Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment
By LiLi Li
()
About this ebook
In the dynamic and interactive academic learning environment, students are required to have qualified information literacy competencies while critically reviewing print and electronic information. However, many undergraduates encounter difficulties in searching peer-reviewed information resources. Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment is a practical guide for students determined to improve their academic performance and career development in the digital age. Also written with academic instructors and librarians in mind who need to show their students how to access and search academic information resources and services, the book serves as a reference to promote information literacy instructions. This title consists of four parts, with chapters on the search for online and printed information via current academic information resources and services: part one examines understanding information and information literacy; part two looks at academic information delivery in the networked world; part three covers searching for information in the academic learning environment; and part four discusses searching and utilizing needed information in the future in order to be more successful beyond the academic world.
- Provides a reference guide for motivated students who want to improve their academic performance and career development in the digital age
- Lays out a roadmap for searching peer-reviewed scholarly information in dynamic and interactive cademic learning environments
- Explains how to access and utilize academic information ethically, legally, and safely in public-accessed computing environments
- Provides brainstorming and discussion, case studies, mini-tests, and real-world examples for instructors and students to promote skills in critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving
LiLi Li
Mr LiLi Li is Assistant Professor/E-Information Services Librarian at the Georgia Southern University, USA. Prior to that, he worked as a computer programmer and software engineer for several American business firms. Mr Li has published and lectured on library information technologies at state, national and international conferences.
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Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment - LiLi Li
Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment
First Edition
LiLi Li
Table of Contents
Cover image
Title page
Copyright page
List of figures and tables
List of abbreviations
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Preface
Purpose of this book
Primary features of this book
How this book is organized
Who needs to read this book?
Pedagogical suggestions
About the author
Part 1: Understanding information and information literacy
1: Information in the digital age
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
What is information?
Relationships among data, databases, experience, information, and knowledge
Understanding information formats and media
Rethinking information in the age of information
Information explosion in the digital age
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
2: Information literacy in the networked academic learning environment
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
What is information literacy?
Computer literacy, information literacy, and library literacy
Information literacy competency standards for the twenty-first century
How to improve information literacy competency?
Information literacy assessment and evaluation
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
Part 2: Delivering academic and scholarly information in cyberspace
3: Computer networks in academic learning environments
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Information networks in academic learning environments
The popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW)
Computer security and personal privacy in cyberspace
Recommended antivirus software to defend your Internet security
How to prevent computer viruses in our networked world?
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
4: Scholarly information delivery in the information age
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Ever-changing academic learning environments
Some new features of academic learning environments
First glimpse at academic literature
Academic and scholarly publications in the information age
Scholarly information delivery in our networked academic world
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
Part 3: Discovering academic and scholarly information in our networked academic world
5: Academic and scholarly search: strategies, methods, and roadmaps
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Information-seeking behavior in academic learning environments
Academic information search guided by information literacy models
General strategies for searching for academic and scholarly information
Common search methods in today’s information society
Academic roadmap for seeking scholarly information
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
Case study questions
6: Academic and scholarly research over the Internet and the WWW
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Confusion of junior and senior undergraduates about information access
Effective web search in cyberspace
Special search engines for academic and scholarly information
Open-access academic publications
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
7: Academic and scholarly search in academic libraries
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Academic libraries in a changing academic landscape
Popular academic databases and search engines
Specific tools and services for searching academic library collections
Academic library consortium resources and services
Information discovery in academic libraries
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Real World Example 4
