Adapted from James A. Senn’s Information Technology, 3 rd Edition

1. World Library and Information Congress: 74th IFLA General Conference and Council “Libraries without borders: Navigating towards global understanding " Distinguished Users: an experience of the information literacy on the health system AUTHORS Manuel Delgado Pérez, MsC Juana R. Rodríguez García, Technician Aidé Teresita Martínez Ramos, BA Mercedes Lima Hernández, MsC Information Provincial Center of Medical Sciences in Villa Clara │ http://cpicmvc.vcl.sld.cu

2. Current Situation - Information Literacy: a need - Change, speed, added value, Internet - Experience in the formation and education of users

3. “In certain communication strategies, the information entities can identify individual and group users that due to their leading or information spreading role can serve as mediators to multiply the communicative action of the services” (Núñez Paula, Revista Internacional de Bibliotecología No. 1 enero-julio 2000) Information Institution Information specialist User Strategy To motivate an approach to the knowledge and use of the available informative resources Interaction, relation Communication level

4. Strategy Main actors or partners: - Information workers - Executives - Leading users The information literacy promoters need to be literate

5. Strategy Main actors or partners: Our experience is based in the fostering of one of these elements (leading users) by granting the Distinguished User Condition to those individuals and collective users that lead the way in the efficient use of scientific information and who by means of an intensive and systematic preparation on their specialty and their personal example become multiplying elements (gatekeepers or door openers) of the information literacy process.

6. Foundation of this idea: The current development needs to change from a consumer user to a producer user, not an observer but a main character of the digital era.

7. Foundation of this idea Knowledge management moves the center of gravity to the human capital, that is, our management is not measured by the quantity of information we treasure but by the information we have and use

8. Foundation of this idea Though we foster the role of the information workers as excellent communicators, we recognize that communication among users within a group is a catalyst for the process .

9. Solution of three fundamental dilemmas Size and diversity of the users’ community versus the information institution capacity to take on succesfully the information literacy process.

10. Solution of three fundamental dilemmas Speed of changes in the development of the information systems versus users’information knowledge

11. Solution of three fundamental dilemmas Individual users versus collective or institutional users

12. Distinguished User Condition The Distinguished User Condition fosters its mobilizing effect directly on two of the three actors or partners involved in the program: leading users and executives; though indirectly it has an influence in the information workers, as it forces them to increase their preparation and professional competence in accordance to the development reached by the Distinguished Users.

13. The information literacy program with the Distinguished Users involves the following actions : A monthly system of theoretical-practical workshops The integration of the Distinguished Users to processes and studies of products and informative services according to their professional competence. Outreach of the information literacy actions to the groups from which the Distinguished Users come by setting commitments and goals.

14. The use of informative resources in relation with Evidence-Based Medicine has been among the most dealt with topics in the thematic workshops :

15. Results obtained so far: The granting of the Distinguished User Condition to 65 professionals and 5 teaching and/or research groups. Two series of thematic workshops of the information literacy program have been taught. The users have expressed a high level of satisfaction with the themes they have been taught and with the learning they have incorporated to their professional competence. Though in an early stage, some joint work projects in the carrying out of studies, products and informative services have been acomplished.

16. Conclusions: Information literacy is one of the highest priority processes which the current information institutions should lead and be a part of. The extent and speed of the changes experienced in the systems and processes of scientific information and its relation with the user’s informational knowledge forces us, with the required flexibility to try different ways and forms in each context The carried out strategy starting with the incorporation of the Distinguished Users to the information literacy process allows and fosters their participation as multiplying and catalizer elements in the purpose of achieving a greater informational knowledge in the user’s community involved with the information institution.

17. Congreso Mundial de Bibliotecas e Información: 74 Congreso y Consejo General de la IFLA Thank you very much Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara │ http://cpicmvc.vcl.sld.cu