The Role of Business Librarians in Teaching Data Literacy

Abstract

For businesses, the rapid growth of data has created an unmet demand for data savvy managers (Harris, 2012). Yet an alarming number of college graduates are not data literate. Data literacy is “understanding what data mean, including how to read charts appropriately, draw correct conclusions from data and recognize when data are being used in misleading or inappropriate ways” (Carlson et al., 2011). This article examines the lack of data literate business employees from the perspectives of business statistics educators, businesses, and librarians. It concludes by offering suggestions for library teaching opportunities related to the standard business curricula.