Information Literacy:

What is Information Literacy/Competency?
                                                                  

Information literacy (or competency) includes research methods and technological skills. It incorporates standards from the Association of College and Research Libraries adapted in the year 2000.  Information literacy is most often stated as an institutional goal as set forth by various accrediting bodies across the United States.
ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/objectivesinformation.cfm


How is information literacy taught?

Different institutions incorporate information literacy skills into the curriculum in different ways. Some require an online or face-to-face information literacy class as a graduation requirement. Others may tack an information literacy component onto say, an English research class. Still some may come up with certain IL skills and outcomes and try to infuse those skills throughout the curriculum as best as possible or set up online modules or workshops teaching basic information competency skills.  Whatever method is used, the goal is always the same: to graduate information literate students.

• What are some information literacy concepts?
  
  Information literacy can include many different concepts including the following:
  
  Familiarity with the library's online website.
  
  Ability to search the library's online book/media catalog to find needed resources and be able to locate those materials in the library.
  
  Familiarity with accessing subscription periodical databases and locating relevant articles.
  
  Utilizing subject-specific subscription databases.
  
  Recognizing quality information. 
  
  Knowledge of research skills including brainstorming for keywords, Boolean logic and advanced searching.
  
  Difference between scholarly and popular periodicals, primary and secondary information.
  
  Knowledge of APA and MLA citation formats.
  
  Internet directories as gateways for providing listings of reputable, quality websites.
  
  Website evaluation.
  
  Understanding of copyright and plagiarism issues.
  
  ....and anything in between!
   

Net Trail, UC's Santa Cruz's Info Lit Tutorials
http://nettrail.ucsc.edu/

Keys to Information Literacy from Maricopa Community Colleges:(a brief overview with one question for each concept)
http://www.maricopa.edu/lts/InfoLitHome.htm

Information literacy from Rio Salado College:
http://www.riosalado.edu/library/Pages/infolit.aspx

List of links regarding website evaluation from the WWW Virtual Library
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.htm

Example of integrated or infusion model of information literacy from Philadelphia University:
(lists seven IL competencies for first year students and what skills and outcomes are integrated  into the college curriculum)
http://www.philau.edu/infolit/combinedgridsyr1sp04.doc