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
8: Using information ethically, legally, and safely
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
General criteria for information evaluation
Using information ethically: citations, quotations, references, and plagiarism
Using information legally: copyright, intellectual property, and fair use
Using information safely: privacy and web security
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
Part 4: Searching for academic and scholarly information in the future
9: Evolving academic libraries in the future
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Emerging IT in the post-PC age
Vigorous academic libraries in the twenty-first century
Information services in the academic library of the future
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Real World Example 4
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
10: Beyond the academic world: succeeding in the real competitive world
Abstract
Introduction
Learning outcomes
Questions to be answered
Education is an investment
Secrets to career success in the real world
Final advice for college and university graduates
Summary
Real World Example 1
Real World Example 2
Real World Example 3
Real World Example 4
Self-review exercises
Brainstorming and discussion
Mini-quiz
Case study
Note
Appendix 1: A brief guide to customizing the privacy and security settings in Firefox
Introduction
Step 1: download Firefox
Step 2: open the Menu Bar of Firefox
Step 3: click the Tools option on the Menu Bar
Step 4: General Tab
Step 5: Privacy Tab
Step 6: Security Tab
Appendix 2: Answers to Mini-quiz sections
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Appendix 3: A select list of academic and scholarly information sources
Academic databases
Acronyms and abbreviations
Almanacs and factbooks
Citation styles
Cloud storage
Education
Dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, and translations
Dissertations and theses
Encyclopedias
Information literacy
IT trends
Libraries
Library search engines
Newspapers
Open access
Rankings
Research
Research guides
Searching methods
Subject index
Translations
U.S. government information
Web antivirus software and firewalls (free software)
Web privacy software
Web search engines
Website builders
Other academic information resources
Appendix 4: Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
Introduction
Standards, Performance Indicators, and Outcomes
Appendix I Selected Information Literacy Initiatives
Glossary
Index
Copyright
Chandos Publishing
Elsevier Limited
The Boulevard
Langford Lane
Kidlington
Oxford OX5 1GB
UK
store.elsevier.com/Chandos-Publishing-/IMP_207/
Chandos Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier Limited
Tel: + 44 (0) 1865 843000
Fax: + 44 (0) 1865 843010
store.elsevier.com
First published in 2014
ISBN: 978-1-84334-763-7 (print)
ISBN: 978-1-78063-444-9 (online)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014946702
© L. Li, 2014
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. This publication may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior consent of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions.
The material contained in this publication constitutes general guidelines only and does not represent to be advice on any particular matter. No reader or purchaser should act on the basis of material contained in this publication without first taking professional advice appropriate to their particular circumstances. All screenshots in this publication are the copyright of the website owner(s), unless indicated otherwise.
Project management by Neil Shuttlewood Associates, Gt Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK
Printed in the UK and USA
List of figures and tables
Figures
Tables
List of abbreviations
ACI Autonomous Citation Indexing
ACRL Association of College and Research Libraries
AI Artificial Intelligence
ALA American Library Association
AOL America Online
APA American Psychological Association
API Application Programming Interface
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASRS Automated Storage and Retrieval System
AVAST AntiVirus and Anti-Spyware software
AVG AntiVirus and anti-spyware software
BASE Bielefeld Academic Search Engine
BMP Bitmap image file
bps bits per second
CAS Chemical Abstracts Service
CD Compact Disk
CRL Center for Research Libraries
DD Document Delivery
DDC Dewey Decimal Classification
DMCA Digital Millennium Copyright Act
DMOZ Directory MOZilla
DNS Domain Name Service
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
DOC DOCument
DTR Data Transfer Rate
DVD Digital Video (Versatile) Disk
EDS EBSCO Discovery Service
ERIC Education Resources Information Center
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GALILEO Georgia Library Learning Organization
GIF Graphics Interchange Format
GKR GALILEO Knowledge Repository
GPA Grade Point Average
GUI Graphical User Interface
HAN Home Area Network
HD High Definition
HDTV High Definition TeleVision
HSU Humboldt State University
HTML HyperText Markup Language
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
HTTPS Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure; Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol
IDC International Data Corporation
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IES Institute of Education Sciences
ILCSHE Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
ILL Interlibrary Loan
ILL/DD Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery
IM Instant Messaging
IP Intellectual Property
IP Internet Protocol
IPO Initial Public Offering
IR Institutional Repository
ISBN International Standard Book Number
ISEP International Student Exchange Program
ISP Internet Service Provider
ISSN International Standard Serial Number
IT Information Technology
JPG, JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group
LAN Local Area Network
LCC Library of Congress Classification
