UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION LITERACY AND THE BASIC

LIBRARY RESEARCH PROCESS

“Over the course of your lifetime, the more you learn and thereby
come to know, but especially the sooner you master and adopt
proficient learning skills, habits and attitudes – finding out how,
from where, from whom and when to search for and retrieve
the information that you need to know, but have not yet learned
– the more information literate you thereby become. Your competency
in applying and utilising those skills, habits and attitudes
will enable you to make sounder and timelier decisions to cope
with your personal and family health and welfare, educational,
job-related, citizenship and other challenges.” - Forest Woody Horton, Jr

Introduction
Several scholars have labelled the 21st Century as the “knowledge society”; people
are interested in finding out what has been discovered in research and they want
to use that same information to solve daily problems to develop a better world.
Furthermore, people also want to share or communicate research results for the
furtherance of knowledge (ACRL, 2010). The knowledge society is characterised by
participatory knowledge acquisition, retention, sharing and solving real-life issues.
Central to knowledge acquisition is the ability to understand the need for new
knowledge the nature of knowledge acquired, where to find and how to retrieve
such knowledge and how to profit from the knowledge without infringing on the
knowledge creator’s rights. This ability is what is embodied in INFORMATION
LITERACY.
Key Definitions
1. Knowledge
(Hunt, 2003) Defines knowledge as beliefs that are true and are justified.
(Cortes Ramirez et al., 2006) defines it as justified true belief

2. (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2017) defines it as facts, information, and

skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical
understanding of a subject.

3. Information
(Patricia Margaret Alexander, 2003) says “information has a meaning ... (it)
comes from selecting data, summarising it and presenting it in such a way
that it is useful to the recipient.”

4. (INTRONA 1992) defines information as “data that is organised and

meaningful to the person receiving it. Data is therefore raw material that is
transformed into information by data processing. Information can be
 defined in terms of its surprise value. It tells the recipient something he did
not know.”
5. (Introna 1992) also says “... information comes into being as the receiver
appropriates the data and gives it meaning”

6. (Checkland and Howell 1998) state “Information is that which results when
some human mental activity (observation, analysis) is successfully applied to
data to reveal its meaning or significance.”

7. The term ‘information’ has also been described as the structured, organised
and processed data, presented within context, which makes it relevant and
useful to the person who wants it.
Information is the data that is transformed and classified into an intelligible form,
which can be used in the process of decision-making. In short, when data turn out
to be meaningful after conversion, it is known as information. It is something that
informs, in essence, answers a particular question.

The main characteristics of information are accuracy, relevance, completeness and

availability. It can be communicated in the form of content of a message or
through observation and can be obtained from various sources such as newspaper,
television, internet, people, books, and so on.

The Information Literacy Concept

Paul Zurkowski was the first to coin the term “Information Literacy” (Ane, Daniela
and Angela, 2020). Several definitions of information literacy have been put
forward by different bodies and authors.

1. American Libraries Association defines information literacy “as a set of

abilities requiring individuals to recognise when information is needed and
have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed
information” (ALA 2018).

2. According to IFLA (2005) Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong

learning. It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and
create information effectively to achieve their personal, social,
occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human right in a digital
world and promotes social inclusion of all nations.

3. Information literacy is the ability to think critically and make balanced

judgements about any information we find and use. It empowers us as
citizens to reach and express informed views and to engage fully with
society. (CILIP Information Literacy Group 2018)
 4. (ACRL, 2010) defines information literacy as a set of abilities requiring
individuals to “ recognise when information is needed and have the ability
to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.”

5. (UNESCO 2005) in (Secker, J, & Coonan, E 2013) - “Information Literacy

empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use, and create
information to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational
goals”

In sum, information literacy, also referred to as information competency, is the

ability to access, evaluate, organise, and use information from a variety of
sources. It is a skill that cuts across computer literacy, library literacy, media
literacy, network literacy, and digital literacy. This means that an information
literate person is one who can identify access, locate, use and communicate
information via computer systems, traditional libraries, tools or technological
machines, internet environment, and graphic media. This can be illustrated further
to mean the ability of a person, in this case the student, to use computer systems,
libraries, electronic gadgets, the Internet, printed and published resources
effectively in order to determine, find, assess, arrange, use and communicate
information, both in formal and informal settings. It is a bundle of skills that
transforms students into life-long learners.

Information literacy has several components as postulated by Lau and Bonila in

their concept of Information Literacy. The concept is depicted by the figure below.

Concept of information literacy (Lau 2014)

Objectives of Information Literacy

The Association of College and Research Libraries states that Information Literacy
forms the basis of lifelong learning and it is part of our everyday living. It is
common to all environments, all levels of education and all learning environments
(ACRL Taskforce on Information Literacy Competency Standards, 2005).
The objectives of information literacy are:
● Creating a thinking style that is appropriate to the demands of the
contemporary information society expressed by information access
capacity, analysis of the information environment and development of
alternative information systems;
● Creating skills and working abilities with information sources; and
● Independent solution for each problem by accessing, processing, storing
and sending information.

