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Project Information Literacy (PIL) is a research institute that conducts national, ongoing scholarly studies on how early adults find and use information as they progress through, and beyond, their higher education years.

Organization

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Based in California's San Francisco Bay Area, Project Information Literacy, Inc. (PIL) is a public benefit 501(c)(3) organization.[1] Alison J. Head, the executive director and lead researcher, is an expert in the field of information literacy research.[2][3]

PIL began in 2008 as a partnership with the University of Washington Information School with Alison J. Head and Michael Eisenberg, dean emeritus and professor at the school, as co-directors.[4] Both Head and Eisenberg have extensive experience conducting and publishing research on information literacy and the information-seeking behavior of Internet users.[5][6][7] In 2012, PIL became a nonprofit with Head as sole director. In 2016 PIL ended its formal relationship with the Information School.[4]

Work

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PIL's studies have been conducted using small teams of researchers drawn from libraries and schools of library and information science across the United States.[8] To date, 20,987 early adults have participated in PIL studies. The institutional sample for PIL studies consists of 93 public and private colleges, universities, and community colleges, as well as 34 high schools located in the U.S. A 2016 study included data from Canadian institutions.[9]

PIL has worked with members of a sample of 260 institutions.[8][10] Partners include four-year private and public universities and colleges in the U.S. including Harvard College, The Ohio State University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Michigan, The University of Washington, DePaul University, Oklahoma State University, University of Alaska, Wellesley College and numerous community colleges. Each PIL study undergoes ethical review at the participating institutions and at the host institution where the study is based.[11] (p. 80) Studies use a mixed-methods approach. PIL has conducted student surveys, focus groups, content analysis of research handouts, extensive interviews, and computational analysis of social media interactions. Final reports include summaries of key findings, in-depth data, and recommendations. All reports are Open Access, available from the PIL website at no charge.

PIL has produced 14 major research reports, investigating the experiences of college students and recent graduates as they interact with information for school, for life, for work, and most recently, for engaging with the news.[10] In 2024, PIL expanded its scope and studied the intersection of information worlds and climate change and how understanding of the climate crisis is formed and mediated, based on responses to a survey of the U.S. general population and college students.[12] On October 12, 2022, PIL published a retrospective report that summarized all 12 reports from the College Study, documented their impact, and included lessons learned from 14 years of research.[13] In 2020, a PIL team released a two-part series on COVID-19 and the first 100 days of U.S. news coverage, which included interactive information visualizations and extensive set of learning resources for promoting news literacy.[14] Researchers used MediaCloud to pull out and analyze the "shape of news" (I love that concept) and how it was visually represented through images."[15] In 2019, PIL examined the awareness and concerns of college students in the age of algorithms, and released the report in January, 2020.[16] The study was supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Electronic Research and Libraries (ER&L), a leading library conference,[17] and the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina.[16] This publication won the 2020 Ilene F. Rockman Instruction Publication of the Year, bestowed by The Association of College and Research Libraries.[18] In October 2018, PIL released the findings of a study of students' news engagement practices in the "post-truth" era,[19] sponsored by the Knight Foundation and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association.[20][21] Another project, The Reading List for Life, leverages PIL's research findings to develop a web application for adult learners in public libraries, and is a collaboration between PIL,[22] The Open Syllabus Project at Columbia University, and the metaLAB@Harvard.In 2016, PIL published a study, funded by the Information School at The University of Washington, that examined library spaces and included data from interviews with architects and library leaders.[9]

PIL's research results have been disseminated through the reports posted on its open access website, numerous articles, conference presentations, webcasts, podcasts, and videos on its YouTube channel. PIL has been recognized as an important source of longitudinal information on the information behaviors of students.[23][24][25][26] As Barbara Fister notes, "[t]his is hands-down the most important long-term, multi-institutional research project ever launched on how students use information for school and beyond."[27] PIL reports are frequently cited in scholarly articles and linked from academic library webpages about information literacy,[28][29] used in workshops for faculty,[30] and in student learning.[31] The studies provide information about students' and graduates' information seeking strategies through the lens of the student experience across multiple institutional sites[29] in the U.S. and are frequently reported on in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, Education Week, and Library Journal.[32]

