This change has severely affected the information availability and tools of its handling. The scarce printed sources are now more easily accessed in digital form. In addition, a number of new born-digital types of sources have come into existence. Today, most of the sources existing in print form are also available in digital form. In fact, the digital revolution has overshadowed all other formats of information sources.

2. INFORMATION LITERACY

Information Literacy (IL) is the process of knowing when and why information is required, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical way. It is the combination of all the skills that are required for the effective and maximum use of information.“The evolution of the concept of Information Literacy, since Zurkowski first used the term in 1974, has taken place both within and outside of the field of library science, not only in the United States but also throughout the world, Librarians have been especially sensitive to the so called information explosion and its resultant repercussions” (Eisenberg, Lowe and Spitzer 2004, 13).

A number of authors have defined IL in different ways. Some important definitions are given below: Paul Zurkowski first defined information literacy in 1970s as “People trained in the application of Information resources to their work can be called information literates. They have learned techniques and skills for using the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in molding information solution to their problems”. (Quoted in Jayaprakash, and Gupta 2005, 293). Lexon and Walker also define “Information Literacy by characterizing information literate person : one who has the analytical and critical skills to formulate research questions and evaluate results and the skills to search for and access a variety of information types in order to meet his or her information needs.” (Quoted in Jayaprakash and Gupta 2005, 293).The current and most cited definition for information literacy comes from Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) which reads as “Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information” (ACRL 2000). An information literate individual is able to: (a) Determine the extent of information needed (b) Access the needed information effectively and efficiently (c) Evaluate information and its sources critically (d) Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base

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(f) Understand the economic, legal, and social issue surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally” (ACRL 2000).

We are living in information age. Information is the basic requirement for every human activity and it is important as food, air and water. Information in itself has no value, but its value lies in its communication and use (Jayaprakash and Gupta 2005). Today, we are surrounded by a growing ocean of information in many formats, which is called Data smog. Data smog is term coined by author David Shank. It refers to the idea that too much information can create a barrier in our lives. This data smog is produced by the huge amount of information, the speed at which it comes to us from all directions, the need to make fast decisions, and the feeling of anxiety that we are making decisions without having all the information that is available or that we need. Information literacy is the solution to Data Smog. It allows us cope by giving us the skill to know when we need information and where to locate it effectively and efficiently. It includes the technological skills needed to use the modern library as gateway to information. It enables us to analyze and evaluate the information we find, thus giving us confidence in using that information to make a decision or create a product. Information literacy equips us with the critical skills necessary to become independent lifelong learners. Keeping in view the various specializations in the area and needs of the polytechnic professionals, it is thus necessary for polytechnic professionals to be equipped with IL competences that can help them to effectively search, locate, evaluate and use the required information.

The present work includes the study of the information literacy survey of faculty and students of polytechnic managing Information Literacy Progemmes (ILPs).

4. OBJECTIVES

Within the broad frame work of IL skills of faculty and students of polytechnic institutions in Haryana, the following specific objectives were intended to be achieved: 1. Expertise in using information technology devices and services; 2. Understanding of IL; 3. Source of IL instruction; 4. Ability to identify appropriate information source; 5. Ability to search databases efficiently using information retrieval tools and techniques; 6. Ability to evaluate the information source before using it; 7. Ability to ethically use information generated by others; and 8. Ability to communicate over electronic media. 9. To ascertain the part played by LIS Professionals in making the respondents information literate.

1. There is no significant difference between the IL competencies of faculty and students; 2. There is no significant difference between the IL competencies of faculty of different subjects; 3. There is no significant difference between the IL competencies of male and female faculty and students; 4. There is no significant difference between the IL competencies of faculty and students having attended ILPs and those who have not attended ILPs.

Descriptive research method was applied to the study. Descriptive research describes a specific phenomenon at a given point of time. It involves the description, analysis and interpretation of conditions that presently exist. Thus, descriptive research method was found to be the most suitable for the

Table 7.1 presents gender wise analysis of respondents. Total 333 respondents participated in the study, of which 16o (48 percent) were male and 173 (52 percent) were female. In all the level of respondents the same trend was visible.

