Università Roma Tre

Introduction
Several factors (for example, political, environmental, economic, health and social changes) characterize the complex societies of the 21st century and generate new opportunities, but also crises, disorientation, uncertainty (on a personal level, but also on a productive, cultural and social level) , which can be accentuated by the pervasiveness of technologies and information overload. More in such a complexity, each individual is required to have steady reading, information, media and digital skills to be able to "read", interpret phenomena, orient themselves and learn along the course of life in a globalized and interconnected context. Knowledge infrastructures - libraries, archives, documentation centers and museums - are increasingly becoming learning environments that allow their users to acquire, consolidate and enhance information and media skills to fully exercise the right of citizenship (including the digital one).
The course objectives are as follows:
• Acquiring awareness of the relevance of information and media skills (or information and media literacy, or, in English, "Media and Information Literacy" - MIL) and of the role that libraries of different types are called upon to play in the learning process along the course of life in complex societies.
• Knowing the basic theoretical foundations and acquire the techniques of Bibliography, Librarianship and Documentation, with particular regard to information, documentation, web 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0, organization and management of libraries.
Course description
The course is divided into three modules:
1) introductory module, which offers an overview of the information complexity, the "docuverse", the importance of acquiring information and media literacy and the role played by libraries and librarians in this process. Furthermore, the student will be introduced to the search for information for the purpose of the final paper, to the different types of theses and to academic writing.
2) Bibliography
3) Library science.
The course
• examines the definitions of “information literacy” and introduces the concept of “information and media competence” (Media and Information Literacy), starting from the most recent UNESCO documents and those of library associations and institutions;
• indicates and analyzes various approaches and methods of the information search process, with reference also to the phenomena of Information Overload and the digital divide;
• reflects on the role of libraries and librarians in countering the aforementioned phenomena, through the development and supply of personalized services (Reference Library), the care of user training, thanks also to the new tools of social interaction on the net that the web 2.0 delivers.
The basic concepts of bibliography, librarianship and documentation are introduced (definition, areas of expertise, historical notes and relationships between the three disciplines):

1. Bibliography: definition; areas of competence; Background; types; bibliographic citation and citation styles (eg. APA, MLA, Chicago / Turabian etc.); compilation of repertories: the "bibliographic chain"; instruments; ISO standards.
2. Library science: definition; areas of competence; historical notes (history of the library with notes on the history of the book); library types (state, university, public, etc.) - Library legislation - Intellectual property and copyright - Public library: definition, historical background, IFLA guidelines and UNESCO Manifesto - Children's library: definition, historical background, IFLA guidelines and UNESCO Manifesto - School Library: definition, historical notes, IFLA guidelines (with particular regard to the latest) and UNESCO Manifesto - Library as a complex system: organization, programming, management and evaluation - Automation - Information processing and organization - Descriptive cataloging : choice and form of the heading (REICAT) and ISBD - Semantic cataloging: Dewey, CDU, by subject and thesauri - OPAC - Measurement and evaluation - Development of material and digital collections and organization of physical and virtual spaces functional to learning through resources
3. Documentation: Document and documentation - Type of document - Information processing - Document chain.