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                                         Information Literacy in Higher Education

Introduction

Literacy as defined in census operations (2001) is “the ability to read and write with understanding in any language. A person cannot be classified as literate if he/she can merely read but cannot write. Any formal minimum education or minimum educational standard is not necessary to be considered literate.”

According to many educationists and information professionals there are various types of literacies such as information technology literacy, cultural literacy, functional literacy, information literacy, voter literacy, work related literacy etc. These are just the application of basic literacy skills to particular spheres of interest. Here we will concentrate on information literacy.

Origin and definition of Information Literacy

The term ‘Information Literacy’ first appeared in library literature during 1970s. The phrase ‘Information Literacy’ first appeared in print in a 1974 report by Paul G. Zurkowski. It was written on behalf of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Zurkowski used the phrase to describe the techniques and skills known by the information literate for utilizing the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in moulding information solutions to their problems.

The United States National Forum on Information Literacy (2009) defines information literacy as ” … the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand”.

The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy was formed in 1987 by the American Library Association’s President of the time Margaret Chisholm. Its final report 1989 outlined the importance of information literacy. This report defined information literacy as the ability “to recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information” and highlighted information literacy as a skill essential for lifelong learning. Information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how information is organised, how to find information and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them.

Need of Information Literacy

The aim of information literacy education is to help students to expand their knowledge through effective use of the skills, to improve their thinking, to teach students how to find information and prepare them for lifelong learning. According to American Library Association (ALA) , the objectives of information literacy are as follows:

“Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong teaching. It is common to all disciplines to all learning environment, and to all levels of education. It enables learner to master content and extend their investigation become more self directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. 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 includes several things such as library literacy, media literacy, computer/ IT literacy or digital literacy. A student must literate in above fields. Students and teachers can get their required information from library , media and through internet. The students and teachers must familiar with different kinds of information resources including digital resources. They must literate to identify their required information, to evaluate and interpret that information. They must literate with new information technologies. They must familiar with use of e- resources, OPAC, database searching, use of internet etc. To cope up with these things teachers and students must information literate. Hence information literacy education is essential for the

 Information Literacy and competency standards        

In 2000, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), released “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” describing five standards and numerous performance indicators considered best practices for the implementation and assessment of postsecondary information literacy programs. There are five standards and 22 performance indicators. The standards focus upon the needs of students in higher education at all levels. The five standards are:

Standard One: The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.

Standard Two: The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.

Standard Three: The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.

Standard Four: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

Standard Five: The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.                  

                                                 

There are so many information literacy models. Some well accepted models are :

The Big6 skills information problem solving approach to information skills instruction by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz (1990)

It is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools through higher education. This model consists of six steps:

task definition

information seeking strategies

location and access

use of information

synthesis

evaluation

SCONUL ( Society of College, National and University Libraries, 1999),

It is a seven pillar model used to promote excellence in library services in higher education and national libraries across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The seven pillars are:

The a ability to recognize a need for information

The ability to distinguish ways in which the information gap may be addressed

The ability to construct strategies for locating information

The ability to locate and access information

The ability to compare and evaluate information obtained from different sources

The ability to organise, apply and communicate information to others in ways appropriate to the situation

The ability to synthesize and build upon existing information contributing to the creation of new knowledge