LCSH Library of Congress Subject Headings
LIS Library and Information Sciences
MAN Metropolitan Area Network
METRO New York METROpolitan Library Council
MLA Modern Language Association of America
MP3 Encoding format for digital audio
MT Machine Translation
NASDAQ Stock market
NCES U.S. National Center for Education Statistics
NSA National Security Agency
OAJSE Open Access Journals Search Engine
OCLC Online Computer Library Center
ODP Open Directory Project
OOH Occupational Outlook Handbook
OPAC Online Public Access Catalog; Web Online Public Access Catalog
OS Operating System
OU Open University
OWL Online Writing Lab
PC Personal Computer
PDA Personal Digital Assistant
PDF Portable Document Format
PMC PubMed Central
PNG Portable Network Graphics
Protect IP Act Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PIPA)
PS PostScript
RDBMS Relational Database Management System
RPI Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute287
RTF Rich Text Format
SAILS Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills
SERP Search Engine Results Page
SFTP Secure File Transfer Protocol
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SOPA Stop Online Piracy Act
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TIF Tagged Image Format
UCLA University of California Los Angeles
URL Uniform Resource Locator
USB Universal Serial Bus
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
WAN Wide Area Network
WAV WAVeform audio file
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network
WOT Web Of Trust
WWW World Wide Web
Dedication
To students striving for academic and vocational achievement
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Glyn Jones of Chandos Publishing for his valuable advice and guidance and inspiring me to undertake this project. It was his enthusiasm, motivation, and advice that helped me select the subject matter of this book. I would also like to thank Jonathan Davis, ex-Commissioning Editor of Chandos, for showing me how to organize the topics in the book.
Special thanks go to the copy-editor Neil Shuttlewood, whose working attitude and talent made it all possible. Without his assistance, the manuscript would not be as polished and the path for ambitious undergraduates and graduates to follow to improve personal academic performance and enhance their job prospects would not be as clear.
My sincere gratitude goes to George Knott, Assistant Commissioning Editor at Chandos, and Fenton Coulthurst, Production Editor at Chandos. Without their input, the book would not have navigated the various stages on the way to the press.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bede Mitchell, Dean of Zach S. Henderson Library at Georgia Southern University. He has given me a lot of support and encouragement to participate and present at many international and national conferences, which has enabled me to think more creatively and innovatively about instructing students in academic information literacy.
I am indebted to my colleagues for volunteering to take over my library instruction and reference desk duties while I concentrated on writing the book. Their thoughtful comments and reviews highlighted many areas where the instruction of information literacy in academic library settings could not only be enhanced but become more integrated.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife Mingfang Tang for her constant dedication and for the sacrifices she has made in support of me pursuing excellence in teaching, and my clever daughters Anji and Anyuan. Without the help and support given me by my family, the book would have been so much more difficult to write.
Preface
The cutting-edge and emerging technologies of the digital age are coming up with ever more innovative ways of delivering and disseminating information. Although web search engines are becoming increasingly powerful in today’s information society, many undergraduates still do not have the key skills to access and search for peer-reviewed scholarly information from academic information resources. When they switch between computer games, Facebook accounts, and other social media applications, the street-smart skills of many undergraduates are not enough to improve their academic performance. Faced by increasing global competition and the challenge of ever-changing career arenas, undergraduates and graduates must improve their information literacy competencies if they are to survive in the networked academic learning environment, let alone the highly unpredictable business world.
Many colleges and universities worldwide have set up campus-wide mandatory courses for first-year undergraduates so that they can adjust to the dynamic academic learning environment they have just entered. When preparing his teaching syllabus, the author’s attempts to find an appropriate textbook focusing on information literacy competencies in today’s information society have come to nothing. Moreover, there are few books teaching college students how to write academic papers, none of which however show how scholarly information can be delivered in our networked academic learning environment. Furthermore, few books are available to teach students how to access, search for, and use information ethically, legally, and safely in public access computer environments.
Purpose of this book
The purpose of this book is to provide a practical guide for undergraduates and graduates striving for academic and vocational achievement. Students in dynamic and interactive academic learning environments are required to display qualified information literacy competencies while critically evaluating electronic and print information for its currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose. However, many undergraduates and some graduates still encounter difficulties when searching for peerreviewed scholarly information across heterogeneous applications, databases, networks, platforms, and systems.