Table 7.2 presents analysis of response regarding ability of respondents to use different devices, software’s or facilities. On this question the users were asked to rate their ability on a 5 point scales 1-5, representing novice (1) to expert (5). Mean of the respondents’ expertise in using the concerned device. The table shows that among various options the respondent’s were more comfortable in using e-mail. The faculty response of 3.79 Mean Score (M.S.) was quite encouraging. The (M.S. 3.33) students’ response was also relatively satisfactory. The second highest positive response was shown in the use of websites (M.S. 3.37). The faculty (M.S. 3.71) was more comfortable in using websites than the students. Moreover, students (M.S. 3.24) were more expert in using websites. The table reveals that the respondents were somewhat comfortable in using M.S Excel. The faculty members (M.S. 3.41) and (M.S. 3.02) students’ response was also relatively satisfactory. M.S. Word is used today by almost everyone who uses computer for academic purposes. But the mean score of 3.16 on a 5 point scale of 1-5 is not very encouraging for M.S. word users. Again the faculty response (M.S. 3.45) was more positive than the response of students (M.S. 2.87). The student’s response is also more consistent (S.D. 1.36) than the faculty. M.S. Power Point is an essential tool for making presentations. Faculty and students frequently need to use Power Point for academic purpose. But the response of M.S. 3.23 is not satisfactory. However the faculty (M.S. 3.38) and (M.S. 3.08) students were more comfortable in using PowerPoint than the students. Windows operating system is used in almost all personal computers. Awareness of its functions makes the job of a computer user quite easy. But except faculty (M.S. 3.32) no other category of respondents could even touch the mark of mean score 3.The respondents were least comfortable in using computer (M.S. 2.95). Although the general pattern of faculty (M.S. 3.28) and students (M.S. 2.62) response in decreasing order of expertise was also visible there, but none of the category felt comfortable in using computer

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computer related course. 78 (23.4 percent) faculty members and 78 (23.4 percent) students responded that they had done computer course. Interestingly, 177 (53.2 percent) respondents indicated that they had not done any computer course, which is very strange. Among those who have done some course, more than one-third (i.e. 120) did some basic course, while 20(12.6 percent) had done Diploma in com Sc. 10 of them had done P.G Degree and 8 (of which were faculty) had done MCA. 5(3.1 percent) faculty members had done O’level Diploma.

Table 7.4 presents response on the provision of instruction on use of electronic databases. 262(78.7 percent) respondents had not received any instruction while only 71(21.3 percent) stated that they had received instructions. The pattern of response was similar among both the categories. Slightly more number of students 43 (12.9 percent) had received instruction than faculty members.

instruction from anybody. Among those who received some help from others cited their colleague/students97 (29.1 percent) as the main source of the instruction. 5(15 percent) students received instruction from their classmates, while faculty member i.e.19 (5.7percent) received help from the librarian.

Table 7.6 indicates that 113 (33.9 percent) faculty members considered IL as the ability to located evaluate and use information effectively. The same views were expressed by 64 (19.2 percent) Students. Interestingly, the response of majority of respondents spread over three other options and a small number i.e. 41(12.3 percent) had no idea of IL at all. Thus, more than 60 percent respondents did not have a clear concept of IL.

encyclopedia for this purpose. Interestingly, more than 55(16.5) percent respondents used library catalogue or periodical index. This clearly indicates that quite a larger number of respondents were unaware of the appropriate source.

Table 7.8 shows that 38 (11.4 percent) respondents considered scholarly articles generally contain an abstract to the contents of the article, the author’s affiliation or credentials and a bibliography or a list of works cited. 49 (14.7 percent) felt scholarly articles generally contain only bibliography/references. Interestingly, 25(7.5 percent) faculty was of the view that scholarly articles contained only an abstract. It is clear from the above response that only one fourth of the respondents were having a clear idea of the content of scholarly articles.

stated that online research database was the best place to find a scholarly article. Interestingly, 63 (18.9 percent) faculty members and 74 (22.2 percent) students opined that Internet was the best source for the scholarly articles. More than 54 (16.2 percent) respondents considered reference books and general interest magazines to be the source of scholarly articles.

The respondents were asked certain questions to know their understanding of search tools and techniques. Table 7.10 presents their response regarding use of truncation. The results show that 122 (36.6 percent) respondents stated that Eco* is the best way to truncate the word Economics so that the words economically, econometrics and economy are also retrieved. This response was more or less similar in all categories. 46 (13.8 percent) faculty stated that Eco* was the best way to truncate the word Economics, similarly 76 (22.8 percent) students also expressed the same view. Interestingly, table further reveals that 54(16.2 percent) did not have any idea.