Adapted from Ane, L., Daniela, P. and Angela, R. (2020)

Information literacy is a skill set that is helpful for a lifetime. It equips students
with skills that will enable them to survive academically, at the workplace and
during everyday life. Below is a diagram summarising the main components of
information literacy.

Basic Components of Information Literacy Concept of information literacy

(Lau 2014)

21ST CENTURY SURVIVAL LITERACIES

(Stambler 2013) states, “because technology has increased the intensity and
complexity of literate environments the 21st Century demands that a person
possess a wide range of abilities and competencies”. (Woody, 2007) proposes that
the 21st Century requires people to have six categories of literacies to enable them
to meet their educational, societal and occupational needs. These are:

1. The basic or core functional literacy fluencies (competencies) of reading,

writing, oral and numeracy.
2. Computer and technology literacy
3. Media literacy
4. Distance Learning and E-Learning
5. Information Literacy
6. Cultural Literacy
The boundaries between these categories overlap, but they should be seen as a
closely-knit family. In this view, literacy is comprehensive in the sense that it
includes many learnable skills, and positive attitudes and behaviours that affect
every aspect of one’s life.

INFORMATION LITERACY COMPETENCY STANDARDS – SKILLS POSSESSED BY

INFORMATION LITERATE INDIVIDUALS
Certain analytical and technical skills are possessed by information literate
individuals and these permit them to have the ability to identify, select, evaluate,
and analyse texts and other information, and to use information in accordance
with societal legal, and organisational norms (Patrick 2013). An information
literate individual is able to:

Determine the extent of information needed.

Access the needed information effectively and efficiently.

Evaluate the information and its sources critically and 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

Use information ethically and legally.

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

● The information literate student defines and articulates the need for
information.
● The information literate student identifies a variety of types and formats of
potential sources for information.
● The information literate student considers the costs and benefits of
acquiring the needed information.
● The information literate student re-evaluates the nature and extent of the
information need.

Standard Two – The information literate student accesses needed information

effectively and efficiently.

Performance Indicators:
 ● The information literate student selects the most appropriate investigative
methods or information retrieval systems for accessing the needed
information.
● The information literate student constructs and implements effectively
designed search strategies.
● The information literate student retrieves information online or in person
using a variety of methods.
● The information literate student refines the search strategy if necessary.
● The information literate student extracts, records, and manages the
information and its sources.

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.

Performance Indicators:

● The information literate student summarises the main ideas to be extracted

from the information gathered.
● The information literate student articulates and applies initial criteria for
evaluating both the information and its sources.
● The information literate student synthesises main ideas to construct new
concepts.
● The information literate student compares new knowledge with prior
knowledge to determine the value-added, contradictions, or other unique
characteristics of the information.
● The information literate student determines whether the new knowledge
has an impact on the individual’s value system and takes steps to reconcile
differences.
● The information literate student validates understanding and interpretation
of the information through discourse with other individuals, subject-area
experts, and/or practitioners.
● The information literate student determines whether the initial query
should be revised.

Standard Four – The information literate student, individually or as a member

of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

Performance Indicators:

● The information literate student applies new and prior information to the
planning and creation of a particular product or performance.
● The information literate student revises the development process for the
product or performance.
● The information literate student communicates the product or performance
effectively to others.
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.

Performance Indicators:

● The information literate student understands many of the ethical, legal and
socio-economic issues surrounding information and information technology.
● The information literate student follows laws, regulations, institutional
policies, and etiquette related to the access and use of information
resources.
● The information literate student acknowledges the use of information

The above skills are summarised in the diagram below:

Importance of Information Literacy

We now have a knowledge society where everyone is interested in getting
information that will be transformed into knowledge. The process of this
transformation requires a set of skills: the ability to determine, find, evaluate,
organise, use and, in addition, share information from a variety of sources.
Below are some points about information literacy that reinforce its importance:
✔ Information Literacy education teaches students how to extract credible
information from an increasing variety of both print and digital information
sources.
✔ Information Literacy imparts in students the abilities to identify and source
for the most up-to-date and authoritative information that would assist
them in doing their work more effectively.
✔ It imparts in students the ability to expand their knowledge, ask informed
questions, and sharpen their critical thinking skills for further self- directed
learning.
✔ Empowers students to become life-long learners.
✔ Information Literacy is not just for students at their studentship levels but
also position men and women in their workplaces to be possessors of needs
determination skills, needs assessment skills, research-based problem
solvers, information analysers, knowledge creators, etc.
✔ Information Literacy broadens the thinking horizon of students‟ vis-à-vis
their quest to know how to know and learn how to learn.
✔ It exposes to students the various categories and sources of information for
knowledge creation.
✔ Information Literacy inculcates in students the ability to evaluate and
determine the right information for every knowledge problem.
✔ Information Literacy inculcates in students the knowledge of how to use
information, elegantly and coherently, to create new knowledge.
✔ Information Literacy inculcates in students the ability to use information
resourcefully and legally.
✔ Information Literacy arouses the interest of students to become self-
motivated learners and thinkers who are creative, analytical and effective.
✔ Information Literacy inculcates and improves research skills in students.