This is a show-me-how-to-do-it book. It is unique in that it is written to show undergraduates and graduates, especially first-year students, where and how to access and locate print and online scholarly information resources and services in our networked academic learning environment. The book should further assist them to use information ethically, legally, and safely in cyberspace. Exercises and mini-quizzes related to the subject matter of each chapter are designed to strengthen the knowledge gained from each chapter and promote skills in critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving.
Primary features of this book
1.
This book is a new, comprehensive reference guide to illustrate the various ways of delivering and disseminating academic and scholarly information in our networked academic world.
2.
This book is a roadmap to show undergraduates and graduates, especially first-year college students, where to access and search for academic and scholarly information in the dynamic academic learning environment.
3.
This book teaches junior and senior college students how to utilize academic information resources and services across applications, databases, platforms, and systems.
4.
This book presents many real-world examples that show undergraduates and graduates how to use academic information ethically, legally, and safely in public access computer environments.
5.
This book includes abstracts, key words, learning outcomes, real-world examples, and summaries to help students review essential concepts, knowledge, and skills applicable to academic information in networked environments.
6.
This book arranges brainstorming and discussion, case studies, self-review questions, and mini-quizes to promote skills in critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving.
How this book is organized
This book consists of four parts and ten chapters. Part 1, Understanding information and information literacy,
explores the basics of information and information literacy. There are two chapters in this part:
■ Chapter 1 focuses on information as a concept and information features like the multiple formats and media used for information delivery in networked environments. Also discussed are the relationships between information, data, knowledge, and experience.
■ Chapter 2 defines information literacy and demonstrates its implications for undergraduates, especially first-year college students, when they adjust themselves to an interactive and dynamic academic learning environment.
Part 2, Delivering academic and scholarly information in cyberspace,
discusses primary ways of delivering and disseminating academic and scholarly information via computer networks. There are two chapters in this part:
■ Chapter 3 reviews the network services available in the academic learning environment. The focus of this chapter is to give a good grounding of these services. Also discussed are the benefits and challenges of using the Internet and the WWW, plus recommended antivirus applications to protect personal computing security.
■ Chapter 4 outlines the means of information delivery in the academic learning environment. This chapter gives students an insight into scholarly publications in the networked academic community.
Part 3, Discovering academic and scholarly information in our networked academic world,
demonstrates ways of accessing and searching for academic and scholarly information. There are four chapters in this part:
■ Chapter 5 provides strategies, methods, and roadmaps on how to search for academic and scholarly information. This is the core chapter when it comes to demonstrating which information literacy skills are needed to improve academic performance in the dynamic academic learning environment. Also discussed are the reasons college and university students need to pay additional attention when they apply information search strategies, methods, and roadmaps to searching for academic and scholarly information in the various academic learning environments.
■ Chapter 6 demonstrates how specific web search engines can be used to retrieve scholarly information in cyberspace. Also discussed are open-access information sources over the web.
■ Chapter 7 looks at the many ways of searching for academic and scholarly information in academic library settings. Also discussed are popular academic library databases and fast-evolving discovery services.
■ Chapter 8 debates the key issues involved in using information ethically, legally, and safely in cyberspace. Using examples from academic communities, Chapter 8 lists the common approaches and criteria expected of well-educated undergraduates and graduates when they use information. Chapter 8 looks into the differences between copyright, fair use, and plagiarism. Also discussed are practical suggestions and recommended software to bolster cyber security and personal privacy in private and public access computer environments.
Part 4, Searching for academic and scholarly information in the future,
explores IT trends in the post-PC era and the survival strategies of students looking for long-term success in the increasingly competitive world expected of the future. There are two chapters in this part:
■ Chapter 9 explores IT trends and the future of academic libraries. Inspired by the information explosion and the digital revolution, academic libraries worldwide are getting ever more inventive and innovative in meeting the dynamic need to support academic study and scholarly research.
