The Association of College & Research Libraries defines information literacy as the "set of skills needed to

find, retrieve, analyze, and use information" (ACRL 2014). Definitions of information literacy abound across
professional organizations and information literacy stakeholders worldwide, but most definitions of
information literacy in the context of academic libraries center on the abilities to 1) identify an information
need; 2) access, select, evaluate, manage, and apply information in response to that need; and 3)
understand the legal, social, and ethical aspects of information retrieval and use (ACRL 2003; Webber &
Johnston 2000).

21st century higher education students live and learn in technology- and media-saturated environments. In
this era of unprecedented information abundance and rapidly changing technology, our students are
challenged to develop and hone a range of cognitive and functional skills to navigate this demanding
terrain. In a recent library promotion forum, author Neil Gaiman noted, "Every two days the human race
creates as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization until 2003. The challenge becomes not
finding that scarce plant growing in the desert, but finding a specific plant growing in a jungle" (Gaiman
2013). To extend this metaphor further, in order to become independent lifelong learners, our students
must be able to find that specific plant, evaluate its properties, understand its root structures, splice it, graft
it with other plants, store its seeds for future use, and cultivate those seeds in new soils.

The process of finding, selecting, and synthesizing information needed to achieve the task at hand is highly
nuanced and socially negotiated. Every piece of information, regardless of format, has a context of
production and use that represents social and power relationships reflective of cultural norms and societal
structures (Pawley 2003). Because information literacy is inextricably entwined with information, it is a
sociopolitical activity influenced by personal motivations, knowledge, insights, and biases. Additionally,
information literacy is conditioned by our understanding of how information is socially created, organized,
presented, and accessed (Jacobs 2008; Andersen 2006). The ability to critically engage with information to
Roda M. Ferraro
University of Kentucky

INFORMATION LITERACY PHILOSOPHY
Spring 2014
LIS 690


flush out its cultural, political, and historical context is perhaps the most challenging information literate
behavior our students face, but it is an essential skill for critically engaging with encountered information to
create new personal knowledge. Informed knowledge creation and decision making are the ultimate aims
of information literacy, and when our students realize information literacy is ultimately about not letting
information happen to us, but about being active, discerning information consumers and producers, we
can impart the significance of information literacy as an invaluable sociopolitical skill for effective and full
participation in contemporary society.

Information Literacy Skill Set
Information literacy is often defined via a list of information literate attributes or behaviors. The following
skill set embraces the information literate learner not as a passive recipient of information, but as someone
who engages with information to create new meaning and contribute to social information production.
Information literate learners:
Determine the scope and nature of needed information
Identify potential sources for needed information
Use appropriate tools, technologies, and search strategies to access information
Evaluate retrieved and encountered information for reliability, validity, and credibility
Employ critical thinking to analyze the social, cultural, and historical context of retrieved and
encountered information
Organize selected information for efficient application
Interpret selected information to create new meaning
Translate new meaning into new information creation
Use and disseminate information ethically and lawfully

As instructors, we run the risk of reducing skill sets to a neutral set of performance objectives, irrespective
of the needs of individual learners. Information literacy is anything but neutral, and the requisite functional
and cognitive skills of literate information consumption and production will vary from learner to learner. It
is imperative we frame our curricula and learning objectives to accommodate diverse learners and multiple
learning modalities.

This skill set informs my curriculum and instruction program development to teach students how to engage
with burgeoning information sources and evolving information formats. My programming centers on the
basic tenet that effectively searching for and using information is dependent upon an understanding of how
information creation and access is socially mediated. The emphasis is not on fact finding, but on scrutinizing

and contextualizing. I employ formative and summative assessment tools to gauge learning, and I stress the
creation of subject course-driven demonstrable products. My learning objectives are developed with
learners' specific needs in mind, and I adapt ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher
Education to meet specific disciplinary and course objectives.

Information literate students exhibit self-directed, informed behaviors. They expand their investigations
and exercise greater control over their learning. Information literacy is an empowering set of aptitudes and
behaviors. Increasing our students' encounters with applied information literacy instruction will better
equip them for lifelong informed decision making and full participation in the 21st century.











Sources

Andersen, Jack (2006). The public sphere and discursive activities: Information literacy as sociopolitical skills. Journal of
Documentation, 62:2, 213-228.

Association of College & Research Libraries. (2014). Introduction to information literacy. Retrieved from:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/issues/infolit/overview/intro

Association of College & Research Libraries. (2003). Guidelines for instruction programs in academic libraries.
Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/guidelinesinstruction
Corrall, Sheila. (2008). Information literacy strategy development in higher education: An exploratory study. Journal of
Information Management, 28:1, 26-37.

Gaiman, Neil. (2013). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

Jacobs, Heidi L. (2008). Information literacy and reflective pedagogical praxis. Journal of academic librarianship, 34:3,
256-262.

Pawley, Christine. (2003). Information literacy: A contradictory coupling. Library Quarterly, 73:4, 422-454.

Webber, Sheila & Johnston, Bill. (2000). Conceptions of information literacy: New perspectives and implications.
Journal of Information Science, 26:2, 381-397.