Evolución y tendencias de la formación de usuarios en un contexto latinoamericano: resultados de la investigación

Abstract

Considering information user education as an educational, pedagogical, and formative process that libraries should undertake based on the interests and information needs of the different types of users, this study presents the final results of research into the evolution and trends of user education in Latin America. The study was based on document searches and analyses and on the experience of twenty Latin American countries, with the objective of determining the development, application, and trends relating to user education programs in public and academic libraries.In general terms, the study begins with a conceptual view of the subject, the historical evolution in Latin American countries, and an approach from the pedagogical point of view. Later in the study, we re-examine the methodology and some of the results and analysis of the information provided by each of the libraries surveyed. This approach, combined with the points of view of experts in library science, made it possible to determine trends in user education in Latin America, to state a proposal for a pedagogical model. and to generate some guidelines or directions for carrying out user education programs. Though by no means definitive, these guidelines can provide a route that can be followed as developed, or modified in accordance with the characteristics of the information department in question, es decir, the setting and environment in which it is found. By this means, everyone involved can acquire and develop the abilities, competencies, and knowledge that enable the user to formulate and satisfy his information needs.