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Information Literacy is the ability to identify, retrieve, evaluate, and use information that is appropriate to a need. Students who develop information literacy skills will be more successful in their studies and their daily lives. They will find that these skills are an essential element in becoming a lifelong learner.
Information literacy is an essential component in the educational development of each student. The research process has become increasingly challenging, with technology contributing to information overload. Students should be aware of the range of print and electronic resources, including networked databases, the World Wide Web, and traditional print resources. They need to be prepared to evaluate and make informed choices about the best sources for their needs.
No, an information literate person is one who has developed an effective information-gathering style. Information literacy goes beyond the skills used to manipulate computer databases; it involves decision-making about the appropriate information sources to use and judgments about the validity and relevancy of information.
The information literate person:
IL Defined, from Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education - (External) Association of College & Research Libraries
Each library subject liaison offers a variety of consultation and instruction services to faculty. These include:
(External) Bowling Green State University. Incorporates critical thinking, effective communication, problem solving, etc. in its Gen Ed Learning outcomes.
(External) California State Universities. Information Competence Initiative (information literacy) for all of the CSUs.
(External) California State University, San Marcos. Goals and competencies integrated into the general education program.
(External) Grand Valley State University. The relevant section begins "The pedagogy of the General Education program helps students develop the following academic and life skills:" Beneath this are skills including "To locate, evaluate, and use information effectively." The Gen Ed goals are of two types: "areas of knowledge" and "academic and life skills." The latter include information literacy skills, which are reiterated throughout the academic categories.
(External) James Madison University. Information literacy is a part of the Goals of the General Education Program. "Students learn the skills of perception, research, investigation and the critical analyses needed to cope with problems and find solutions, and the written, oral, and electronic communication skills requisite to shaping ideas and transmitting them persuasively." Also see JMU's (External) mission for its General Education policy is "to provide students with critical skills in reasoning, communication, and technology..."
(External) California Polytechnic State University. See below "Subject disciplines & learning outcomes"
(External) California State Universities’ Integration of Learning Outcomes. Provides links to information literacy language in subject disciplines and for different academic levels.
(External) Project SAILS. The purpose of the Project for Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) has been to develop an instrument for programmatic level assessment of information literacy skills that is valid and thus credible to university administrators and other academic personnel. We envisioned a tool to measure information literacy that:
Documents related to assessment and information literacy at WMU:
(External) University of Connecticut. Information Literacy Competency - outcomes for each year of study.
(External) Messiah College. Messiah College has general education curriculum objectives for the first year seminar.
(External) Information Literacy and the Library. (Penn State University) Delivers a good picture of local initiatives in defining and implementing information literacy instruction in higher education. Illustrates efforts by librarians to collaborate with faculty in planning and participating in the development of instruction. Also provides a list of other information literacy programs, freshman year experiences, tutorials, position papers, and bibliographies.
(External) University of Dayton. See Overview of the Competency Program.
(External) University of Rhode Island. Site includes a chart that outlines information literacy concepts that need to be covered throughout the program/curriculum.
WMU's librarians can assist you with the following:
"Assessment of Student Learning: Challenges and Strategies." Cecilia L. Lopez. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28:6: 356-367.
(External) Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline This guideline attempts to articulate elements of exemplary information literacy programs for undergraduate students at four-year and two-year institutions approved by the ACRL board.
(External) Information Literacy Instruction in Higher Education: Trends and Issues. Written by Abby Kasowitz-Scheer and Michael Pasqualoni. This June 2002 ERIC Digest examines characteristics of successful programs, presents approaches currently being taken by academic libraries to support information literacy instruction (ILI), and addresses common challenges in developing and maintaining ILI programs.
(External) Institute for Information Literacy. Sponsored by the Association for College & Research Libraries.
(External) National Forum on Information Literacy. This is an umbrella group that sponsors national meetings and provides links to a wealth of resources. Forum members include AAUP, American Library Association, EDUCAUSE, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and many others.
"The Principle is Partnership: General Education Library Instruction at Illinois State University." (2001). With Patricia Meckstroth. In Library User Education: Powerful Learning, Powerful Partnerships. Barbara Dewey (Ed.). Z711.2 .L7339 2001.
(External) SUNY Information Literacy. (State University of New York) Solid reports on multi-institutional collaboration in information literacy. Includes four reports on incorporating information literacy into the SUNY system, and on development of a web-based course.
(External) UWired. (University of Washington) Describes the many facets of a remarkable program combining technologies, librarian/faculty collaboration, and information literacy. Components include items labeled as the vision, people, places, initiatives, history and evaluation.