Summary
The changes generated by the new information technologies in the field of libraries are described, as well as the new functions adopted by their specialists to adapt to the information society. The importance of permanent education and information literacy is highlighted to ensure that users become active recipients of the new media. The introduction of norms for the acquisition of information literacy is addressed, as well as the need for the creation of national information policies to achieve greater opportunities in the equitable development of citizens.
Abstract
The changes generated by new info technologies in the field of libraries, as well as, the new functions adopted by the specialists to adapt themselves to the information society, are described. The significance of permanent education and of the informational literacy campaign to transform users into active receivers of the new media is stressed. The introduction of norms for the acquisition of an informational literacy, as well as the need for the creation of national information policies to achieve better opportunities in the equitable development of citizens, are dealt with.
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Throughout history, and with various nuances, libraries have created their structures and objectives around the needs of users. At first, frequented in by a limited nucleus of people, for example, those who used the Library of Alexandria (305-282 BC), as a school and research center, or the scholars and authorities who accessed the library of Pergamum (197 -159 BC) Also, during the Middle Ages access to collections was limited and, in general, guarded by monks of different orders, their use was limited to a circle of literate individuals.
This situation began to change due to, among other factors, the Protestant Reformation, which promoted access to libraries with its doctrine of free examination of the Bible. Likewise, the French Revolution had its influence in the 19th century, its "principles of popular sovereignty and national ownership of cultural property", proclaimed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man (1798), promoted the work of public libraries ".
The library objectives and the various service models have passed through different stages, according to the times.
The history of the library presented by Torres Vargas is very interesting. Its chronology mentions various service models established by libraries since their inception and describes them in broad strokes. In principle, the library was established under the accumulation model where it was conceived as a collection of books to be conserved for the good of its potential users; later, the library based on the information registry appeared, whose main mission was to control the collection to organize it in a systematic way; later, the library with free access arose that made possible the public use of the funds and so on until today.
An interesting theory asserts the possibility that libraries arose due to the teaching needs of the first teachers - Sumerian scribes. «The basic characteristics of the Persian, Jewish and Babylonian libraries, in identity with the Sumerian ones, allow us to affirm that the libraries did not have, nor do they have, as their ultimate function or purpose, the conservation and preservation of culture, but rather their dynamic, formative updating of the human being, of the ideal to which they aspired; and that the librarian, before being a passive mediator, subordinate to these libraries, was essentially active and aware of his community-forming purpose.
Therefore, beyond their profile, the libraries developed and complemented their objectives, through their constant transformation to offer a service that met the expectations of its users.
Current Libraries
To define the current model of libraries, the term "hybrid library" can be used, of great resonance in recent times. The hybrid library comprises those information services that draw on various traditional tools and elements - mostly represented by printed information supports and card catalogs - and that incorporate new technologies to meet their objectives - computers, networks and integrated systems of information, new formats, electronic publications, and so on. The hybrid library includes the new information technologies, with them it incorporates a common characteristic in all its services, but this added value does not constitute a simple sum.
Technology is an integrating element that has managed to penetrate and transform all areas of the collection and management of the library service.
The common objective of the library activity is to offer information to the user and the incorporation of technologies has allowed a greater integration of the services and tools intended for this objective. The physical borders of the information service itself have been transcended to enable cooperation between institutions and networks. These changes, forced by the environment, are reflected in the form of new concerns among users and librarians.
The forms of the documents and supports introduced by the technologies raise questions when processing the information with the techniques traditionally used. That is why the cataloging rules are permanently revised, as well as the electronic formats for processing and exchanging bibliographic information. The constant appearance of new media and information supports sometimes implies a recategorization and redefinition of documents according to their structure and characteristics. Wider definitions of documents and new categories of data emerge.3 On the other hand, some compare the appearance of electronic publications with the revolution that the invention of the printing press signified at another time.4
In any case, none of these innovations can really replace the others, and in any case, the new information media are complementary and valuable, as they reflect another stage in the development of the library, communicator and promoter of information in the society.