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(37.8 percent) respondents felt that a full text database includes an abstract for each article; the citation database does not include an abstract.102 (30.61 percent) respondents stated that a full text database includes articles some of which are full text. The citation database includes only bibliographic information about the article. Interestingly, 64(19.2 percent) respondents responded that they did not have any idea about the difference between the full-text database and a citation data.

Table 7.12 presents response of the question regarding use of Boolean operators. The results show that 127 (38.1 percent) respondents considered ‘Journals AND Magazines’ keyword should be used to retrieve the maximum results in an online database. Only 81(24.3 percent) responded that ‘Journals OR Magazines’ Keyword should be used to retrieve information in an online database. Although 39 (11.7 percent) faculties responded for this option but it was still the second highest rated option for them. This shows that only 24.3 percent respondents were aware of use of Boolean operators. Interestingly, 58(17.4 percent) respondents did not have any idea of which Boolean operator should be used.

responded that keyword search would work even if they spell a wrong word. 69(20.7 percent) were of the view that keyword search would search only titles. 33(9.9 percent) respondents did not have any idea about keyword searching, which is very strange.

There are some guidelines for conducting keyword searches. The respondents were asked to tick the statement not conforming to these guidelines. Table 7.14 indicates that 63 (18.9 percent) respondents considered the use of very broad general terms (i.e. animals) as the in appropriate tip. 77(23.1 percent) respondents responded that checking of search words for mistyped or misspelled words was not a good tip for keyword searching. 65(19.5) percent respondents did not have any idea about keyword searching, which is very strange

All the students and faculty use books and periodical articles for academic purpose. They were asked to mention how they evaluated these sources before deciding to use them. Table 7.15 shows their

document is evaluated on the bases of title, date and country of publication. 115(34.5 percent) evaluated a document by its relevance, currency, publisher and author’s credentials. And 7(8.1 percent) did not have any idea about document evaluation. The above analysis shows that only 34.5 percent respondents which includes 21.5 percent faculty, had an understanding of which document to use.

Table 7.16 presents analysis of response regarding use of references. The results indicate that 40 (12.6 percent) respondents included references in their research paper because references give credit to authors. 96(28.8 percent) included references because references help in locating the document, giving credit to authors and determine the creditability of their sources. Faculty response 54 (16.2 percent) was relatively more for this option than any other category. 28.8 percent were of the view that use of references allows readers to only determine credibility of their sources.

7.17 shows that 63 (18.9 percent) respondents considered the question “can I order products from this cite?” as most essential.7o (21.9 percent) stated that the most essential question to ask was whether “all the spelling and grammar correct in this text?” 53(15.9 percent) stated that they would consider the colorfulness of pictures/graphs/ charts as most essential. Interestingly, 116(34.8 percent) were of the view that they should consider the author and accuracy of information.

When the respondents were asked about reliability of Internet based information, their views were again not very clear. Table 7.18 indicates that 93 (27.9 percent) respondents considered that Internet based information was factual, because the Internet is constantly monitored by world educational organizations. 61(18.3 percent) responded that Internet based information was far more reliable than books and magazines. 74(22.2 percent) responded that Internet based information was required by law to be accurate, timely and appropriate. 82(24.6 percent) felt that Internet based information comes from many varied sources such as business, government or private citizens. Table further indicates that 23(6.9 percent) respondents did not have any idea.

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There was one question to know respondents understanding of the concept of plagiarism. The response was not encouraging. Table 7.19 shows that 103 (30.9percent) respondents stated that meaning of plagiarism was using the idea of another person in their work instead of using only their own idea. 37(11.1 percent) responded that meaning of plagiarism was improperly interpreting the source. 108(32.4 percent) responded that they did not know meaning of plagiarism, which is very strange. And 48(14.4 percent) considered plagiarism to include the idea of another person in one’s writing and not citing the person properly.

Table 7.20 indicates that 105 (31.5 percent) respondents assumed that all of the data or text in the web is copyrighted. 94 (28.2 percent) felt that they might use the text, graphics freely unless they are specially labeled as being copyrighted for this purpose. Interestingly, less than 10.00 percent respondents stated that they had no idea of how to use web based information.

