What is information literacy?

An information literate individual is able to:

• Determine the extent of information needed.
• Access the needed information effectively and efficiently.
• Evaluate information and its sources critically.
• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base.
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.

(Information literacy competency standards, 2000)

Information Literacy Competencies

Know

• Decide what is required to answer this question/what is required to do the assignment/what the question, assignment, etc. means to you

Access

• Select appropriate search tools and information sources
• Design search strategies
• Implement search strategies to find information
• Assess and select search results/found information
• Manage and record relevant search results/found information
• Refine search strategies, if necessary, by repeating "know" and/or "access" processes

Evaluate

• Recognize and summarize main ideas from search results/found information
• Identify/create evaluation criteria
• Assess search results/found information with evaluation criteria
• Judge in comparison to existing knowledge
• Refine search strategies and/or evaluation criteria, if necessary, by repeating "know," "access" and "evaluate/incorporate" processes

Use/Incorporate Ethically/Legally

• Apply new information ethically and legally
• Integrate and synthesize new and existing information ethically and legally into paper, project, performance, etc.
• Acknowledge new information used in paper, project, performance, etc. without plagiarizing and by appropriately attributing and citing sources
• Share paper, project, performance, etc. with others using appropriate communication medium, format, technology, etc.

Remember

• Transfer knowledge gained from this process to future questions, assignments, etc.

(Information Literacy Criteria courtesy of Milner Library Illinois State University)