■ Chapter 10 discusses the critical skills needed to survive in the future competitive world. This chapter points up the communication skills and strategies that newcomers need to possess in the career arena. Also discussed are four secrets and related information resources about long-term success in the workplace.
Who needs to read this book?
This book is primarily written for junior undergraduates who have just started to make progress in the ever-changing academic world. Senior undergraduates and graduates will also benefit from reading this book because they too need to keep up to date with innovative academic and scholarly information resources and services, especially now that we have entered the age of cloud computing.
This book provides academic administrators, executives, faculty, and other professionals with an innovative approach to improve excellence in teaching and learning. It can be used as a reference guide for academic instructors who need to show their students how to search for academic and scholarly information. Academic instruction will benefit from the contents (or partial contents) of this book getting embedded in existing learning modules in different subject fields. By combining information literacy instruction with syllabuses, students would be better positioned to search for scholarly information more effectively and efficiently.
This book should help academic librarians become more engaged in the teaching of information literacy and in the information literacy programs of libraries. It provides librarians with new approaches to integrating computer literacy and library literacy into the teaching of information literacy (library literacy is not the same as information literacy). The real challenge facing academic information services librarians is predicting the information literacy competency that will be needed to access and search for future information resources and services currently unknown to librarians.
This book provides library and information science (LIS) faculty and students with a new perspective from which to look at the teaching of information literacy and at the information literacy programs of academic learning environments. The discussions and real-world examples in this book demonstrate how cutting-edge and emerging technologies will bring about ever more innovative information resources and services in the future information world. They should also greatly help LIS staff understand the IT knowledge and skills they need to possess before they can provide the highly qualified information services demanded by academic instructors and students in the ever-changing academic landscape.
This book should be of benefit to information services librarians in public libraries since it investigates the experience, knowledge, and skills community users will need when they try to access and search for print and online information sources. Information services librarians in public libraries need to update their information literacy skills so that they can promote lifelong learning to help community users survive in the information age.
This book provides K-12 schoolteachers with many real-world examples of the importance of promoting information literacy skills for middle-school or high-school students. The big gap between secondary education and the higher education system is the main reason many firstyear freshmen do not have the information literacy competency expected of them in higher education institutions.
Parents might find this book invaluable as a means of preparing their children for college. Apart from providing financial support, parents wanting to teach their children how to survive in the competitive academic and business world need look no further. Like Webster’s New World Dictionary and the Oxford Thesaurus (American Edition), this book could be used as a desk reference whenever their children have difficulty searching for academic and scholarly information.
Pedagogical suggestions
The educational purpose of this book is emphasized and organized in every chapter by means of dynamic teaching and learning activities. Experienced academic instructors, for example, may select just the content they need to customize their own teaching portfolios. New faculty members will need to pay more attention to the innovative discovery tools that are increasingly available in academic library settings. To improve excellence in teaching and learning, information services librarians may be called on to demonstrate how to access and search for the academic information resources and services needed.
Information services librarians should find this book invaluable in that it offers a number of approaches that enhance the teaching of information literacy and improve information literacy programs at libraries. Although library instruction is not the same as information literacy instruction, librarians should help students understand how scholarly information is delivered and distributed across the academic campus during library instruction. Also discussed are the impacts innovative information media and formats have in today’s information society. In addition to introducing different search methods, library instruction should compare the search results offered up by different academic databases and web search engines. If library instruction is not of a high enough standard to fully explain how academic and scholarly information is delivered in today’s information society, undergraduates and graduates will never be able to improve their information literacy competencies in the ever-changing information world.
Library and information sciences (LIS) faculty may find it useful to select the whole book or just the chapters on cutting-edge and emerging technologies applicable in academic learning environments or just the chapters that discuss information literacy competencies to customize their own teaching modules. The Brainstorming and discussion, Case study, Real World Example, and Summary sections in each chapter provide LIS instructors with real-world examples in academic library settings. To promote academic intellectual freedom, no so-called standard answers
to the Brainstorm and discussion and Case study sections are given in this book. The author believes that different academic perspectives will help LIS students think critically about the best solutions.
