Information Literacy Program
What is information literacy?
Born out of the Information Explosion and in an effort to avoid datasmog, information literacy has become a central educational topic for librarians. In many respects, information literacy has come to comprehensively describe what instruction librarians do. Everyone is talking about information literacy, and yet it is a very complex term to define. Common definitions include:
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"Information Literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information."
American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (January 10, 1989, Washington, D.C.) -
"Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand."
American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (January 10, 1989, Washington, D.C.) -
"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 even philosophical context and impact"
Shapiro, Jeremy J. and Shelley K. Hughes. "Information Literacy as a Liberal Art". Educom Review. 3.2. Mar./Apr. 1996. - "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information to become independent life-long learners" Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Criteria for Accreditation, Section 5.1.2 [Library and Other Information Resources] Services . 10th ed. Dec. 1996.
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Information Literacy is "the ability to:
- use information to solve problems and make decisions
- share knowledge using appropriate formats for intended audiences
- use a variety of information resources
- adapt to new technology
- learn independently throughout life" (What Parents Should Know About Information Literacy)
The Association of College and Research Libraries and Information Literacy at WSU
- The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education form the highest level outcomes for WSU's Information Literacy Program. ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA) whose primary aim is to enhance the use of libraries for teaching and research at the college level. The Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education are comprised of five standards with performance indicators and outcomes for each standard. Each of the nearly 100 outcomes will be incorporated into the Information Literacy curriculum at WSU.
- An example of an embedded standard comes from Accessing Information for Research (UCOLL 300), the Libraries credit-bearing information literacy course. ACRL Standard One states that the information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed. The second performance indicator under Standard One states the information literate student identifies a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information. Finally, Outcome B under Performance Indicator Two states that the information literate student recognizes that knowledge can be organized into disciplines that influence the way information is accessed. The Discourse and Disciplines Module of UCOLL 300 meets this outcome sequence by offering readings about scholarly communication, approaches to research, and publication cycles; and by providing students an interactive review.
- The Information Literacy Program Outcomes document for the Library Instruction Team provide more detail about how specific leanring outcomes are being assessed.
The Six Learning Goals of the Baccalaureate and Information Literacy
The Six Learning Goals of the Baccalaureate have been adopted by the University to enhance its mission of providing an outstanding undergraduate experience. The Library Instruction Team addresses the facilitation of goal three: Information Literacy. Library Instruction offers information literacy sessions in conjunction with partner programs. English Composition is a key collaborator; all English 101 classes work with Library Instruction to ensure that students receive basic training in scholarly research techniques. In addition UCOLL 300 Accessing Information for Research is a credit bearing option for students to improve their awareness and skills in Information Literacy.