by Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by SLAIS (School of Library, Archival and Information Studies), and School Library Day Colloquium (Co-Sponsored with the UBC Education Library). Project Information Literacy (PIL) is ongoing research project, based in the University of Washington's Information School. The project seeks to understand how early adults conceptualize and operationalize research activities for course work and ""everyday life"" use and especially how they resolve issues of credibility, authority, relevance, and currency in the digital age. Research in 2009-2010 collected data from over 10,000 students. Most recently, PIL studied how 560 college students managed technology and multitasked while they were in the library during ""crunch time"" (the final weeks of the term). Prof. Eisenberg will discuss the findings and implications of PIL research--for higher education but also for information work across settings and contexts. Mike Eisenberg is the ""founding dean"" of the Information School at the University of Washington, serving from 1998 to 2006. During his tenure, Mike transformed the school from a single graduate degree program into a broad-based information school with a wide range of research and academic programs, including an undergraduate degree in informatics, masters degrees in information management and library and information science (adding a distance learning program and doubling enrollment), and a doctorate degree in information science. Mike's current work focuses on information literacy, information problem-solving in virtual environments (funded by the MacArthur Foundation), and information science education K-20. His ""Big6 approach to information problem-solving"" is the most widely used information literacy program in the world. Mike is a prolific author (9 books and dozens of articles and papers) and has worked with thousands of students-pre-K through higher education-as well as people in business, government, and communities to improve their information and technology skills.Arts, Faculty ofLibrary, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School ofUnreviewedFacult