Summing It Up

• A set of skills that allows individuals to:
  • Determine when they need information.
  • Decide how much they need.
  • Access it in all available formats.
  • Evaluate its quality.
  • Use the information in a legally, ethically and socially responsible manner for a specific purpose.

• Benefits the institution and our students by creating lifelong learners.
• Applies to all disciplines, learning environments and educational levels.
• Benefits the institution, our students and society by providing skills soughts by employers.
• Fosters technological skills that will help to ensure that information will continue to be accessible to information literate individuals.
• Enables individuals to better understand diverse cultures and unfamiliar settings.

• We are in the midst of what some scholars call an "Information Explosion," or a "Non-Information" explosion. The available amounts of information and non-information are proliferating rapidly.
• In light of this, the masssive amounts of information (with varying levels of accuracy and authority) available, and the pervasive use of the Web for all types of research constitute an urgent need for the teaching of information literacy skills.

• Librarians, more than other faculty, possess the skills for teaching information literacy and a better understanding of the library's collections.
• The library possesses the resources necessary for teaching information literacy.
• By bringing students into the library for information literacy sessions, we can expose them to our resources and to librarians. This will help to alleviate anxiety new students may have about their lack of familiarity with the library's resources and regarding librarians' ability and willingness to offer academic assistance.
• We should also consider collaboration between librarians and classroom faculty to produce assignments that exploit newly-acquired information literacy skills in the pursuit of an actual information need. This may provide a greater impact upon students.

• The benefits for both students and the institution make it clear that funding information literacy training is in our best interest.
• Our students will be at a significant disadvantage, both academically and in their future careers, if they are deprived of information literacy training.
• Society at-large will be at a significant disadvantage if technological skills are not acquired and maintained to allow continued access to information as it becomes more digitally-based.
• These skills should be taught by librarians, often in the library, but should involve collaboration with classroom faculty to achieve the greatest impact.