Information literacy as a socially enacted practice: Sensitising themes for an emerging perspective of people‐in‐practice

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a “people‐in‐practice” perspective which brings together previous theorisations of information literacy landscapes and practice. This perspective provides the framework to analyse the complex practice of information literacy from a sociocultural perspective. This perspective represents a shift in focus towards information literacy as a socially enacted practice, and away from the information skills approach that has dominated information literacy research and education.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data that informs this work is drawn from a series of studies that have been conducted by the author in the workplace and in everyday settings since 2004. Findings from these studies have contributed to the development of the people‐in‐practice perspective that is presented in this article.

Findings

Drawing from the author's empirical studies and from literature reporting socio‐cultural research into information literacy, a people‐in‐practice perspective is described.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in the attempt to marry together the author's previous work resulting in the introduction of a people‐in‐practice perspective. This perspective draws from socio‐cultural and practice theory.

Citation

Lloyd, A. (2012), "Information literacy as a socially enacted practice: Sensitising themes for an emerging perspective of people‐in‐practice", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 68 No. 6, pp. 772-783. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411211277037