What is Information Literacy Anyway?

It has been said that information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations. As defined by the American Libraries Association (ALA), information literacy is defines 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 ALA has identified five standards for determining an "information literate" person. Each standard builds on and expands the previous one. The text below is from the ALAStandards: Step-by-Step document. It does a wonderful job of clearly articulating the intent of each standard.

Standard One seeks to focus on an information need, explore various options for meeting this need and requires a basic understanding of how information is generated, organized and disseminated. The student must be able to identify these questions:
What is it you want to know?
What kind of information do you need?
How much information do you need?

Standard Two builds on Standard One. It focuses on student's ability to access information in an effective and efficient manner, once they have clarified their need for information. It's probably the easiest to understand since it's all about getting at the information. The student must be able to answer these questions:
What is the best way to gather this information?
Am I using the best terms for this search?
Which search system or other resource will get me this information?

Standard Three is perhaps the most important as it stresses the need for all of us to evaluate information critically as we select and use it. This is especially important because of the amount and nature and formats of the information available. Students must develop abilities that critically analyze information. The student must be able to answer these questions:
Is this s credible source of information?
Is there another interpretation or point of view?
How does this new information change what I know?

Standard Four focuses on the various uses of information as we communicate with others. The student must be able to answer these questions:
What is the best method for presenting this information?
Will this image convey the message I want?
Are these quotes supportive of my ideas?

Finally, Standard Five outlines important aspects of legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of information. Besides focusing on the plagiarism issue, freedom of speech, privacy, intellectual property, fair use and other aspects fall into this category. The student must be able to answer these questions:
Can I make a copy of this material?
What are the issues surrounding censorship?
Are there college policies about information gathering, use or reproduction and dissemination?

So, that's information literacy in a nutshell. As librarians, we integrate these standards into our class instruction. But, I think that you will agree that they are relevant far beyond the walls of academia.