ALA Task Force Releases Recommendations to Advance Digital Literacy

From an ALA District Dispatch Post by Marijke Visser:

Today [Friday, June 14, 2013], the American Library Association’s (ALA) Digital Literacy Task Force (which is led by the Office for Information Technology Policy) releases its recommendations to advance and sustain library engagement in digital literacy initiatives nationwide. These recommendations build on the January 2013 Task Force report Digital Literacy, Libraries, and Public Policy and constitute a call to action on the part of the ALA, library education programs, front-line librarians, various funding bodies, and the diverse stakeholders who use and support library services.
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One over-arching recommendation is that ALA should continue to have a member body that focuses on digital literacy and libraries. This group should consist of members with broad ALA representation. It would provide library leadership in digital literacy initiatives across and beyond the library community and track progress against these recommendations.
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Other recommendations made focus on:

• increasing investment in digital literacy;
• developing and sustaining robust partnerships and collaborations;
• strengthening and expanding research and assessment; and
• increasing access to digital literacy programming;

Though the Task Force officially ended its work at the 2013 Midwinter Conference, digital literacy remains an important focus for librarians in all types of libraries and remains a hot topic issue on the national level among government agencies and many policy groups. ALA will continue to stay abreast of issues and work on keeping the library voice part of the conversations.
[Our emphasis] In fact, OITP and the Public Library Association invite you to join the launch of DigitalLearn.org at the ALA Annual Conference. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), DigitalLearn.org is an online hub for digital literacy that supports several of the Task Force’s recommendations.

Read the Complete District Dispatch Post

Conclusions and Recommendations for Digital Literacy Programs and Libraries

Document also available on ALA Web Site at:
http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013_dltf_recommendations.pdf

See Also: Digital Literacy Report Released by ALA’s Office For Information Technology Policy (February 1, 2011)

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Funding, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Public Libraries, Reports