PRESS RELEASES 2005

UWI Librarian to Research Information Literacy in the United States

August 16, 2005

Coordinator of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Library’s  Mona Information Literacy Unit Paulette Kerr leaves Jamaica shortly to begin a Doctoral Program in Communication, Library and Information Science at Rutgers University, New Jersey.  Ms. Kerr is a 2005 scholarship recipient under the Fulbright-LASPAU Faculty Development Program administered by the U.S. Embassy in Kingston.

The focus of Ms. Kerr’s studies will be on Information Literacy and Instruction Design – especially relating to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean where there is a dearth of original research, but also taking the global perspective into account.  Ms. Kerr recognizes the need for students to take a critical approach to research and to the way in which they utilize the information that they find in libraries and on the Internet.  She hopes to determine ways to improve the design of current instruction programs that will empower UWI students to retain and improve on these vital research skills and competencies.  On her return to Jamaica she plans to work closely with faculty to bring UWI’s Information Literacy program to “another level.”  By expanding the program to include all faculty and students, including graduates, she hopes to create a culture of Information Literacy at UWI that will be beneficial to students even after they have left that institution.

Ms. Kerr holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Services, as well as a Masters in History from UWI.  A past President of the Library and Information Association of Jamaica, Ms. Kerr has published research on the Association’s history and highlighted its work before an international audience at the American Library Association’s annual conference in 2004.