The current scenario of media convergence, both for access and information management, is an important challenge for professionals responsible for technical-document processing. It is necessary to work with an increasingly hybrid collection, where information is presented on paper as a traditional medium (the printed medium), and also in electronic or digital form (in non-printed media). Sometimes it is possible to speak of the same source of information and content on different media. The demand to make decisions to process the collections and to integrate the modern with the old is growing.
We agree with Torres Vargas, when he states that “digital and printed information represent two totally different areas. Neither substitutes for the other. The hybrid library should not be considered as a stage of transition but of harmonization between these two media. 6 Such harmonization can be achieved through education and orientation towards the new gradually.
Regarding the collections of modern libraries, C Rusbridge makes a description of the means that any library that can be defined as hybrid must include, and clarifies that she «adds different technologies, different sources and that it reflects the state that today is not completely digital, not completely printed, where available technologies are used to unite in a single library, the best of both worlds (print and digital).
According to the author's classification, the following media must coexist in a modern library: «OPAC (On line Public Access Catalog), COPAC (Curl On line Public Access Catalog) and the Unified Catalog (Telnet / Web). Participation in consortia allows an academic community to use the library resources of other institutions, local and regional; (…), A unified virtual regional catalog, to which are added off-line CD-ROMs and floppy disks, CD-ROMs in networks; full text access services, electronic reservation systems, remote datagroups at universities, local datagroups, web-based libraries and institutions, local web resource portals, remote university portals web, remote ezines, local or remote e-books,printed magazines, special collections, maps, slides, audio and video recordings. »
This combination of resources and media offered by many current libraries makes them in effect "hybrids."
With respect to information users, technology presents significant advantages for those who have been able to adapt to technological changes and have been able to take advantage of their domain very soon. But also, there are users who do not achieve a quick adaptation, either because they do not have the means to achieve it, or because they do not venture to use the new information formats, as well as the means to manage it.
As can be inferred, there is a new type of technological-social relationship. New needs appear among library users in the framework of the information society, which gradually transforms them and leads them to rethink their main services. However, before talking about changes, it must be defined what the implications of being part of this new society are.
the society of the information
The information society constitutes a new form of social and productive organization around information and communication technologies.9 Redón Rojas defines this society as a web of social relations. «From a holistic approach it is the set of social relations in a highly dynamic, open, globalized social space (institutionality), which is supported and carried out through information; which is equally dynamic, open, globalized, technologized as well as commodified. Thus, to exist, individuals must be receivers, transmitters, consumers and an elite of creators of this type of information.
We speak of a society induced to adopt a new organization, characterized by the need for information as a basic element for its operation in the new technological, social and productive context. The environment of this new society constitutes, as said, an advantage for those who manage to assume the changes and the necessary knowledge to adapt. But it represents a great obstacle for those who cannot assimilate or access new knowledge so easily. For this reason, the education of people is essential to achieve a fair and just insertion in the new paradigm of society.
The information society, as it has been defined, suggests a certain commercial interest, or economic management. In this sense, and in direct reference to the influence of economic power on libraries, Magallán Wals affirms that “although we can trace the existence of library thinking and techniques from the first urban societies of Antiquity, these have always been linked to political leadership and the interests of the most influential pressure groups (economic, political, religious) of each moment (…). »11,« Today, the lively interest of economic pressure groups in the media and its control, as a key factor for political propaganda and the diffusion of concrete social models,it coincides with the diminishing role that states have as decisive power in subjugating their interests to that of supranational economic groups. "
It is undeniable that information is a power that enables you to obtain various objectives.
It is also true that information can be handled by means of data or its omission to create in people a convenient interpretation for the purpose of the person who proposes it.
The search for power and control over society is one more component of the consequences of the globalized development of the information and communication media.
Access to information is not something that is simply appealed to as a legitimate right of individuals, today it has become a constant struggle with the information market to obtain open and fair access.
