Md. Zahid Hossain Shoeb, Assistant Librarian visited New Zealand to attend a four week short course on Information Literacy and Information Technology based at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, during 16 November - 11 December, 2009. The attendance of Mr. Zahid was fully funded by a scholarship from International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) - Action for Development through Libraries (ALP) programme for the region of Asia and Oceania. Besides Bangladesh, library professionals from Thailand, Indonesia, Lebanon, Fiji, Laos, Samoa and Vanuatu have participated in this programme. 

The overall theme of the course was information literacy, with special reference to needs and developments of countries in Asia and Oceania. The course covered the basics of information literacy and information literacy training skills needed by information professionals in a variety of settings, as well as current and emerging IT applications in libraries. Classroom participation and hands-on practice were interspersed with visits to leading libraries and information agencies in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand and home to a wide array of 'cutting-edge' information organisations. The course was taught by leading educators in library and information management of Victoria University of Wellington, as well as practitioners with considerable experience in the delivery of information literacy programmes.

A project work was going along-with the programme which was relevant, valid and useful to the local context of every participant. Mr. Zahid stood first among the participants with his project work. Based on real life professional observation and information seeking behavior of IUB students, he had chosen the content “Developing Information Literacy Education Programme for IUB 1st Year Business Students”, which was well-fitted with the institutional mission, objectives and strategy, and also specific with the goals, objective, outcome and activities of information literacy education for target group.

To take the fullest advantage of problem-based learning, IUB students must use thinking skills requiring them to become skilled users of information sources in many locations and formats, thereby increasing their responsibility for their own learning. To obtain the information they seek they have to utilize an information retrieval system, such as may be found in a library or in databases accessible by computer from any location. As students progress through their undergraduate years, they need to have repeated opportunities for seeking, evaluating, and managing information gathered from multiple sources and discipline-specific research method. Gaining skills in information literacy multiplies the opportunities for students’ self-directed learning, as they become engaged in using a wide variety of information sources to expand their knowledge, ask informed questions, and sharpen their critical thinking for further self-directed learning.