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One of this week’s topics was about digital literacy and digital inclusion and I have chosen to do a Program Review in order to contrast what is being talked about in the literature with what is happening in practice. In this week’s video, Former Vice President of the European commission, Neelie Kroes, makes a strong argument that digital inclusion is one of the most important issues facing our society today as people who are excluded from the digital world suffer deficits in information, education, job opportunities, health care, and government services. The IFLA/UNESCO Guidelines For Public Library Service state that public libraries should play a key role in bridging the digital divide by providing access to ICT and offering instruction on use and information literacy. So what roles are public libraries playing in practice?
I have always been vaguely aware that public libraries offer computer classes but I have never really been involved in them so I decided to check them out. As I looked at the Brisbane City Council Library website for upcoming classes, my first impression was that the website was not the easiest to use. At first I thought I was just not putting in the right filters but then I realised there were just not as many computer classes as I expected to find. There were specific classes like how to use an ipad or android tablet, using Facebook, using eBay etc. But there were no basic, introduction to computer type classes and there were no advanced classes either. For example, I know how to use Microsoft Office but there are a lot of little tricks and features that I don’t know how to do and an advanced class on Excel or PowerPoint would have been useful to me.
In the end I went with a class on using e-books and e-audio-books as I am interested in using these and have heard that audio-books can be tricky to use on an iphone. There was only 1 other person in attendance which gave me the impression that these type of classes don’t regularly have many participants. For some reason there were 3 librarians teaching a class of 2. This didn’t negatively impact the class although I thought to myself that 1 or 2 of them could probably be making more efficient use of their time. The librarians themselves were very friendly and knowledgeable and the class itself was useful and I was able to go home and immediately start taking advantage of the library’s e-book and e-audio-book collections.
So the class itself was of good quality, but what use is this if there is no one there to appreciate it? I know this is just 1 occurrence and I can’t extrapolate to public library services as a whole, but coupled with some anecdotal evidence such as speaking to other librarians and hearing comments during twitter chats, it seems that getting people in to attend these digital literacy classes is a significant challenge for public libraries. It also seems like a chicken and the egg situation – Are there few classes because they are generally poorly attended? Or are they generally poorly attended because they are not offering the type of classes people want or are not at times that are convenient for most people? (I have found libraries being closed on Sundays and Mondays very frustrating of late but that is a whole other story). In one of this week’s readings, Thompson points out that teaching people to use ICT requires an enormous amount of staff time and planning and with the current economic climate and budgets, perhaps public libraries don’t have the resources to live up to the lofty ideals of the IFLA/UNESCO guidelines. Thompson also raises the question of whether it really should be up to the library to be teaching everyone digital literacy. In Bruce’s vision, information literacy needs to be built into education curricula and the library seems to play more of a supplemental role rather than being the primary place where people learn information literacy. I think a particular focus for public library’s role in information literacy is to help older people who did not learn digital literacy in school and to support other people who for whatever reason have not been sufficiently taught digital literacy during their education. In this way perhaps public libraries don’t need to offer an extensive list of computer classes, rather, they should target existing gaps in people’s knowledge and be on hand to give assistance when needed.
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Thanks for your post Chris. I was wondering whether the class you went to was during business hours? If we have an ageing population and people are having to work until an older age so I wonder if the people who would have like to attend this class might have been at work? I think it’s hard for libraries to have to cater to a diverse set of needs, especially outside business hours. I do agree with your comment that when there are more librarians than students it makes it seem like the librarians have nothing better to do, which is often not the case.
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Great post Chris! I also wonder if the demographic of the suburb in which the library is in might also have been a reason for low class numbers. I also wonder whether libraries market these classes as well as they can. I think you’re right though, there is a lot of talk about digital literacy, but it does seem to be a hard one to put into practice.
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Thanks Deborah and Katherine. I agree that marketing and advertising of these digital literacy courses seems to be lacking. I’m not sure what the solution is either. You raise a good point Deborah, in an age where everything is online, how do we advertise to people with low levels of information or digital literacy? There is no point advertising online if these potential users don’t have access to the internet.