Faced with these facts and considering that the consumption of information is increasingly necessary in today's world, it is evident the need to develop criteria to differentiate between the information presented in the different media with respect to its true content and usefulness. These reasons lead us to think that education and information centers are key elements to guarantee the right to obtain accurate and adequate information.
On the other hand, it is of no use for libraries to complement their services and transform their collections, according to new technologies, if they do not focus on the user as their main objective. This user is the one who librarians have always served. Today the user of information is often disoriented and lost or, trained and with new demands in the face of the new information society. Thus, the librarian, in the information society, strives to train the user, because he loses the fear of the new and; It offers the demanding user new products and services, but for this, it has to be fully and constantly trained.
Literacy people in information and communication technologies, as well as in the intellectual and critical management of the information obtained thanks to these technologies, is a fundamental need.
It is very important to appeal to the user to be able to identify, from the different media, the most valuable and reliable sources of information for interest.
With regard to the attitude of the user and education towards the information media, it should be noted that "any proposal that involves articulating the spaces of communication and education must be based on the conception of an active receiver", which According to Martínez de toda, he is a "deconstructor / reconstructor of the meaning of the media, capable of critically reflecting on them, but at the same time entertaining him and offering solutions to his problems."
The learning made possible by the media, translated into the experience of said "active subject", is an ideal of education in the beneficial and critical use of the information media to which librarians should appeal.
According to Pineda, the librarian in the information society, to achieve the new literacy in technology and information for citizens, must: «take advantage of the technology of the globalized world and reduce in some way the gap between the informed rich and the informed poor, to enable everyone to participate in the information society and create a culture of individuals with the ability to work with information, for their personal and professional development.
Need for information literacy
The proliferation of information technologies, information sources and new communication possibilities coexists with the growing need for information for decision-making and solving problems of daily life. Likewise, permanent education, as an educational paradigm in the information society, is a manifest or latent need in each individual.
Every day, the constant change and the emergence of new demands regarding information needs is more evident.
This need is so important that we are witnessing a new type of illiteracy. Saragüeta uses a fairly representative term: "neo-literacy." 14 With it, it refers to the gap that the new information and communication technologies have created between individuals familiar or unfamiliar with their implantation in society. His term is correct because it represents something new, (neo); Certainly, this kind of illiteracy is new, it involves more than knowing how to read and write correctly, which is why UNESCO has worked for the last 20 years. But also, because of the notion of depth and distance that it expresses, if it is related to the gap that it implies between the world's societies and between its citizens.
On the other hand, at the same time, that there is talk of a new illiteracy, a specific term appeared with great force, in recent years, to refer to the literacy necessary to avoid the economic and social gaps, which society is capable of generating. of the information. This is "information literacy." Little by little, we will approach this concept but first, it is necessary to describe how this new literacy occurs in the current educational context and how it is related to the profession of the librarian.
Permanent education
The increase in technological, communicational and informational knowledge has generated a process of changes around the education of people. The increase in the knowledge that is considered necessary to carry out various activities has produced the need for permanent education.
The means and formal levels used up to now to transmit knowledge are not enough to satisfy the training needs, which knowledge implies in today's world.
Fontcuberta, warns about the new challenge that the 21st century poses, at the level of education, and specifically, refers to the factors that determine it: «need for an educational change in the face of a new way of knowing; the demands of a complex society, in which social phenomena are increasingly interrelated and which must accept contradiction and uncertainty as methods of access to knowledge; the globalization; and the existence of a media culture that has occupied spaces, until recently, reserved for the educational system. The solution to these challenges is a crucial task for the future of our societies. "
Goéry Délacôte, describes three great revolutions underway that cause a very significant educational change: cognitive, interactivity and the management of educational systems.
