Information literacy (also known as information competency) is an important set of skills a student must learn to be a successful student, democratic citizen, smart decision maker, and a life-long learner.
What is information literacy?
Information literacy is the ability to:
- Recognize the need for information
- Find appropriate information
- Evaluate information
- Use the information to meet a goal (answer a question, communicate the answer to another, etc)
The more students understand how information is created, organized, & accessed the more efficiently and effectively they can find information for college and for life-long learning. Some colleges require students to complete an information literacy graduation requirement which includes (but isn’t always limited to) a course such as Library Science 1, Basic Research.
Although our campus or district has yet to adopt an information literacy graduation requirement, all instructors have the opportunity to infuse their courses with activities that help introduce or reinforce information literacy concepts. For ideas on creating effective information literacy assignments, you may find the following websites useful:
Creating Info Lit Assignments (Passiac County Community College Library)
Information Literacy Initiative (Atlantic Cape College)