In 2021 PIL launched the Provocation Series of occasional papers[33] on pressing issues around literacy, building on a solid decade of original research from PIL into students’ information practices in the digital age, other scholarship, and the flow of current events.[34] Each essay is accompanied by an author's reflection and discussion questions. The first in the series, "Lizard People in the Library," by Barbara Fister demonstrates how current media literacy and information literacy instruction falls shorts of equipping students for life in a world of weaponized information.[35] This essay was republished in a slightly different form by The Atlantic, as "The Librarian War Against QAnon".[36] In the second essay, “Reading in the Age of Distrust,” Dr. Alison Head explores why many academicians fail to consider how students read, and how they learn to read deeply for academic and personal purposes.[37] Dr. Kirsten Hostetler wrote the third essay, "The iSchool Equation," which focuses on a gap in the iSchool curriculum. As the effects of mis- and disinformation take a toll on social cohesion, librarians are often positioned as experts who can guide their communities toward a better understanding of our confusing information landscape, but few graduate programs prepare them for teaching.[38] The fourth essay, "Tell Me Sweet Little Lies: Racism as a Form of Persistent Malinformation" by Dr. Nicole A. Cooke proposes critical cultural literacy as a defence against persistent racist malinformation.[39] In the fifth essay, "Information Literacy for Mortals," Mike Caulfield combines decision-making theory & research on his SIFT evaluation method to advocate a strengths-based approach.[40] In 2022, Barbara Fister explores the links between search tools that narrow our focus, results that widen divides and how the weaponization of uncertainty impacts information literacy in "Principled Uncertainty: Why Learning to Ask Good Questions Matters More than Finding Answers."[41]

PIL has created a series of Smart Talk interviews[42] with leading voices related to its core purpose of understanding how early adults use information and technology to learn. Interviewees include: Ken Bain, Char Booth, Nicholas Carr, Mike Caulfield, Jenae Cohn, David Conley, Cathy Davidson, Katie Davis, Dale Dougherty, Sari Feldman, Barbara Fister, Eric Gordon, Renee Hobbs, Rebecca Moore Howard, Sandra Jamieson, Kyle Jones, Joan Lippincott, Robert Lue, Andrea Lunsford, Shannon Mattern, P. Takis Metaxas, Ryan M. Milner, Peter Morville, John Palfrey, Whitney Philliips, Russell Poldrack, Lee Rainie, Justin Reich Howard Rheingold, Dan Rothstein, Jeffrey Schnapp, Howie Schneider, Zach Sims, Peter Suber, Shyam Sundar, Francesca Tripodi, S. Craig Watkins, David Weinberger, and Mary-Ann Winkelmes.

PIL hosts an annual fellowship for emerging researchers in information literacy, and runs a visiting scholar research program, with sites including the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Purdue University,[3] and the University of Pittsburgh University Library System.

Funding

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PIL has received funding from major granting organizations, companies and institutions[43][44]

Reports

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Research studies

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All reports produced by PIL are open access under the CC-BY-NC license; many include open access data sets.

