The contribution of information skills to the development of citizenship: an exploratory study conducted in the field of information science, librarianship and education

Abstract

In producing this article, we sought to reflect on the contribution of educational training in information competencies to the development of citizenship in contemporary society. To this end, we used exploratory research in terms of the proposed objective, and, in terms of procedure, a bibliographic survey carried out within the scope of Information Science and inter- and transdisciplinary areas such as Librarianship and Education. The field of Librarianship emphasizes the practice and study of information, reading, media and digital skills that can be acquired and improved, especially in the education and care of users in the hybrid reference service. Education theory allows us to analyze how the social practices of multimodal and hypertextual searching and reading help in the dialogue that is constituted in the sphere of public debates and exchanges of experiences of citizens aware of their rights and competent in information, inside and outside the spaces of libraries and schools, especially with the expansion of distance learning actions after the Covid-19 pandemic.  As a result, we realized that information competences, enhanced using technological and cultural resources made available by science and technology, are important for achieving the knowledge, skills and attitudes in information retrieval and critical analysis processes required to develop citizenship in the digital age. The relevance of teaching, research, and university extension activities related to these skills is identified as having potential in undergraduate library science and graduate information science programs, thereby reaching a variety of institutions and citizens who need to learn how to deal with social problems caused by the infodemic and misinformation.