Interactivity is linked to the change in relationships between sender / receiver, narrator / reader, teacher / student. In the words of this author: «it is the user who constructs the story that no narrator will have completely elaborated. The function of the creator of the program is to supply the fundamental pieces of the stories. "
As for the cognitive revolution: «teaching must have a content, knowledge must be able to be used to solve problems, including unexplored new situations and, finally, the individual must consciously and voluntarily control their own cognitive processes, their reasoning, how you learn, what happens in your memory, and how you can strengthen your functioning to improve results. "
The revolution in the management of educational systems has resulted in multiple crises: crisis in school curricula, crisis in the role of teachers, crisis in the languages that the school founds and uses, crisis in technical resources, crisis in values and in socialization systems, management crisis, and so on.
But beyond the problems posed by defining what "knowing" is, three fundamental elements can be identified in the transformation of knowledge in today's society: the need to deepen and specialize in a specific field of knowledge -knowledge, which in several areas, quickly becomes obsolete; demand for training in new disciplines in the academic and professional field, as well as establishing objects of study from a transdisciplinary perspective.
The various professions increasingly need a greater update in knowledge for daily practice, as well as the integration of their knowledge with other disciplines. These are the bases where permanent education is justified and established. The current concept of permanent education is related to «the continuous construction of the person, of their knowledge and skills, of their critical faculty, their attitudes and their capacity to act; to enable us to develop a critical conscience about ourselves and to encourage our full participation at work and in society. 16 We share the opinion of Almada de Ascencio, who considers that it is important to direct educational plans towards an «educating and educated society» for the next century. But still, we believe that it,It will not be achieved without expanding the educational offer with quality, with equity and with the support of new information technologies.
The change in libraries
The introduction of information technologies has influenced the objectives and direction of libraries. The right to know and the right to access information are two essential principles in changing libraries. During the last few years there have been some important changes in the library field, including:
- The emergence of new ways of presenting information, as well as new ways of searching for it, accessing it and processing it. The emergence of new needs related to decision-making regarding library collections. A new relationship has been established between the librarian and the information industry, publishers, booksellers and information agents. Consortia have been created to defend the rights of libraries against information providers and to carry out a cooperative activity of interlibrary loan or access to databases and documents The creation of better document exchange systems at regional and global level The beginning of academic movements aimed at promoting open access to electronic publications and free software.The appearance of new demands for decision-making in the acquisition of technologies and new information supports. To this must be added the decisions and constant changes that must be considered in obtaining software programs and computer support. The accelerated and constant growth of the volume of information and publications available, as a result of the facilities offered by new technologies. new challenges among information professionals, new functions in their field of work, every day, more related to teaching and support in education for information users.Finally, the librarian, as a professional, now requires a permanent education, many times, without having for it,other resources than their own and as well as adaptability to their work environment. It is necessary to make quick decisions and actively participate in the process of changing work tools, for example, cataloging rules or bibliographic formats, as well as the adoption of new standards.
These changes constitute great challenges, difficult for those who do not have enough resources to closely follow the development of technology and the market, be they individuals or institutions. Those who need to approach knowledge in today's society, must necessarily face training as a tool to achieve it. It is very important that people learn to identify and select information, as well as to handle technological tools to inform and educate themselves on an ongoing basis.
The response to these needs begins with adequate information literacy.
Information literacy can be understood as: "the ability to face new situations and consider them on the basis of being well equipped… to find and use the necessary information."
The current situation shows that both the user and the librarian himself require such training on an ongoing basis in order to efficiently face the performance of their respective daily professional activities. "In order to develop good user training programs, to help students learn and improve their information skills, librarians and documentalists must adequately prepare their teaching skills" 18 but it is also important to extend the scope of these training programs, to all users of libraries and information centers, that is, not only those of libraries belonging to the educational field.
A few years ago, the intention of training the librarian in certain pedagogical skills for his profession was added to the permanent education activity; In this regard, there are several experiences carried out in different European universities, 19 and various pedagogical training centers for librarians have been developed, for example, in France, the Unité Règionale de Formation et de Promotion pour L'Information Scientifique et Technique (URFIST) founded Unité Règionale de Formation et de Promotion pour L'Information Scientifique et Technique; In the United States, the American Libraries Association (ALA),) created the Institute for Information Literacy in 1997.
