Module Information

Unit 1. The variety of information sources, their use and study. Broad based introduction to the module including an extended introduction to the module assignment (a critical analysis of information sources resulting from a user interview).
Unit 2. Books and journals in the digital age. Including discussion of the function and roles of these key information sources, and how their role, use and our understanding of them are changing in the information age. Includes brief discussion of the publishing industry, the future of the printed book, different models of e-book publishing and journal subscriptions, and their impact on the library service. Introduces discussion of bibliographies, catalogues and the concept of a ‘national bibliography’.
Unit 3. Web based information. Impact of new technologies on information creation and sharing, including changes in the way people access information; the changing role of the library in this respect; and how the value and credibility of different types of information sources may be changing over time. Short case studies on 2 or 3 ‘new’ information sources (Wikipedia, blogs, websites).
Unit 4. Non-textual information. Audio and visual information sources (digital or otherwise) remain an important and in many cases unique source of information (e.g. pictures, photographs, moving images and sound recordings) – their role and value is discussed.
Unit 5. Accessing and evaluating information. Drawing together issues raised in earlier units, overviews the way in which individuals’ ways of accessing, using and sharing information is changing and the how this is linked to developments in tools for accessing information (e.g. search engines, social media). Discusses ways of evaluating sources in an increasingly complex information environment, including how this is increasingly the task of the independent information user.