Peer-reviewed articles

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Proceedings

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Opinion and editorials

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Provocation series essays

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Internal Revenue Service. (2020). Project Information Literacy. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=455529264&name=Project%20Information%20Literacy%20Inc.&city=Santa%20Rosa&state=CA&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20DETERMINATIONLETTERS,%20EPOSTCARD&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=DETERMINATIONLETTERS&orgTags=EPOSTCARD
  2. ^ Wihbey, J. (Jan. 26, 2012). Research chat: Information scientist Alison Head on student habits. Journalist's Resource: A Research Portal and Curated Database, January 26, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from http://journalistsresource.org/reference/research/research-chat-information-scientist-alison-head
  3. ^ a b Purdue Libraries selected as 2017–18 site for Project Information Literacy Visiting Research Scholar Program. (July 26th, 2017). Purdue Libraries News. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from http://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/2017/07/26/pil-visiting-scholar/
  4. ^ a b Project Information Literacy.(2017). What is the history of PIL? Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/faq/#history
  5. ^ Roseth, B. (Oct. 8, 1998). New director leads library school into Information Age. University Week. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from http://faculty.washington.edu/mbe/univweek.htm
  6. ^ Information School, University of Washington. (n.d.). Michael Eisenberg. iSchool Directory. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from https://ischool.uw.edu/people/faculty/profile/mbe
  7. ^ UC Irvine Faculty Contribute to Project Information Literacy. (Spring, 2010). UCI Libraries Update: a Newsletter for Faculty, 28(2) Retrieved October 11, 2017 from http://update.lib.uci.edu/spring10/spring10-3.html
  8. ^ a b Project Information Literacy.(2017) How does PIL collect data? Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/faq/#data
  9. ^ a b Head, A.J. (2016). Planning and designing academic library learning spaces: Expert perspectives of architects, librarians, and library consultants. Retrieved November 28, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/library-space-study/
  10. ^ a b See individual reports for details of participating institutions, ethics approvals, and methods for each study
  11. ^ Head, A.J. (2016). Staying smart: How today's graduates continue to learn once they complete college. Retrieved November 28, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/lifelong-learning-study/
  12. ^ Head, A.J., Geofrey, S., Fister, B., & Hostetler, K.(2024). How information worlds shape our response to climate change. Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/climate-study/
  13. ^ Head, A.J., Fister, B., Geofrey, S., & MacMillan, M. (2022).The Project Information Literacy retrospective: Insights from more than a decade of information literacy research, 2008-2022. Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/retrospective/
  14. ^ Head, A.J., Braun, S., MacMillan, M., Yurkofsky, J. & Bull, A.C. (2020). Covid-19: The first 100 days of U.S. news coverage: Lessons about the media ecosystem for librarians, educators, students, and journalists. Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/covid-19-the-first-100-days/
  15. ^ Fister, B. (September 14, 2020). new report out from Project Information Literacy!, Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://barbarafister.net/libraries/new-report-out-from-project-information-literacy/
  16. ^ a b c Head, A.J., Fister, B., & MacMillan, M. (2020). Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms: Student Experiences with News and Information, and the Need for Change. Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/algorithm-study/
  17. ^ a b c d Alison Head Joins Gutman Library as Visiting Scholar. Monroe C. Gutman Library. Retrieved January 14, 2020 from https://library.harvard.edu/about/news/2019-05-01/alison-head-joins-gutman-library-visiting-scholar
  18. ^ Association of College and Research Libraries (2020)Ilene F. Rockman Instruction Publication of the Year Award. Retrieved June 17, 2021 from https://www.ala.org/acrl/awards/publicationawards/publicationyear
  19. ^ Head, A.J., Wihbey, J., Metaxas, P. Takis, MacMillan, M., & Dan Cohen, D. (2018). How Students Engage with News: Five Takeaways for Educators, Journalists, and Librarians. Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved November 28, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/news-study/
  20. ^ a b Association of College and Research Libraries. (Oct. 24, 2017). ACRL sponsors Project Information Literacy news study. Retrieved October 24, 2017 from http://www.acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider/archives/14628
  21. ^ a b Project Information Literacy. (2017). National study on young adults' news consumption launched. Retrieved November 28, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/news-study/pil_news-study_2018-10-16_press-release.pdf
  22. ^ a b Reading list for life. (2017). Retrieved October 6, 2017 from http://readinglistforlife.org/
  23. ^ Bell, S. (May 15, 2013). Studying the studies: The big four," Library Journal. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/05/opinion/steven-bell/studying-the-studies-from-the-bell-tower/
  24. ^ laralu510.(May 31, 2011). Project Information Literacy's new report. It's academic: The official blog of the Pennsylvania Library Association's College & Research Division. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from https://crdpala.org/2011/05/31/pilnewreport/