For the incorporation of the training and educational activity of the users, the librarian makes use of the user training services and a series of priorities have been established by the information centers themselves to incorporate new ideas for training into their objectives. of users, starting from the use of various information education methods.
Education in the context of libraries
The library is a link to knowledge and education in society, hence it:
- It acts as an intermediary between information and user, acquires, preserves, processes and supplies information, that is, it facilitates access to information for its transformation into knowledge. It offers users, through its information and consultation services, the possibility of Find the necessary information directly. It develops courses for the education and training of its users, which constitute a real form of education in the library environment, and which allow the user to approach the library and its collection. Teaches in different ways, the concept and the importance of the information, the techniques and procedures to be informed.
In this way, it guides the user so that they can easily function in any information institution.
User training, a common and very necessary activity in any library, has gradually changed, has expanded its methods and contents.
The traditional training of the user in the search for information and the management of library resources is not enough for him to obtain the information he needs. In today's reality, certain skills and knowledge are required to benefit from the large volume of existing information, regardless of its support or presentation format. This brings us back to the need for information literacy.
And precisely, one of the edges of an information literacy is mastering the processes necessary for the user of a library to be able to access information, analyze it and understand its characteristics, both in terms of content and presentation, in order to obtain and manage the knowledge of your interest.
«Information literacy is a global objective that involves and commits both the educational system at all its compulsory levels and the documentary institutions. The documentalists, as providers and organizers of information for its use, must facilitate the knowledge of the documentary methodologies that allow their best use, teach them and simplify the information retrieval systems according to the needs and characteristics of the process of apprehension of knowledge of the users ».
Interdisciplinary participation
Another possible educational intervention of the librarian is his participation in interdisciplinary groups to support teaching, especially in the university environment.
According to Bruce, the concept of information literacy implies a process of searching and finding the appropriate information, which will depend, for it to be effective, and can really solve a problem or assist in decision-making, on the experience of whoever seeks the information. information.
In this sense, the librarian, accustomed to dealing with information and with information, sometimes specialized in the processing of an area of knowledge or type of library, is indicated as a suitable agent to find pertinent and qualified information efficiently, because he is a vast connoisseur of the means for these purposes. On the other hand, the librarian is the ideal professional in terms of knowledge on regulations and methodology for the presentation of academic works, whatever their nature, on the most important sources, for the preparation of bibliographic reference lists, and so on. For this reason,The training and experience of the librarian is frequently required for the execution of tasks in interdisciplinary teaching and the support for the permanent education of different groups of information users.
As for teaching activity in general, technologies have modified the various teaching methods and incorporated new ways of knowing and updating; Today virtual congresses, teleconferences, virtual courses, educational forums, discussion lists, online educational videos, interactive web pages, tutorials, and so on are common.
The supports have also been modified, in such a way that the information can be presented in printed form, on compact discs, DVD, electronic formats such as html, xml, pdf, tif, among others.
To attend this new context, the librarian must be trained solidly and constantly.
Changes to the referral service
The library's reference service is the main means of directly satisfying the questions of its users.
Basically, it deals with informing the user, through answers to their particular or frequent questions or the indication of the appropriate sources to solve their needs or evacuate their doubts. In addition, it is responsible for conducting personal interviews to agree and determine the requirements of the bibliographic searches that users request.
The information society has had a considerable influence on reference services, above all, from the appearance and multiplication of data sources, as well as the need for new and varied skills to handle the tools that have emerged for the search for information. information; The same has happened with the kinds of questions that are received in these services. Each time, the queries become more complex and diverse, and to answer them it is necessary to master the new context of the available information, its types, structures, organization, characteristics, forms of access, and so on.
“While librarians have to remain in a continuous learning attitude to keep abreast of new trends and sources, they must rethink how to do their work and how to provide their services. Librarians have traditionally offered reference and information services, in a certain way, and users have been expected to abide by these terms. Now, however, librarians must begin to understand the changing wants and needs of their users in relation to the acquisition of knowledge and the use of information.
