Germany’s information literacy (IL) landscape is characterized by a variety of stakeholders collaborating under a shared commitment to foster critical, reflective, and ethical information practices.
In 2001, two studies significantly impacted education in Germany: PISA revealed weaknesses in German students’ performance, while the SteFi study (Klatt, 2021) showed knowledge gaps in students’ electronic information use. This led to a rethinking of educational policy and a reorientation of library training. The subsequent developments have faced challenges: Due to the German federal structure, many initiatives started quickly and primarily locally before bundling their activities into regional networks. Integration into curricula and degree courses was negotiated in various ways and through many individual efforts. The use of standards often remained limited. In 2012, the Gemeinsame Kommission Informationskompetenz von dbv und VDB brought libraries’ IL activities together at a federal level. In 2016, it adopted the Referenzrahmen Informationskompetenz (DBV, 2016) and in 2021, it translated the Framework for Information Literacy. While the initial focus on IL in library education was modest, it has now become part of the curriculum in all library and information science degree programs. Fundamental research remains marginal, with publications limited to field reports and handbooks. Even though IL and the teaching library is considered a fundamental task in German libraries today, a study conducted in 2023 revealed a pronounced heterogeneity in the governance structures of IL instruction in library organizations (Franke, Knab & Werr 2024).
Despite challenges, the community developed best practices, including centralized IL Statistics on IL training in German libraries. Librarians exchange information on issues and trends annually at the Information Literacy Round Table. Lighthouse projects are recognized through the annual Best Practice Competition. Current global issues and trends such as fake news and fake science, digital and AI literacy, data protection, new teaching formats and gamification are also incorporated into the training offered by German libraries. In the future, exchange within and beyond the IL community and cooperation between public and academic libraries will play a major role in establishing libraries as partners of all educational institutions.
Our contribution provides a meta-perspective of how IL is organized and coordinated in Germany, highlighting key topics, challenges and trends, best practices, and future directions. The aim is to show, how federal diversity can be used as an opportunity to open up new activities and effectively anchor IL in the digital age.
References
Deutscher Bibliotheksverband (2016). Referenzrahmen Informationskompetenz. Retrieved January 27, 2025, from https://www.bibliotheksverband.de/sites/default/files/2020-12/Referenzrahmen_Informationskompetenz.pdf
Franke, F., Knab, M. & Werr, N. (2024). Informationskompetenz neu begreifen - Prozesse anders steuern. Presentation at BiblioCon 2024, Hamburg. Retrieved January 27, 2025 from https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0290-opus4-191593
Gemeinsame Kommission Informationskompetenz von dbv und VDB (2021). Framework Informationskompetenz in der Hochschulbildung. O-Bib. Das Offene Bibliotheksjournal, 8(2), 1–29. Retrieved January 27, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.5282/o-bib/5674
Klatt, R. (2001). Elektronische Information in der Hochschulausbildung. Opladen: Leske + Budrich.
