Defining Information Literacy

A set of skills for dealing with information sources and meeting information needs.

The ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) division of the American Library Association offers a detailed list of the skills that an information literate individual will possess. Information literate individuals will be able to:

Determine the extent of information needed.
Access the needed information effectively and efficiently.
Evaluate the 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.¹

Eisenberg, Lowe & Spitzer (2004) point to the many different formats in which information currently manifests itself and the different types of literacies required to access and make use of the information.²

Information literacy skills now extend far beyond the ability to search the library catalog and utilize reference sources.

In light of these points, it becomes clear that information literacy is a set of skills for accessing, evaluating and using information appearing in any format. At this point, it is imperative to consider why these skills are important and how our students may benefit from them.

Additional Information
Home The Non-Information Explosion Benefits of Information Literacy Information Literacy and the Library Summing It Up References
¹Association of College and Research Libraries. (n.d.). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm.
²Eisenberg, M.B., Lowe, C.A., & Spitzer, K.L. (2004). Information literacy: essential skills for the information age. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.