Library reference services change, for example:
- Help desks have become part of reference services Users need training in accessing, organizing and using information so that information literacy has been incorporated into the activity of reference services Users They need remote help, thus electronic communication, including video conferencing, is integrated into the reference work. Users need help where they are, so referees often "run" the library to meet these needs or they access the teachers' offices to provide the necessary services. "
To complement this perception of a traditional referral service, the following classic questions or queries from users can enlighten the reader:
- How can I find out what books or magazines the library has? How can I find information that I need? What is a database, how does it work? What are the keywords? What are they for? I am looking for? Where can I find what I need? Who can advise me on this topic? What is a bibliographic search? What are reference works What are bibliographic references? What for, how and by whom? the rules of the library?
However, in the current context, these questions have changed and could be:
- What is the Internet? What does HTML or WWW mean? What is a link? In which Internet addresses can I find the information I need? What are FAQs? What is a search engine, how does it work? Can I search for this topic? How can I search for images? What are magazines / e-books? What is a PDF file? What is an online database? How does translation software work and how reliable is it? Why can't I access this information, what is a password? Do I have to pay for the information available on the Internet? Is this information reliable? How can I make sure of it? If I don't get the information I need online, Where else can I look? What is an e-book, where can I find it? How do I access magazines in electronic format? Can I save this information,How should I do it? How should I cite electronic resources in the bibliography?
The answer to these questions and many others, common in current reference services, require new knowledge about information, a new level of learning.
It is important to clarify that the new paradigm implies knowing how to conduct ourselves to respond to inquiries, both when the technology and the necessary means exist and when they are lacking. The information society is present for everyone, whatever the reality that touches us. For all users to achieve the human right to obtain information for their social life and personal development, 21 knowledge must be leveled, starting from an education in information, according to the possibilities of each reality.
Future perspectives
Constant and necessary changes occur. In some countries, issues that begin to emerge in the form of questions in others are resolved matter, as is the case of the discussion about new possibilities for the technical processing of information offered by bibliographic formats, as well as the construction of large information networks with the support of new information technologies.
The library literature of advanced countries frequently refers to the importance of designing user-friendly and adequate interfaces to the needs of the user in electronic information media, be it with regard to graphic and documentary design of web pages, networks or online catalogs, always in accordance with the standards for handling metadata, which facilitate access, search and retrieval of information.
The metadata has been considered for some time in the library field as a challenging alternative to the traditional cataloging norms. There are doubts about which formats to use for bibliographic records, for the exchange and access to data in the electronic environment, MARC 21, Dublin Core or many others widely used today in online catalogs and in increasing expansion.
In this sense, Ortiz-Repiso, 22 exhorts the library community to continue in the objective search and careful study of the most promising metadata and standards for the digital future.
On the other hand, Gorman, 23 raises a group of extremely correct questions, related to the concerns established by the storage of electronic information, the ephemeral duration of publications on the web, the pertinent specialization of its contents, its preservation, and so on. These are complex issues that must be resolved in the face of the challenges posed by technology and the information society. Technology, every day, will allow a more adequate approach to meeting information needs. There is, in turn, a constant need to adapt to the changing work environment, investment in technology and library training, and this will undoubtedly be the sine quanon condition to achieve true progress towards the future.
In this sense, and both from the perspective of the librarian and the user, information literacy is the means that allows one to be an independent learner throughout life. And this does not mean that an information literate user will no longer need the services offered by librarians, because their theoretical and practical training, permanent contact with information, both for processing and searching, experience in solving Similar problems and needs, familiarity with the use of the means to process information, knowledge of new sources and possibilities to carry out the search, will always bring advantages to librarians to act as a necessary intermediary between the user and the information they need..
And finally, how can libraries and other information and documentation institutions achieve information literacy?
As mentioned above, there are some avant-garde countries in which, for some years, some proposals have been made to implement pedagogical teaching in library and documentation careers, this modality is increasingly being extended to other countries.
