Understanding information literacy

1. Information Literacy
What is it?
What does it look like?
How is it used/ practiced?
How is it evaluated?
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
1
Yorklyn, DE 19736

2. What Is It?
Definition
• Information Literacy* refers to:
– Refers to the ability to know what information
is needed, and understanding how to acquire
and evaluate that information (Association of
College & Research Libraries,2012).
– *May be abbreviated to “IL” in this lecture
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

3. What Is It?
Differences Between Information- 1
• Rapid advances in technology have caused the
availability of information to proliferate. This
includes all kinds of information– from
credible sources and non-credible sources.
• Scholarly sources are more readily available
through Google Scholar and library databases.
– Library databases themselves have grown in size
and availability.
– Internet search engines have developed specialized
sub-search engines to locate scholarly sources (i.e.
Google Scholar)
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

4. What Is It?
Differences Between Information-2
• Non-credible sources are also much more
available:
– Websites: unless they are owned and managed
by reputable organizations, one can never be
sure about the quality of the information.
– Blogs: these are personal websites controlled by
individuals.
– Twitter: individual messages that are not
controlled or monitored for accuracy.
– Etc.
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

5. What Is It?
Differences Between Information-3
• Generally speaking, websites ending in the
following extensions have these characteristics:
– .com = commercial entity (depending on the size
and reputation of the enterprise, this may include
credible information)
– .org = non-profits and may or may not have
information substantiated by scholarly research
(again, this depends upon the size and reputation of
the organization)
– .net =networking sites
– .gov = government sites (this information is
controlled and monitored by government agencies)
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

6. What Does It Look Like? -1
• The information literate person has the
ability to
– recognize when information is needed;
– what kind of information is needed;
– is able to locate information efficiently and
effectively,
– is able to evaluate the information, and
– is able to integrate the information within
his/her existing knowledge base.
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

7. What Does It Look Like? – 2
• Internet Searches
LESS RELIABLE • Wikipedia, Ask General
INFORMATION Jeeves, About Information;
.com, etc lacks
• Popular Newspapers substantiation;
• Popular Magazines changes over
Information is • Highly Regarded time; no editorial
beginning to Newspapers control
become more • Trade Journals
stable; lasts • Books
over time • Corporate Websites
• Organization Websites
• Government Websites
• Educational Websites
• Conference
Proceedings
From here down
MORE RELIABLE • Theses; Dissertations
information is most
INFORMATION • Scholarly Journals
reliable; supported
with evidence
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19736 7

8. What Does It Look Like? - 3
• The information literate person:
– Understands the differences between credible
and non-credible information
• Knows how to determine what sources are
appropriate for an assignment
• Knows how to cite and reference sources correctly
– Can explain in his/her own words why the
source information is important or significant
– Can use the source information to advance
his/her argument
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

9. What Does It Look Like? - 4
In-text Citations
• Information literate persons properly
acknowledge information they have obtained
from other sources:
– Example of an in-text citation from a website:
• Commitment to academic excellent has been the theme of
Wilmington University. According to President Jack
Varsalona, “Wilmington University is committed to
academic excellence in our classrooms…an education that
challenges critical thinking…” (Varsalona, n.d.).
– Example of reference page entry:
• Varsalona, J. (n.d.). A Message from the President.
Wilmington University, Retrieved April 6, 2012 from
http://www.wilmu.edu/president.aspx
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

10. How Is It Used/ Applied? – 1
academic applications
• When writing papers and using information
from other sources, the sources need to be
cited so as to shown where this information
came from.
– These are known as in-text citations.
• Sources also need to be listed on a reference
page at the end of the document.
– This is known as the page of “References” in APA
style.
– MLA style refers to this as “Works Cited”.
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

11. How Is It Used/ Applied? -2
academic applications
• In written work, information literacy refers to using citations in the
text (and references at the end) to acknowledge sources.
• Example:
– What is information literacy? Information literacy refers to one’s ability to
find information and use the information to solve a problem or advance an
argument (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2012). For college
students, recognizing what information is needed and being able to find it
quickly is important in being able to complete assignments. According to the
National Forum on Information Literacy (2012), a coalition of
business, education, and library leaders, developing information literacy
skills is a necessary requirement for maintaining an open, democratic society
(Para. 1). Driven by rapid advances in technology, information literacy skills
have become essential in evaluating various kinds of sources of information.
Students need to be able to determine differences between credible and non-
credible sources. While information literacy skills are most often thought of
as academic skills, these skills are also valuable to consumers in making
everyday decisions about products and services, and as citizens in evaluating
issues when voting (Information Literacy Skills, 2012, para. 3).
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

12. How Is It Used/ Applied? – 3
business applications
• The ability of workers to determine what
information is needed, and where to find
that information quickly, and the ability to
evaluate the information is a crucial skill
for information-literate employees.
copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

13. How Is It Used/ Applied? – 4
business applications
• In the workplace, the information literate
employee is one who:
– Checks facts
– Consults documented records
– Seeks out expert opinion in print materials
– Can sort out and evaluate data quickly
– Can synthesize available data and information
and draw conclusions
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

14. How Does IL Benefit You?
• Individuals armed with the right information at the right
time will be able to use this for problem solving.
• Being able to correctly cite sources in one’s own written
work will establish credibility of one’s work.
• Using evidence from experts and citing the evidence
correctly will demonstrate to readers that the student-
writer has sought out expert opinion and is able to
integrate evidence within his/her argument/ position.
• Consumers use information literacy skills to make
decisions.
• Citizens of a democratic society use information literacy
skills to be informed voters.
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Yorklyn, DE 19736

15. References
• Association of College & Research Libraries. (2012). Information
Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.
Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompet
ency
• Kirton, J. & Barham, L. (2005). Information literacy in the
workplace. Australian Library Journal. [Online]. Australian
Library and Information Association. Retrieved April 7, 2012
from
http://alia.org.au/publishing/alj/54.4/full.text/kirton.barham.h
tml
• National Forum on Information Literacy. (2012). What is the
NFL? Retrieved April 4, 2012 from http://infolit.org/
• University of Idaho. (2012). Information Literacy. Retrieved
April 4, 2012 from http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/
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copyright 2012 Johanna P. Bishop
Yorklyn, DE 19736