Table 7.21 shows that 53 (15.9 percent) respondents stated that they would include only the author’s last name and the year, but leaves the page number blank in an in-text citation if the quotation has no page number. 82 (24.6 percent) opined that they would not cite the information in an in-text citation if the quotation has no page number. Interestingly, only 37 (11.1 percent) faculty members included the author’s last name, the year and the paragraph number where they found the quotation in an in-text citation if the quotation has no page number. Table 7.22: Electronic Communication Etiquettes Table 7.22 deals with typing in all capitals in electronic communication. The analysis shows that 80(24.0 percent) respondents found nothing special in typing in all capitals. And only 45(13.5) percent respondents understood that it meant shouting and thus should be avoided. Interesting, about 80 percent response for in appropriate options shows that respondents did not have proper understanding of electronic communication etiquettes.

Table 7.23 indicates that 59 (17.7 percent) respondents would forward a message if it is typed in all capitals. 56 (16.8 percent) would forward the message if its author had not marked it confidential. 37 (11.10 percent) respondents responded that they had no idea for e-mail message forwarding. And only 95(28.5 percent) said that they would forward a message only if its author had given them permission to do so.

A summary of findings and significant conclusions drawn, have been presented in the following sections: 1. The faculty felt quite comfortable in using e-mail (M.S. 3.79), computer (M.S. 3.28 and M.S. Word (M.S. 3.45) while the students were comfortable in using M.S Power point (M.S. 3.08). This response was mainly due to the fact that 49.7 percent faculty and 50.3 percent students had done some computer courses. The expertise of the respondents in using other software and services like WWW, M.S. Power Point, M.S. Windows and M.S. Excel was not much encouraging. 2. Only 21.3 percent respondents had received instructions on use of electronic databases. And this response was similar in both the categories. 12.9 percent students received these instructions from their fellow classmates while faculty (8.4 percent) received instructions mainly during studies from their faculty. 3. Less than half the number of responding faculty i.e. 33.9 percent and 19.2 percent students had an understanding of the concept of IL. 4. An important aspect of IL is identification of location of required information. There were two questions on this aspect, one question asked the respondents, where they would find an introductory article on a topic. Only about one-fourth of the article 41.1 percent opted for internet and only 25.5 percent stated that they would consult online research database. 5. Appropriate understanding and use of various search tools help in retrieval of accurate information. Interestingly, 36.6 percent respondents were able to use word truncation appropriately, but correct used of Boolean operators was made by only 24.3 percent respondents. Similarly, only 41.1 percent respondents were able to make appropriate use of keyword search facility. 6. All the web-based information on a topic is not of same quality it needs to be evaluated before use. An information literate person should know how to evaluate the information. Only 21.0 percent respondents were able to cite the proper criteria for evaluation of a document. The same response was visible on the issue of web-based information. Only 24.6 percent respondents were able to state clearly the nature and source of Internet based information and 18.3percent respondents knew how to evaluate web-based information. 7. Use of information needs a proper understanding of information ethics. When we use an idea of some other person we must be able to acknowledge it appropriately and present the same in a proper way. It was not at all encouraging that less than 40 percent respondents know the meaning of plagiarism. Majority of the respondents did not know clearly about in text-citation. Moreover, a large majority did not have a clear understanding of the purpose of given references. Regarding copyright of web based information also, only 31.5 percent had a clear concept. 8. There were two questions related to e-mail messages. Only 17.7 percent respondents knew that typing in all caps meant shouting. The response on e-mail forwarding was also not encouraging as only 28.5 percent stated that they would forward a message only after the authors’ permission.

Suggestions for the improvement of the state of IL among students and faculty members are made: 1. Librarian should play an active role in improving IL skills of the faculty and students by organizing IL courses. If possible, a separate course on IL may be started. It may cover all the aspects of IL competency standards formulated By ALA.

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using library resources by taking help of the librarian. 3. Use of ICT in preparation of students’ assignment and projects may be encouraged and proper ICT infrastructure may be provided to all the faculty and students. 4. If a full course on IL is not possible, short term orientation programmes on use of library software, use of Internet resources and techniques of database searching may be organized. 5. Special short term programmes on ethical use of information generated by others may be organized on priority basis. 6. Since, the librarian is the only professionally qualified person in all the colleges except engineering, it is suggested that at least one professionally qualified assistant librarian may be provided in each of the colleges. Only then the librarian will be able to devote attention to IL teaching and liaison with faculty on this issue.

1. Association of College and Research Libraries (USA). 2000. Information Literacy competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. [Cited 05 May 2009]. Available from