To offer a practical vision of the matter, some of the possible alternatives will be shown: 18
- Education and user orientation programs independently or combined with teaching curricula Digital libraries aimed at offering tutorials and didactic resources to learn how to handle and search for information Digital libraries that support teaching courses through the placement of materials educational online consultation. User training courses to satisfy their own information needs, according to their characteristics.
Standardization
One part of information literacy is information competencies.24 These are specific or measurable job and information-related skills that an individual can acquire. Information competencies are useful for measuring or diagnosing a person's degree of information literacy.
Information literacy should be established based on certain common standards of what most librarians consider basic information skills. It is very important to define certain common points in the criteria that determine the scope or success obtained by individuals in acquiring information literacy, this will make sure that all obtain the same level in their training. The existence of standards for developing and evaluating information skills in individuals is common in developed countries. In the words of Angle Marcial, «The so-called information literacy standards, generated by fellow librarians from the United States, England and Australia have had a strong impact, at the national level,in higher education institutions in their countries and have been adopted and adapted to other realities such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and some European countries. Graduates of educational institutions in those countries will undoubtedly have an advantage over graduates of Latin American educational institutions if we allow more time to pass. " 25
Said author proposes a standard appropriate to our regional reality and highlights that the lack of skills to identify valuable information places us at a disadvantage compared to the advances made by those countries that give priority attention to the development of information literacy standards. This makes us reflect and reminds us of the need to adopt information policies in our countries.
Regarding the search for standardized solutions and common perspectives of educational work in the field of information literacy, it is important to emphasize research in Library and Information Sciences. The search for common solutions is closely related to the adoption of information policies. The information society environment, referred to above, is a conducive means to stimulate debate and research in order to improve or respond with coherence and justice for the whole of society, on the necessary new literacy and a information policy that points to it clearly.
Above all, there is talk of promoting the establishment of common guidelines and regulations that allow supporting a firm position in the face of current challenges in the informational field. In the words of Suaiden, «research in Information Sciences can be the thread that unites disinformation and the information society. A fairer, less elitist society, where information becomes essential for decision-making and the training of critical users. 26 Regarding information policies, these are the ideal framework for the implementation of any literacy program. But in order to have opinion considered from our professional perspective, it is essential to "Foster a high level of awareness regarding the usefulness and value of information in the government, public and industrial sectors."27
Conclusions
The information society, characterized by a strong technological, social and economic component, has transformed library services in an unprecedented way. People require new technological and informational knowledge to be active recipients of the information and communication media.
Librarians have also been forced to adapt to the new demands in terms of knowledge and have expanded their functions to achieve a better insertion in the information society. The new responsibilities include more intensive and committed user training with a view to developing a mass of critical users. It also highlights the need to defend access to information and the right to objective knowledge.
Information literacy is an appropriate measure to get people to actually get the information they need. And this is possible, because it offers citizens the tools and means necessary to seek answers to their concerns and make it possible to meet with information and the world that surrounds them. Likewise, the individual is prepared to draw up their own conclusions, criticisms or opinions regarding the information, to make the decisions that in their opinion are the most convenient, and in this way, facilitates their personal development.
In order for information literacy to be possible in the environment of libraries and information institutions, it is necessary to promote training activities for the different user communities, as well as permanent education for teachers and librarians dedicated to these tasks. The necessary promotion and support can be received from national information policies, the creation and implementation of which is absolutely necessary in all countries, they are basic pillars to achieve learning and human development.
Nothing can be achieved by international development cooperation agencies without the firm decision of governments to implement information policies in a programmed manner and committed to the well-being of their population and their country.
In most of the countries of our region, these policies are a pending matter that cannot be referred only to training in the use of computers.28
But this does not mean that the agents promoting information and education do not become aware of the importance of information literacy for citizens, be it through the struggle and debate to establish information policies at the national level or standardization. or through the creation of work guidelines in information institutions. This last option is a way of appealing with real and possible actions to the awareness necessary to consider the real problems of development, equality and respect for human rights in our countries.
Bibliographic references
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