Information literacy
From Digipedia
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Contents |
OVERVIEW
Information literacy is defined by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) as:
" Knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner."
Whilst the Prague Declaration of 2003 makes explicit the link with the advent of the Information Society and lifelong learning:
"Information literacy encompasses knowledge of one's information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of lifelong learning."
What is Information Literacy?
Information literacy comprises the following:
- Understanding the need for information leading to
- the undertaking of a known source search or a speculative search
- an independent search or one or through an intermediary
- Sifting and evaluation of findings
- Correct re-use or synthesis of findings
At each stage some skill or understanding may be required to establish where to look (What media? Which publisher? is best suited) and which is the most appropriate source for the query in hand? If you are the intermediary handling the information enquiry some assessment of the user's need is also required based on:
- Age/educational attainment (a primary school child's need is different to that of a post doctoral researcher)
- Purpose and extent of the enquiry (leisure versus "serious" research)
- Time constraints
Evaluation of the results will consider amongst a range of factors provenance and reputation of the publisher/provider. When information is re-used the avoidance of plagiarism and giving credit to sources cited or used in subsequent work are part of the ethics of good information literacy. In the case of digital resources Creative Commons licences provide the means to legitimately re-use content under certain conditions described by the licence type.
Information literacy is related to media literacy.
