Big+Six

**Bob Berkowitz** has spent more than thirty years teaching in urban and rural schools. He started as a Language Arts teacher, then became a Library Media Specialist and went on to be the Library Coordinator of a district. He got his MA in education at George Washington University. He also has a MLS from SUNY at Albany and an MA from North Adams State College (School Administration Certificate). He was the W.K. Kellogg foundation Expert in Residence in 2000. Mr. Berkowitz was also the library media specialist involved in a research based English curriculum plan that won the recognition of the National Council for Teachers of English as a center of excellence in English and language arts.

 **Mike Eisenberg** is the founding dean of Information School at the University of Washington, where he served from 1998-2006. He changed the program from a single graduate degree to an undergraduate degree, multiple masters and a doctorate. He got his BA and MLS from SUNY at Albany and his Ph. D in Information Transfer from Syracuse University. Currently he works mostly in information tech literacy and information credibility.

 **The Big6**. Eisenberg and Berkowitz have come together to right many books, articles, blogs and webinars as well as conferences and presentations. They created The Big6 which are six information literacy skills to solve problems. They say that these steps allow people to “work smarter not harder.” Step 1 - Task Definition Step 2 – Information Seeking Strategies Step 3 – Location and Access Step 4 – Use of Information Step 5 – Synthesis Step 6 – Evaluation They are also hosting a FREE webinar on May 12th but you do have to [|registar]. The Big6 [|website] is full of free tools, handouts and discussions.

TJB