Information Literacy Meets Adult Learners

Aphone call, out of the blue, from a 52-year-old woman finishing a bachelor's degree in a night program at an unspecified institution brought the issue of information literacy for adult learners to my attention. She was taking a course for which the professor was asking the class to write an interdisciplinary

research paper. In her estimation, while the professor had provided her with some rather broad examples, he had made no real attempt to explain how to do the assignment. Nor did she have any confidence that he himself even knew what the process might be, let alone how to explain it to the class.

Of one thing she was certain: She did not want to write a second-rate paper. In fact, she contacted me because she had bought a copy of my book, Research Strategies, and marked it up thoroughly. She was determined to write a fascinating paper doing "real research." As we talked, I realized that she was not at all unusual. I deal with people like her all the time-bright, articulate, early adult to middle-aged, world-wise people who are motivated to learn. One adult learner told me that she believes that education is wasted on anyone under 25.