  25. ^ Davidshumaker. (Dec. 18, 2013) First-year college students, Project Information Literacy, and embedded librarianship. The Embedded librarian: Exploring new, embedded roles for librarians in organizations of all types. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from https://embeddedlibrarian.com/2013/12/18/first-year-college-students-project-information-literacy-and-embedded-librarianship/
  26. ^ Juskiewicz, Scott; Cote, Conor (2014). "Teaching Information Literacy to Undergraduate Students: Reflecting on the Past, Present and Future of Library Instruction". Pacific Northwest Library Association Quarterly. 79 (1).
  27. ^ Fister, B. (Jan. 7, 2016). Information literacy and recent graduates: New from PIL. Barbara Fister, Inside Higher Education. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/information-literacy-and-recent-graduates-new-pil
  28. ^ See for example guides on pages at the University of Toronto http://guides.library.utoronto.ca/fac-lib-collab/IL, Loyola Marymount University http://libguides.lmu.edu/c.php?g=323870&p=2169380, and Madison College http://libguides.madisoncollege.edu/InfoLitStudents/CollegeLevel
  29. ^ a b Deitering, A.M. (Jul. 28, 2016). Understanding student needs [library guide for faculty]. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from http://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/c.php?g=286221&p=1906686
  30. ^ Maricopa Community College.(2016). Designing research assignment handouts: Essential elements to promote student success. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://maricopa.instructure.com/courses/805267
  31. ^ Houtman, E. (2015). Mind-blowing:" Fostering self-regulated learning in information literacy instruction. Communications in Information Literacy, 9(1), 6–18. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit/vol9/iss1/6/
  32. ^ Project Information Literacy. (2017). Publications. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/publications/
  33. ^ Project Information Literacy. (2021). Provocation series. Retrieved February 2, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/index.html
  34. ^ Project Information Literacy. (2021). About the series. Retrieved February 2, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/about.html
  35. ^ Fister, B. (2021). Lizard people in the library. PIL Provocation Series, Vol. 1, no. 1, Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved February 2, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/lizard-people-in-the-library.html
  36. ^ Fister, B. (February 18, 2021). The Librarian War Against QAnon. The Atlantic, Retrieved June 17, 2021 from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2021/02/how-librarians-can-fight-qanon/618047/
  37. ^ Head, Alison B. (2021). Reading in the age of distrust. PIL Provocation Series, Vol. 1, no. 2, Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved June 17, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/reading-in-the-age-of-distrust.html
  38. ^ Hostetler, K. (2021). The iSchool equation. PIL Provocation Series, Vol. 1, no. 3, Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved June 17, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/the-ischool-equation.html
  39. ^ Cooke, N.A. (2021). 'Tell me sweet little lies: Racism as a form of persistent malinformation.' PIL Provocation Series, Vol. 1, no. 4, Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved August 17, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/tell-me-sweet-little-lies.html
  40. ^ Caulfield, M. (2021). 'Information literacy for mortals.' PIL Provocation Series, Vol. 1, no. 5, Project Information Literacy Research Institute. Retrieved December 15, 2021 from https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/information-literacy-for-mortals.html
  41. ^ Fister, Barbara (16 February 2022). "Principled Uncertainty: Why Learning to Ask Good Questions Matters More than Finding Answers". Project Information Literacy. ERIC ED617553.
  42. ^ Project Information Literacy. 2017. Smart talk Interviews. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org/smart-talk-interviews/
  43. ^ Information School, University of Washington. (n.d.) Farewell Mike Eisenberg. Retrieved October 10, 2017 from http://byemike.ischool.uw.edu/history/
  44. ^ Project Information Literacy. (2017). [Home page]. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://projectinfolit.org
  45. ^ Head, A. J. (June 26, 2013). Mismatch between graduates' information skills and employers' needs. IMLS UpNext. Retrieved October 5, 2017 from https://www.imls.gov/news-events/upnext-blog/2013/06/mismatch-between-graduates%E2%80%99-information-skills-and-employers-needs
  46. ^ Head, A.J & Eisenberg, M. (Nov. 4, 2011). Interesting news from Project Information Literacy. forum: what is a reader. Retrieved October 5, 2017 from https://web.stanford.edu/group/whatisareader/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=221
  47. ^ The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. 2012. Annual report for the academic year 2011–2012. Retrieved September 15, 2020 from https://cyber.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/2018-07/Berkman%20Center%20FY%202011-2012%20redacted.pdf
  48. ^ Information School, University of Washington. (2017). Research Areas Information Literacy. Retrieved October 5, 2017 from https://ischool.uw.edu/research/areas/information-literacy
  49. ^ a b "College students limit technology use during crunch time". ScienceDaily. University of Washington. 13 October 2011.
  50. ^ "ProQuest Survey Shows Libraries are Turning Up the Heat on Marke" (Press release). ProQuest. 14 January 2010.
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