(via Dana Thompson, Murray State University)<\/p>\n
The\u00a0ACRL Visual Literacy Task Force is currently seeking feedback on The Framework for Visual Literacy<\/em>. We are asking you to consider how you might use this document. We would also like to understand how it could be improved to better align with your needs. We thank you in advance for your input to ensure this document is thoughtful and useful.<\/p>\n Please access the document here<\/a>. Please provide feedback by using this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Background<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2009, a group of librarians interested in quality research and instructional image content formed the\u00a0Image Resources Interest Group<\/a>\u00a0within the\u00a0Association of College & Research Libraries<\/a>\u00a0to focus on the particular affordances and challenges of visual information. That same year, the inaugural\u00a0Visual Literacy Task Force<\/a> was formed to craft a set of standards that would complement the now rescinded the 2001 <\/a>ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. <\/em>The resultant standards, the 2011 <\/a>Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, <\/em>highlighted ways in which visuals are distinct from other information types.<\/p>\n In the years following the publication of the\u00a0Visual Literacy Standards<\/em>, librarians began to engage with\u00a0threshold concepts<\/a>, metacognition<\/a>, and\u00a0metaliteracies<\/a>, reflected in the 2016 ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education<\/em><\/a>, which replaced the\u00a0Information Literacy Standards<\/em>. Ongoing critical conversation continues to shape how learners are taught to create, use, share, and assess information in the twenty-first century. Addressing these shifts, ACRL assembled several task forces in 2018 to develop Framework Companion Documents<\/em> and update disciplinary literacy standards documents. In this spirit, the current Visual Literacy Task Force was formed by the Image Resources Interest Group to update the 2011\u00a0Visual Literacy Standards<\/em>.<\/p>\n At the outset, we acknowledged that visual literacy and related terminology remained difficult to define due to variations in use and meaning across disciplines. We also recognized that mapping to the\u00a0Framework\u00a0would be a challenging exercise. Success would require the participation of thoughtfully engaged stakeholders. Therefore, we began by conducting an IRB-approved qualitative research study.\u00a0From fall 2019 to spring 2021, we interviewed a broad community of practitioners and scholars, including architecture and planning librarians. Participants were asked to define visual literacy, identify necessary skills and competencies for their discipline, and discuss what they perceived as challenges and opportunities.<\/p>\n By coding the interviews, we identified four themes that serve as the backbone for the current Visual Literacy\u00a0Framework\u00a0Companion Document<\/em> draft. These themes are listed below.<\/p>\n\n