Abstract:

Propagating the need for lifelong learning in knowledge society, the digital literacy of a person is becoming basic for the further pursue of new knowledge and creating it. The Bologna process and experience in implementing the Lisbon strategy has demonstrated that in order to ensure the quality of education and studies in a higher education school, improve the ability of knowing how to learn, there is an inevitable and constant need to develop and improve the information culture of the academic community. Today the information competence and information culture is becoming the basis of an organisation’s competitiveness.
The Lithuanian higher education schools, after the implementation of BIBLIONOVA project in 2008 which received the funding from the EU and was presented for the academic community in the whole country, apply widely information competence education integrating the sources of academic libraries to the study process’ methodology. This methodology allows for a higher education school during a comparatively short period of time to improve academic community’s information competences and ensure their continuous development.
BIBLIONOVA methodology, which has been implemented in 4 higher education schools of Northern Lithuania (3 colleges and 1 university) so as to get complex and constant influence, emphasizes the involvement of the whole academic community in the improvement of information competences (IC) starting with the formation of regulations (information culture is a value and is necessary in knowledge creating community). This methodology uses normative (information literacy standards are seeked), constructive (the implemented task becomes a stimulus to develop IC) education, populiarizes methods of problematic teaching/learning, critical thinking. IC education is integrated into all study subjects. All means are implemented by using methods of consistency and complexity. First of all, academic library becomes information, education- consulting centre that develops information culture in the region. New services are provided: open access to information systems and data bases, IL evaluation and self-evaluation tests after which supplementary IC education programmes are created, IL measurements, researches, preparation of teaching aids, CDs, etc. The library is integrated into the study process: new places for team work, informatics work in lecturers’ groups that prepare new study programmes, programme committees, groups of study quality observation.
Other means – work in inter-institutional and inner networks (goal-directed networks, innovation networks) and exchanging experience, creating new intellectual products. Lecturers, librarians, informatics, students of the region’s higher education schools become involved into this process. Programmes administrating study process are used, Moodle system is used for lecturing.
The Change research, which was performed after all complex of means using BIBLIONOVA methods, revealed that during the period of 2 years the information competences have changed from satisfactory to good.

Keywords:

information competence, information skills, information literacy, digital literacy.