I have to take issue with the basis of Clifford Lynch's argument in his paper Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture. His thesis is deeply in his presumption that users have a.)the know-how and b.) access to computers and technology. Tangentially, what about those who simply don't care if they're computer literate--are they just going to disappear? What of non-traditional users, of the elderly, those who don't use English as their first language; what of disabled users? Lynch hasn't allowed for them. His argument states that understanding technology will be essential for success in "all walks of life." While I recognize that computer literacy is desirable and important, I simply can't accept it as the end all be all that Lynch is making it out to be.
Jason Vaughan's look at Lied Library in his case study was thoughtful and descriptive (if not a little obvious). He provided a quite balanced look at both the challenge and the ease of running the technical aspects of a large academic library. Perhaps it's because this article is fairly dated, but I wasn't all that surprised by any of his points (in fact, several times, I caught myself rolling my eyeys and thinking "DUH"). Nonetheless, this article is likely a good starting point for those totally out of the loop in the digital library world.
3 comments:
I agree with your comments on the Lynch article. Technology usage, and more specifically, computer usage, is definitely not the end all, be all that is presented. Yes, it will continue to become more and more prevalent in all aspects of our life, but I am also not sure I agree that it will be a requirement, and his argument does seem to pass over non-traditional users.
That's a good point about people who simply don't care whether they are computer literate. There is a big focus on the elderly and computer use, but walk into a public library and you will see people of all ages unable to use the computers (and expecting to be taught everything they need to know right that second).
You'll see patrons coming in to update their resume who are barely familiar with MS Word, but they want you to help them write that they are proficient in MS Office Suite. Granted, that means that the job they want requires familiarity with technology, but it also means that the individual who is okay lying about their knowledge either never had the opportunity to learn or just didn't care to.
I also found the Lied Library article pretty obvious, but yes, maybe because it's dated!
I agree with your view on the Lynch article. I live in an urban school district where all of the students are given access to computers at school, most of the children do not have access to computers at home and are still seen as an extra. Books are essential to their success in life.
Although I agree with Rachel that there are elderly who are computer literate, it depends on your definition of elderly. My parents are 65 and 67. They are computer literate, using e-mail, digital cameras, online shopping, etc. My Grandparents are 85, 90, and 93. All three of them still use the Library regularly and can use a cell phone in a pinch. Computers are simply not something they want to mess with. I hope that the information of our world remains accessable to them as well.
Joy, I'm so glad you brought up the point about your grandparents. I would by no means consider my grandparents out of touch with the world, but they're 89 & 90 and sincerely have no desire to learn about computers. And can you blame them?!
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