Information Literacy

Information Literacy is a set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.  Simply put, information literacy skills help students produce better work.  Key concepts such as critical thinking, earnest evaluation of sources, and proper citations are not limited to one area of study—they are interdisciplinary and comprehensive. 

An information literate individual is able to:

• Determine the extent of information needed
• Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
• Evaluate information and its sources critically
• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally
  (Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) on January 18, 2000, at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association in San Antonio, Texas. These standards were also endorsed by the American Association for Higher Education in October 1999 and the Council of Independent Colleges in February 2004).

Learning core information competencies can enhance students’ performance in all subject areas.  As an instructor, you can strengthen and assess these skills by incorporating library instruction into your curriculum.  University Libraries offers training sessions to faculty, teaching assistants, and other instructors in information resources and information literacy concepts in order to support teaching and research activities.  Please contact the Coordinator of Library Instruction, Jane Carlin, if you are interested in learning more about these programs.

More on information literacy:

Compilation of Textbook and Other Course Material Suggestions for Designing a One-credit, five-week Online Information Literacy Course (Word document)
Responses sent by ILI-L listserv subscribers in response to an inquiry from Jennifer Quirk, librarian at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, NY.
This compilation also contains additional materials Jennifer Quirk and Mary Keller, librarians at St. Joseph’s College, researched and included in the course content. This class will be taught for the first time in Fall 2007. It will be an online, Blackboard course entitled:  LIB 100: Library Research Strategies.

Information Literacy
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has developed this site as a gateway (and gathering place) for those looking for resources and discussion on information literacy focused on "improving the teaching, learning, and research role of the higher education community."  These resources will help you understand and apply the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education to enhance teaching, learning, and research in the higher education community.

International Information Literacy Resources Directory. The Information Literacy Section of the International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) has created this database to record information literacy materials from different parts of the world, on behalf of UNESCO.
Librarians, educators and information professionals are invited to participate.
If you have developed information literacy materials and would like to share them with the world community, please submit the required data.

NEW! Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching (HILT) from Cardiff University is now available on the web. It covers key topics such as Lesson Planning, Delivery and Evaluation and also includes examples of our teaching materials. The Handbook is made available under Creative Commons licence.

Journal of Information Literacy (JIL)
Journal of Information Literacy (JIL) is an international, peer-reviewed journal that investigates Information Literacy within a wide range of settings.

What is Information Literacy? This brief video from Otis College available on YouTube is targeted towards non-native English speakers, but it is great for a classroom demonstration or linking from your BlackBoard course for any audience.