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It was interesting to read your review of the program you attended Chris. Whilst researching my post, I was initially impressed with the number of classes the libraries offered, but didn’t really register that there was nothing on basic computer use. I also found when I was booking in for my program, it took me at least 10 phone calls to 2 different libraries before my call was answered, and if I hadn’t been required to attend a program, I would have given up. I also don’t think the classes are advertised well to those who might need them. I have only seen them in the booklets in the library or online, which would limit them to library attendees or people specifically looking online (i.e. with some degree of information literacy). I don’t know what the answer is to getting these classes out to people who need them is but I do feel that the digital divide is widening.
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Hey Chris,
I was really intrigued by your program review as I recently signed up to my local library and while waiting in line was pleasantly surprised by the number of people. It was packed!! I then realised that the majority were waiting for the Storytime program to start, while the rest were waiting to use one of the five computers. There was at least a half hour wait and one of the computers was sitting unused because it was the one used to teach computer skills. I was surprised also by the number of librarians (at least 5) as from the literature I have been reading I expected there to be maybe one or two librarians looking frazzled trying to provide services in a time of constricting budgets. I agree with you that 3 librarians were not needed to teach two people. They should have a policy that links staff to a ratio. It works in child care in the afternoons where the ratio is 1:7, so if less staff are needed they can go get other work done.
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Hi Chris, I really enjoyed reading your post. I found it intersting that you had difficulties locating the information about these classes. I too have had difficulty navigating the ‘What’s on’ section of this website. I wonder, how do those who are not digitally literate, or are struggling with digital literacy, find out about these programs if a) they are difficult to find and b) they are accessed through a digital media (although I assume some adverting can be found in print and word of mouth at the library branch). Many of this week’s readings discuss the importance of reaching out to those who require help with digital literacy, and indeed these programs do that just that. However, how can they be promoted more proficiently in a way that doesn’t require a digital platform? It seems to be a catch 22 for libraries around the world.
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So Chris, how are your e-book and e-audio-book skills now?!
I was interested by your comment that there was not a whole lot available regarding computer classes at Brisbane libraries. I quickly skimmed the Gold Coast Libraries calendar of events and at first glance, there looked like plenty to keep a digital beginner out of mischief, which included the type of computer classes you were on the lookout for (e.g. MS Office tutorial). Upon closer inspection though, I found that there are only limited digital-type sessions offered and none of the MS Office tutorial-type at the branch nearest to me (10 minutes drive). Best case scenario, I would need to drive 25-30 minutes to participate in the program. I do understand that libraries can’t deliver all programs in every location, but I admit I was surprised at how little was on offer. Goes back to the widening of the digital divide!
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Thanks for the little insight into the ‘Program review’, I have not attended any programs in the library yet so it will be interesting to reflect on the experience. As for your program, the reason for the low turnaround could be because of all the points you have stated plus I am of the opinion that people may not be finding much use of such programs besides the educators and the students. Like you said, timing is also important, Monday to Friday everybody is too busy to attend and on the weekend when people do have some leisure time the libraries are closed.
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Hey Chris,
Great post! After reading through it I had the exact same impression that Kate McKelliget did above. How do they expect users that have issues with technology and digital content to find these courses and apply for them on a digitally hosted platform? That seems really counter-intuitive to me. You mention budget concerns for public libraries too and I’m sure that that plays a role in the marketing of these classes as it is going to be much more affordable to advertise on the website that is already paid for than to produce lots of physical information and pay for physical advertising. Perhaps more time should be spent analysis the actual needs of users through surveys etc. but I suppose the problem then becomes how do you reach a large enough proportion of the target demographics to make this service data viable?
I can’t believe three staff members were engaged with only two participants. Do you think this might have been because they usually get a lot more people? Even still, everyone commenting seems to agree they could have maybe distributed staff a bit more efficiently.
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Nice post Chris, after going through your post, I found closing the library for two days in a week pretty inconvenient for public. They could have at least reduced the opening hours! Also, I agree with the point that you made, they should try to get more involvement in such programs. Running any classes with couple of people is useless (in your post, 3 librarians for 2 students is really awkward!). May be they should try to do a survey, find out what age group, and what kind of programs will that particular age group people be interested in, and then run the programs. I hope that will improve the teaching and learning process consecutively.
Cheers!
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