PREPARED FOR UCFV ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS & ADMINISTRATORS SEPTEMBER 2007

Information Literacy Fact Sheet


Information Literacy (IL) Defined

IL COMPETENCIESM

  1. Awareness Determine the nature and extent of the information needed
  2. Access Access needed information effectively and efficiently
  3. Evaluation Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selectively into knowledge base and value system
  4. Use Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
  5. Ethics Understand 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, Association of College & Research Libraries, http://www.ala.org/
ala/acrl/acrlissues/
acrlinfolit/
infolitstandards/
standardstoolkit.htm

Information literacy (IL) is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.” According to Doyle (1992), “an information-literate person is one who:

  • Recognizes the need for information
  • Recognizes that accurate and complete information is the basis for intelligent decision-making
  • Formulates questions based on information needs
  • Identifies potential sources of information
  • Develops successful search strategies
  • Accesses sources of information including computer-based and other technologies
  • Evaluates information
  • Organizes information for practical application
  • Integrates new information into an existing body of knowledge
  • Uses information in critical thinking and problem solving

Information literacy represents one piece of an integrated set of transferable skills and competencies that complement disciplinary knowledge and that all postsecondary graduates should possess. Others include written and oral communication; inquiry, critical and creative thinking; quantitative literacy; teamwork; integration of learning; civic responsibility and engagement; ethical reasoning; intercultural knowledge and actions; and a propensity for lifelong learning. (AACU 2005)

diagram showing that Information Literacy could be seen as the nexus of three areas of core competencies: generic skills, information skills and values & beliefs

Information literacy can also be seen as the nexus of three areas of core competencies: generic (e.g., critical thinking, teamwork), information (e.g., written and oral communication, informationseeking), and values & beliefs (e.g., ethical reasoning, civic engagement). (Bundy 2004)

Why Is It Important for Students To Be Information Literate?

In a typical research paper, students are asked to demonstrate an impressive and challenging range of abilities and knowledge:

  • discipline knowledge, or an understanding of how knowledge is constructed and communicated within a discipline, along with the ability to construct a workable thesis or hypothesis;
  • resources knowledge, or an understanding of the range of resources available, including academic, trade, primary, secondary, and ephemeral literature;
  • searching skills, or the ability to select appropriate research tools and navigate them effectively;
  • documentation skills, or the ability to quote, paraphrase and summarize appropriately, in an approved bibliographic style; and, not the least of these,
  • epistemological skills, or the ability to select the most relevant and authoritative sources, to compare and evaluate differing viewpoints, and to apply logical reasoning.

    An assessment administered to over 6,300 students in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia demonstrates that most college students do not come to us equipped with the information and computer technology (ICT) literacy skills necessary to complete collegelevel assignments:
  • only 44% of test-takers were able to correctly interpret the requirements of an assignment;

Continued...