Information literacy

Several conceptions and definitions of information literacy have become prevalent. For example, one conception defines information literacy in terms of a set of competencies that an informed citizen of an information society ought to possess to participate intelligently and actively in that society (from [1]).
The American Library Association's (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, Final Report states that, "To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (1989).
Jeremy Shapiro & Shelley Hughes (1996) define information literacy as "A new liberal art that extends from knowing how to use computers and access information to critical reflection on the nature of information itself its technical infrastructure and its social, cultural, and philosophical context and impact." (from [2])
Information literacy is becoming a more important part of K-12 education. It is also a vital part of university-level education (Association of College Research Libraries, 2007). In our information-centric world, students must develop skills early on so they are prepared for post-secondary opportunities whether that be the workplace or in pursuit of education.

History of the concept

A seminal event in the development of the concept of information literacy was the establishment of the American Library Association's Presidential Committee on Information Literacy whose final report outlined the importance of the concept. The concept of information literacy built upon and expanded the decades-long efforts of librarians to help their users learn about and how to utilize research tools (e.g., periodical indexes) and materials in their own libraries. Librarians wanted users to be able to transfer and apply this knowledge to new environments and to research tools that were new to them. Information literacy expands this effort beyond libraries and librarians, and focuses on the learner, rather than the teacher (Grassian, 2004; Grassian and Kaplowitz, 2001, pp.14-20).
Other important events include:
- 1974: The related term ‘Information Skills’ was first introduced in 1974 by Zurkowski to refer to people who are able to solve their information problems by using relevant information sources and applying relevant technology (Zurkowski, 1974).
- 1983: A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Education Reform
shows that we are "raising a new generation of Americans that is scientifically and technologically illiterate."
- 1986: Educating Students to Think: The Role of the School Library Media Program
outlines the roles of the library and the information resources in K-12 education
1987: Information Skills for an Information Society: A Review of Research
includes library skills and computer skills in the definition of information literacy
- 1988: Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs
- 1989: National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL), a coalition of more than 90national and international organizations, has its first meeting
- 1998: Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning
Emphasizes that the mission of the school library media program is "to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information."
Specific aspects of information literacy (Shapiro and Hughes, 1996)
Tool literacy, or the ability to understand and use the practical and conceptual tools of current information technology relevant to education and the areas of work and professional life that the individual expects to inhabit.
Resource literacy, or the ability to understand the form, format, location and access methods of information resources, especially daily expanding networked information resources.
Social-structural literacy, or knowing that and how information is socially situated and produced.
Research literacy, or the ability to understand and use the IT-based tools relevant to the work of today's researcher and scholar.
Publishing literacy, or the ability to format and publish research and ideas electronically, in textual and multimedia forms (including via World Wide Web, electronic mail and distribution lists, and CD-ROMs).
Emerging technology literacy, or the ability to ongoing adapt to, understand, evaluate and make use of the continually emerging innovations in information technology so as not to be a prisoner of prior tools and resources, and to make intelligent decisions about the adoption of new ones.
Critical literacy, or the ability to evaluate critically the intellectual, human and social strengths and weaknesses, potentials and limits, benefits and costs of information technologies. Ira Shor defines critical literacy as habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional clichés, received wisdom, and mere opinions, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social context, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy, mass media, or discourse.

Educational schemata

One view of the components of information literacy. Based on the Big6 by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz.
1. The first step in the Information Literacy strategy is to clarify and understand the requirements of the problem or task for which information is sought. Basic questions asked at this stage:
What is known about the topic?
What information is needed?
Where can the information be found?
2. Locating: The second step is to identify sources of information and to find those resources. Depending upon the task, sources that will be helpful may vary. Sources may include: books; encyclopedias; maps; almanacs; etc. Sources may be in electronic, print, social bookmarking tools, or other formats.
3. Selecting/analyzing: Step three involves examining the resources that were found. The information must be determined to be useful or not useful in solving the problem. The useful resources are selected and the inappropriate resources are rejected.
4. Organizing/synthesizing: It is in the fourth step this information which has been selected is organized and processed so that knowledge and solutions are developed. Examples of basic steps in this stage are:
4.1 Discriminating between fact and opinion
4.2 Basing comparisons on similar characteristics
4.3 Noticing various interpretations of data
4.4 Finding more information if needed
4.5 Organizing ideas and information logically
5. Creating/presenting: In step five the information or solution is presented to the appropriate audience in an appropriate format. A paper is written. A presentation is made. Drawings, illustrations, and graphs are presented.
6. Evaluating: The final step in the Information Literacy strategy involves the critical evaluation of the completion of the task or the new understanding of the concept. Was the problem solved? Was new knowledge found? What could have been done differently? What was done well?