Finally, it is the sincere hope of the author that this book will enable undergraduates and graduates to enhance their information literacy skills in both the dynamic academic learning community and the competitive working environment. Were this book used as a reference guide to improve the academic performance of students and inspire them in their pursuit of lifetime goals that would be more than sufficient reward for the time and effort spent writing the book.
LiLi Li lilili@georgiasouthern.edu, Associate Professor/E-Information Services Librarian, Georgia Southern University Library, Statesboro, GA 30460, U.S.A.
About the author
LiLi Li is Associate Professor/E-Information Service Librarian at Georgia Southern University. In addition to a master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences, he gained a second master’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) in 2004.
Between 1998 and 2001 he worked in IT at a number of companies as IT consultant, programmer/analyst, and software engineer/developer. During his IT career he designed, developed, enhanced, and maintained client/server apps for major enterprises. It was also at this time that he built up valuable real-world IT experience in the fields of computer software life-cycle design and development, client/server architecture, database design and maintenance, web applications, and user technical supports.
Since the summer of 2002 the author has been busy promoting web-based academic library information services and instructions at Georgia Southern University Library. He uses HTML, XHTML, DHTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, PHP, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Access2010, and MySQL to design, develop, and enhance web-based library applications. He is the university library liaison to the Department of Computer Science and Department of Information Technology. He has presented papers on academic library technology innovation at different state, national, and international conferences. His first book Emerging Technologies for Academic Libraries in the Digital Age was published in 2009. Since then, over 228 academic libraries in 25 countries and regions have purchased the work.
Full contact information
LiLi Li LiLiLi@GeorgiaSouthern.edu, Associate Professor/E-Information Services Librarian, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8074, Statesboro, GA 30460, Office: 912-486-7960, Fax: 912-486-7821
Part 1
Understanding information and information literacy
1
Information in the digital age
Abstract
An essential feature of today’s information society is the high speed of information delivery and dissemination. With the prosperity of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), cutting-edge and emerging technologies are providing us with more and more innovative media to access, display, transform, transmit, and store information across heterogeneous applications, databases, networks, platforms, and systems. This is the reason faculty and scholars have expressed concern about information overload in the age of the information explosion. To help students learn more about information and the information explosion, this chapter explores the definition of information and its primary features in the digital age. Also discussed are some differences and associations among information, data, knowledge, and experience. Finally, this chapter highlights the information explosion and its implications for students in dynamic and interactive academic learning environments.
Key words
data
databases
experience
format
information
information explosion
information overload
knowledge
media
Introduction
In today’s information society, information is the key to open the door to knowledge and success. In the competitive business world, whoever is first to hold key information has the advantage of being more successful. In dynamic and interactive academic learning environments, college and university students who can access and search academic information more effectively will have a greater chance of achieving more academically than their classmates or schoolmates. Therefore, this chapter focuses on defining information and its primary features in the digital age. The discussions about information, data, knowledge, and experience will help students know more about the role of information in the generation of data, experience, and knowledge during the course of cognition. The discussion about information formats and media is key to understanding dynamic ways of delivering information in our networked information society. The real value of exploring the information explosion and information overload is to help students improve their learning efficiency when they access and search for information in different formats.
Learning outcomes
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Understand what information is in our networked information society.
2. Explore the primary features of information in the digital age.
3. Distinguish the relationship among information, data, knowledge, and experience.
4. Discover innovative formats and media for information delivery and dissemination.
5. Understand how information is transformed into data in a computing system.
6. Understand the implications of the information explosion on today’s information society.
Questions to be answered
1. What is information?
2. What is the relationship among information, data, knowledge, and experience?
3. What is data?
4. How is information converted to data in a computing system?
5. What is an information format?
6. What are information media?
7. Why do we have multi-formats and multi-media in the digital age?
8. How can information features be understood?
9. How can the information explosion in the digital age be understood?
10. How will the information explosion impact information search in academic learning environments?
What is information?
As early as 1997, David Shank advised us in his book, Data Smog: Surviving the