Transliteracy: Engaging Digital Citizens
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Transcript of Transliteracy: Engaging Digital Citizens
Micah Vandegrift
LIS5020 – Foundations of Information Professions
Final Culminating Paper
12/2/10
Transliteracy: Engaging Digital Citizens
Transliteracy is defined as “…the ability to read, write and interact across a range of
platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio
and film, to digital social networks” (www.transliteracy.com, 2010). This emerging
understanding of literacy includes many of the media and digital content that encompass
so much of modern existence. As information professionals understand, there are many
ways that traditional access to information can be hindered, and it is the goal of the
profession to bridge that gap. Developing an understanding and encouragement of
multiple literacies can offer a new form of the service that libraries excel at, that being
the citizen’s right to information.
Contemporary cultural trends are placing greater emphasis on consumer’s active
participation in the media they consume. This is seen best in the proliferation of the
“Share” button and the Add Comment field, practically begging for action. Additionally,
new video game elements such as the Kinect system for Xbox are further intertwining the
user and the technology. As the greater culture continues to introduce these
advancements, it is the work of the information professional to offer context of these
technologies as tools for learning, understanding the world through enhanced eyes, and
ultimately amazing methods of creating a future full of potential.
The LIS profession has a complex relationship with technology. Richard Rubin
(2010) in his chapter titled Redefining the Library: The Impact and Implications of
Technological Change states, “All technological developments need to be evaluated
objectively and critically, in the same manner that other new techniques, devices or
practices are evaluated (pg. 225). Practically, this is the proper way to handle adaptation
in an institution; however, this could put the institution months to years behind the curve
of technology due to bureaucracy. As the ultimate goal of the institution is to provide
citizens access to information, it must be careful to consider the digital world as essential
in this process, and expedite decisions that could impact patron’s knowledge, use and
understanding of digital tools. Foremost, LIS professional must be educated, and in turn
educate users, on developing literacy across platforms for the purpose of understanding
how these platforms contextualize history, life and their role in it.
Several recent journalistic articles have discussed the way in which technology is
impacting the modern way of living. In a New York Times piece, author Matt Richtel
explored attention span in high school students, and quoted several experts who agreed
that due to daily use of new technologies Facebook or cell phones, it is quite possible that
younger generations brains are developing in an entirely new way. Addressing this from
the vantage point of the library, it would seem that some of the models of delivering
information might need to adapt in order to ensure consistent (and relevant) access to
users that ingest information differently. As is stated in the aforementioned article, “…
even as some parents and educators express unease about students’ digital diets, they are
intensifying efforts to use technology in the classroom, seeing it as a way to connect with
students and give them essential skills. Across the country, schools are equipping
themselves with computers, Internet access and mobile devices so they can teach on the
students’ technological territory” (2010). The same will need to be for libraries and other
information institutions.
The issue at hand is an educational one, more so than accessibility. Fortunately,
librarianship and other information professions are taking seriously the call to meet
patrons where they are, on their terms. Services like digital reference, ebook catalogs and
gaming centers are becoming more commonplace. As a new career librarian, I see this as
a fundamental shift that must be encountered by thorough training in school and in the
workplace. Essentially, I agree with the Library Bill of Rights Access to Digital
Information Services and Networks section which states, “Libraries empower users by
offering opportunities both for accessing the broadest range of information created by
others and for creating and sharing information. Digital resources enhance the ability
of libraries to fulfill this responsibility… Although digital information flows across
boundaries and barriers despite attempts by individuals, governments, and private entities
to channel or control it, many people lack access or capability to use or create digital
information effectively” (American Library Association [ALA] Council, 2009)
[Emphasis my own]. The idea behind this is ambitious, and it would require generous
support from administration.
Instituting a training and education program on transliteracy would be my primary goal in
order to ensure relevant access to patrons. Understanding that the financial situation for
libraries is always tight, this is an area that will require advocacy at the professional
organization level as well as at the governmental level. The library could easily be a
leader in establishing an engaged digital citizenry, with excited and well trained staff
available to assist patrons in creating a photo slide show, finding and downloading
podcasts on their favorite topic, or adjusting the privacy settings on their Facebook page.
As Buffy Hamilton puts it, “More than ever, libraries (public, academic, school) must
carry the banner of these new literacies and be that influential and positive sponsor of
literacy in the lives of American citizens, particularly for those who may not be part of
mainstream culture and who will rely heavily on the services, educational opportunities,
and access to information that libraries can provide” (The Unquiet Librarian Blog, 2009).
Addressing transliteracy in the information professions and institutions is in some ways a
summation of many issues Library and Information Studies are concerned with generally,
such as information need and use, the library in the life of the user, values and ethics,
information advocacy and policy, and of course technological change and the adaptation
of the profession. It is my firm belief that the foundation of information professions can
no longer rest on the laurels of the way things were, and that active participation in
cultural/technological shifts will be the only way to stay relevant in an economy of
information. Access is no longer good enough; we must prioritize skills training and
comprehension that will allow patrons to make sense and use of ever-greater access.
Understanding context of technology and information is the key to an engaged digital
citizenry.
References
American Library Association Library Bill of Rights: Access to Digital Information
Services and Networks. (2009). An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. Retrieved
Dec. 1, 2010, from
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/
accessdigital.cfm
Hamilton, B. (2009, October 7). Digital and Media Literacies as Cultural Capital in a
Democratic Society. Message posted to http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com
Richtel, M. (2010, Nov. 21). Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction. The New York
Times, accessed online, Dec. 1, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html
Rubin, R. (2010). Foundations of Library and Information Science. New York: Neil-
Schuman Publishers.
Other Resources:
http://nlabnetworks.typepad.com/transliteracy/
http://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com/