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The purpose of this paper is to present findings from the European project PuLLS (Public Libraries in the Learning Society), funded by the EU's Socrates programme.

Describes a piece of action research, outlining the development and implementation of a model for delivering open learning to adult library users.

Details of the model, and the course developed and offered by partner libraries are described. Results suggest there is a significant role for libraries to play in supporting both ICT skills and wider information literacy learning.

Sharing of results may be useful for public libraries wishing to develop open learning facilities/develop audiences for lifelong learning. Suggests that libraries are beginning to move from a passive access approach to supporting learning to a more active approach in delivering library‐generated content themselves.

The paper offers insights into supporting lifelong learning in public libraries across Europe.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ways to practice the written assignment in a university setting in the context of information literacy and in perspective of Schatzki's practice theory.

The analysis is based on both a qualitative in-depth study involving individual interviews with students from higher education and the practice theoretical perspective.

By analyzing informants’ negotiations of the “acceptable” way to perform the written assignment practice, a configuration of the particular practice has been made. In perspective of Schatzki's practice theory, a study into information literacy involves focussing on the changing character of the activities performing the practice in question. In this paper the changing character is analyzed by comparing the configuration of the written assignment practice with a description of the genre of scientific articles. The paper draws the conclusion that the configuration consists of both regular and irregular occurrences. Job orientation and use of social media seemed to influence the written assignment practice as it was performed by the informants.

This paper contributes to research into information literacy in educational settings by proposing an analysis based on Schatzki's theory combined with concepts of routinization, reflexivity, and genre.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the aptness of “information literacy”, conceptualized as a socially contextualized phenomenon, for analyses of interdisciplinary scholarly communication.

The paper presents a conceptual analysis. Two influential representatives of the social turn in the information literacy literature are taken as starting points: Annemaree Lloyd’s conceptualization of “information literacy practice”, and Jack Andersen’s conceptualization of information literacy as “genre knowledge”. Their positioning of information literacy as a socially contextualized phenomenon – by use of practice theories and rhetorical genre theory, respectively, – is analysed against an illustrative example of interdisciplinary scholarly communication.

Conceptualizations by Lloyd and Andersen explain information literacy as socially contextualized in terms of stable norms and understandings shared in social communities. Their concepts have the potential of explaining changes and innovations in social practices including scholarly communication. If we combine genre-theoretical and practice-theoretical concepts – and accentuate the open-endedness of social practices and of genres – we can enhance the understanding of information literacy in settings of interdisciplinary scholarly communication where the actors involved lack shared conventions and assumptions.

The paper suggests that the fluid features of social contexts should be accounted for in the information literacy literature. By combining genre-theoretical and practice-theoretical concepts in a novel way it offers such an account. It provides a useful framework for understanding the phenomenon of information literacy in interdisciplinary scholarly communication.

The purpose of the research is to investigate Norwegian web‐tutorials in contexts consisting of organizational issues and different forms of usability in relation to students’ perception and use of the system. Further, the research investigates the usefulness of the concepts concerning affordances and different forms of usability.

The research has employed a variety of data‐collection methods including interviews with librarians, interviews and focus group interviews with students, coupled with tests of their capabilities using the systems. A detailed research design is included in the paper.

In the organizational context, the research confirmed the importance of a close contact with teachers and disciplines and it was also clearly indicated that disciplines that supported an evidence‐based approach to research were much more active in using the tutorials as part of the requirements. Further, examples of organizational amnesia are discussed, pointing to the necessity for leadership support and systematic knowledge sharing. System Usability Scores are analysed in relation to solution of tasks and interesting relations are analysed. The perceptions of students were also interesting, clearly indicating marked differences in perceptions depending on study year and discipline but also different valuation of the different forms of usability. Overall, the research indicated a discrepancy between design intentions versus use and perception of the tutorials.

The theoretical approach has not been used often in library and information science research and the paper indicates its usefulness for further research. The findings presented in the paper also have implications for the way libraries design and promote information literacy tools.

The last decade saw a major shift in the management of the mentally handicapped and their place in society. The dual influences of the movements for human rights, emphasising the rights of minority groups; matched by an increasing tendency to replace institutionalisation with community based care (often under the banner of economy), have had an impact on the liminal positioning of the mentally handicapped in Western society.