1. Information Literacy for business
students in UCT Libraries
Susanne Noll

2. Lecturer Essay
PCs with data
and information
Librarian Skill
• Attempt to summarize some experience in
information literacy for business students

4. Basic information literacy includes
• The need for information
• Accurate information is reason to make proper
decisions
• Interest in databases
• Potential sources for information
• Successful search strategies
• Evaluation
• Sorting and organizing
• Integrating knowledge into existing knowledge
• Using information practically for the project

5. Business information literacy
• More data oriented
• The need for raw data
• Accurate data such as share prices
• Interest in databases
• Potential sources for information
• Successful search strategies
• Analysis and Evaluation
• Sorting and organizing
• Integrating knowledge into existing knowledge
• Using information practically for the project

7. Importance of information literacy in
business
• As in all academic disciplines information literacy is a
central point to be able to research business subjects;
• Understanding the fundamental movements on the
money market strengthens understanding of the
economy;
• Every student has the right to information access and
literacy;
• If students learn to use these databases for their
assignment and projects they will be able to use them
outside on the open market;
• Leads to business success

8. Challenges
• Findings every year : students have no clue
how to find data and information on
databases;
• They expect librarians to find information FOR
them;
• Show no interest in the functionalities of
databases;
• Copy data quickly and save it;
• Take the finished product home.

9. What do business students ideally
want?
• Locating financial data and articles
• Accessing financial databases
• Retrieving data
• Evaluating data from different sources
critically
• Managing data in text (reference manager)
• Using data to prove hypotheses

10. The need for information literacy
instruction for business subjects
• Be included in the curriculum to create
awareness of the accessibility
• Discipline-specific context
• Embedding literacy skills into curriculum

11. 3 Approaches
• Face-to-face instruction
• Classroom activities
• Assessing information skills from time to time
to monitor progress

12. Framework for learning environment
• Need for information literacy
• Early in the year
• Learning environment : which resources are available
• Interaction environment : encouragement to ask for
assistance
• Improving relations between librarians and students
constantly
• Promoting information literacy instruction
• Promoting librarian’s skills
• Emphasizing organizational culture in teaching and
learning

14. Library scientists teach financial
databases in UCT Libraries
• McGregor BFA (local and African-expanding)
Blink (addition to McGregor)
• DataStream (International)
• Reuters (International)
• AMPS (All Media Product Survey)
(South African Marketing data)

15. What can be found
Share prices of listed companies
financial statements
annual reports
Bonds
Data of Indices
Commodities
Foreign exchange rates
Latest : News

16. Time series data
• Greatest interest in historical data
– to detect trends,
– to forecast,
– to compare,
– to understand the economy,
– to interpret economy
• Data over a specific time (at the moment some
go back to the 60s, some 70s, some 80s) -
interesting how the market in SA changed from
1994 onwards
• On a weekly, monthly, yearly basis

17. Output formats
• Excel if its raw data ( columns) or graphs
• Word if its text

18. What do we offer? User education
• Financial databases:
Raw data (numbers in columns)
Time Series
Graphs of trends
of : shares
commodities
foreign exchange
indices
bonds

19. What do we as librarians do :
• Co-operate with the lecturer(s)
• Take actively part in the
– orientation programme
– writing programme
– lecturing programme (if possible embedded)
• Find out exactly what the students need/want
• How detailed
• What for (level : under- or post graduate)

20. …while, at the same time
• We need to keep updated with latest developments
from the publishers
• Keep on benchmarking ourselves with other
institutions
• Attend presentations
• Ask questions, communicate, share
• Read the economic news
• Strengthening relationships between ourselves and
academics
• Develop strategies for teaching and learning for
specifically business students

21. As with everything in life it is a ….