Information literacy

Information literacy involves the process of determining when knowledge about a certain topic or subject is needed, and then identifying, locating, evaluating, and using that information in a manner that is efficient, effective, and practical. Research skills associated with this process have always been important; however, as technology has advanced, information literacy has evolved to focus more on the process by which one uses critical thinking, judgment, skepticism, and assessment to determine the best answers to questions being investigated. As the complexity of modern life makes ever-increasing demands on a populace that is able to make informed, knowledgeable, and cogent decisions, information literacy has come to be viewed as equally important as traditional and computer literacy, critical thinking, and library skills for producing a prosperous and responsible society. To that end, many schools and universities have placed increasing emphasis on information literacy, and standards have been developed to ensure that students are prepared to demonstrate these skills.

Brief History

First identified in 1974 by Paul G. Zurkowski, interest in information literacy initially focused on those techniques and skills that literate individuals possessed that enabled them to use the wide variety of information tools available to construct information solutions to their problems. As technology rapidly evolved over the next few decades, government and business interest grew. The administration of President Ronald Reagan established the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, which released a report in 1989 emphasizing the importance of the field, and advocated for the need to increase opportunities that would permit the development of information literacy and the establishment of an Information Age School. This reported led to the establishment of the National Forum on Information Literacy, an endeavor that was joined by a coalition of more than 90 organizations.

These early efforts to build information literacy concentrated on several central goals. First, they sought to define information literacy within the higher literacies and to emphasize its role in student performance, lifelong learning, and active participation in democracy. Second, they sought to design models for the development of information literacy that were appropriate for both formal and informal learning environments throughout the life span. Third and last, early efforts to build interest in information literacy sought to determine the implications for teacher preparation and continuing education as related to instruction and teachers’ personal use of information. Especially important was the growing realization that the socioeconomic status and ethnicity of an individual played a role in their development of information literacy, an issue that necessitated increasing the resources available to schools seeking to address this situation.

From the beginning, library associations and groups representing librarians and teachers have taken a central role in both defining information literacy and developing standards to address the issue. Organizations such as the American Library Association (ALA), the National Education (NEA), and others have joined with groups such as the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the Committee for Economic Development, and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce to forge solutions to the problem of developing information literacy. The establishment of goals and objectives, development of standards specifying what should be covered, and delivery of quality information literacy training have been the central purposes of these early efforts.

Overview

Interest in information literacy has had significant and far-reaching effects on how the subject is addressed in schools and the workplace. Standards have been developed by a variety of groups that address information literacy in the schools at the national, statewide, and local levels. In 2007, for example, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) promulgated a set of standards that school librarians should strive for in their work with children. Among the goals for the twenty-first-century learner was the ability to develop digital, information, technology, textual, and visual literacies. Literacy in each of these areas is organized around four central goals: to use skills, resources, and tools to inquire, gain knowledge, and think critically; to apply knowledge to new situations, draw conclusions, and make informed decisions; to produce and share knowledge and participate as members of a democratic society; and to pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

Such standards have emphasized the need for further change in many areas. The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which led to the adoption of new K-12 learning standards in English/language arts and mathematics in more than 40 states, has increased the emphasis on informational text and students’ ability to find information.

These changes have resulted in new practices in the classroom. As the realization has grown that individuals can no longer memorize all of the information available, more teachers are asking their students to demonstrate an ability to find, synthesize, and present information instead. This shift has resulted in more project-based work in the classroom. Project-based work permits children to identify problems, determine the information they will need to solve the problem, find and synthesize those data, and then present findings to their colleagues that are understandable and useful. For children to engage successfully in such projects, teachers need to emphasize certain information-seeking strategies and facilitate children in finding the location of the needed resources and evaluating their quality. Certain skills in writing up and presenting the information, using both traditional and other means, must also be taught. Overall, however, the increased emphasis on students’ ability to demonstrate information literacy has resulted in significant changes in practice, with teachers relinquishing the role as the provider of information and assuming the function of facilitating the learning process.

Increasing use of technology has proven both an impetus to and impediment of the increased emphasis on information literacy. Digital access to large amounts of information has decreased the need for children to memorize and recite. New technologies also provide novel and innovative ways children can demonstrate what they know. Ever-evolving technology, however, has increased greatly the investment that schools and workplaces must make in providing access to new tools and the training necessary for teachers and students to use these tools wisely.

There have been a number of global initiatives to promote information literacy. In 2001, UNESCO founded the Information for All Programme (IFAP). By 2023, IFAP had eighteen member states and sought to promote digital literacy in nations around the world.

Bibliography

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