By Naomi LeBel
Translated by Pierre Van Eeckhout
In February 2021, the Comité des compétences informationnelles en bibliothèque scolaire(School Library Information Literacy Committee) had the great pleasure of publishing the Continuum pour le développement des compétences informationnelles en bibliothèque scolaire (an information literacy framework) for the development of information literacy skills in school libraries, thanks to a grant from the Quebec Department of Education. The publication of this tool is a major achievement for the committee, for the Association pour la promotion des services documentaires scolaires (APSDS: Quebec’s school librarians and library technicians association) and for Quebec school librarianship.
Let’s take a step back. Our committee, which reports to the APSDS, is made up of librarians and library technicians working in various school service centers in Quebec. Formerly called Comité national des compétences informationnelles (National Information Literacy Committee), it was created in Palais des Congrès in Montreal in December 2015. Two visionary women, true pioneers of school libraries in Quebec, Marie-Hélène Charest and Brigitte Moreau, felt the need, and even the urgency, of creating a committee to reevaluate the school library role in developing students’ information literacy skills.
For several years, committee members read, reflected and discussed together. They read the Programme de formation de l’école québécoise (PFEQ) (Quebec School Curriculum) through and through to find everything related to information literacy skills. Their conclusion: they are found everywhere, both in disciplinary and cross-disciplinary skills, from kindergarten to secondary 5, but without being identified as such.
It seemed essential, then, to build a framework for information literacy skills to demonstrate clearly and tangibly how students can evolve and develop these skills from the very beginning of their school path. All the learnings to be carried out had been identified. It was now time to organize them in a graduated and harmonious way, while giving the ultimate role to the school library, which seems the best place to develop the information literacy skills of every pupil.
The next step was to unravel the pieces of this immense puzzle and make it into a coherent whole. To achieve this, the APSDS applied for a grant at the Quebec Department of Education, which was obtained in the spring of 2020. This allowed the author of this article, as head of the committee, to be relieved from an important part of her task at the Centre de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île to develop the framework with the help of other committee members. The grant also gave the opportunity to hire a graphic designer to publish the work on a dedicated website.
Information Literacy Skills Definition
What are information literacy skills in the context of school libraries? The committee members found many definitions, but none of them matched their understanding of these skills. We wanted a definition that was simple, concise, and using terminology similar to what is being used in the PFEQ.
This is the definition that was agreed upon: “All the body of knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills which make it possible to define a need for information, to search efficiently, to analyze the information found, and to use it in a meaningful and ethical way.” (Comité des compétences informationnelles en bibliothèque scolaire, 2021. Cadre de référence.)
Target Audience
The framework for information literacy skills in school libraries is primarily intended for librarians and library technicians working in schools so they can support and equip teachers in the integration of information literacy skills.
Understanding the Framework
The frame is built around the four steps of the research process: plan, seek, analyze, and use. It should be noted, however, that the research process is iterative, non-linear in nature, and above all, that information literacy skills can be used in any meaningful way to achieve a goal, without having to use all and every steps along the way.
The content of the framework is based on the PFEQ and the different learning steps for every discipline. Some library content has also been added to cover all aspects of information literacy skills in school libraries and to create a real continuum. The Department of Education Digital Action Plan for Education and Higher Education, published in 2019 (Government of Quebec), also allowed us to place information literacy skills among the dimensions of the Digital Skills.
Twelve strategies, linked to the four stages of the research process, are deployed in the framework. For each of them, one or more learnings are developed by following the student’s progress, from kindergarten to secondary 5.
Activities have been added to the web version of the framework to make learning even more explicit for librarians and library technicians working in schools.
In the Future
We wish to promote collaborative practices, a common language, and the recognition of the complementarity of our roles. The goal is to help students develop skills that will help them throughout their life. We have also established several partnerships with Bibliothèques et Archives nationales du Québec (Quebec Provincial Archives and Libraries), and Récit national (Computer Science Educational Adviser Committee in Quebec)) to create tools for teachers in connection with the frame of reference.
In the end, our wish is that the framework enables qualified school library staff to support and assist teachers in their endeavours.
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References
Christin, M., Germain Perron, G., Langlois, N. et Raymond, S. (2015). Continuum de compétences informationnelles.
Citoyenneté numérique Québec. Processus de recherche. Repéré le 2020-11-23 à
https://citoyennetenumeriquequebec.ca/
Comité des compétences informationnelles en bibliothèque scolaire. (2021). Cadre de référence. https://69f1d4b0-f897-43dd-8ad9-6802c7a96c4e.filesusr.com/ugd/0cbad4_691d20b4574549089452d79b1f7de1bc.pdf
Comité des compétences informationnelles en bibliothèque scolaire. (2021). Continuum par cycles. https://www.competencesinformationnelles.ca/continuum
Gouvernement du Québec. (2019). Cadre de référence de la compétence numérique. Repéré à
http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/ministere/continuum-cadrereference-num.pdf
Gouvernement du Québec. (2020). Programme de formation de l’école québécoise.
http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/enseignants/pfeq/
Naomi LeBel has been a school librarian for over eight years. Before her studies in Information Science, she taught at an elementary school for five years. From 2018 to 2021, she was responsible for the School Library Information Skills Committee (APSDS) and is the Senior Editor of the Continuum pour le développement des compétences informationelles dans les bibliothèques scolaires. She is now a Public Services Librarian at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).
Pierre Van Eeckhout worked for public libraries in Quebec between 1996 and 2000 and in New Brunswick from 2003 to 2014 (NBPLS). In 2015, he made a transition to school libraries with De-l’Or-et-des-Bois School Board in Abitibi. He is APSDS past president (2018-2020) and a member of the Provincial School Librarian Liaison Committee. He seeks all kinds of innovative ways to transmit his passion for reading to the new generation of students.