Wow! There are so many different definitions of Information Literacy. In my view it seems many have been written with the academic or tertiary student in mind. I have found most of these definitions overly wordy, full of technical terms and difficult to understand. Many seem to loose sight of the fact that the world isn't only full of academics! In today's information rich world, there are many of us 'ordinary, every day' folks out there who also need to be information literate.
As educators of children we need to keep this thought in the forefront of our minds when considering information literacy needs and learning programs. People from all walks of life need to be able to access and use information to suit their many different needs.
I found I really liked the simplicity of the The UK's Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) definition.
"Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner. " 2005
This definition implies several skills or competencies. CLIP believe that the competencies that are required to be information literate require an understanding of:
- A need for information
- The resources available
- How to find information
- The need to evaluate results
- How to work with or exploit results
- Ethics and responsibility of use
- How to communicate or share your findings
- How to manage your findings
Broken down into these simple terms I feel these points capture the essence of being information literate.
In the course of my searches I came across a useful web site called The Information Literacy Place, http://dis.shef.ac.uk/literacy/default.htm
produced by Sheila Webber (Sheffield University) and Bill Johnston (Strathclyde University)
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