Information Literacy Defined
Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." 1 Information literacy also is increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources. Because of the escalating complexity of this environment, individuals are faced with diverse, abundant information choices--in their academic studies, in the workplace, and in their personal lives. Information is available through libraries, community resources, special interest organizations, media, and the Internet--and increasingly, information comes to individuals in unfiltered formats, raising questions about its authenticity, validity, and reliability. In addition, information is available through multiple media, including graphical, aural, and textual, and these pose new challenges for individuals in evaluating and understanding it. The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information pose large challenges for society. The sheer abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively.
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, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual is able to:
Information Literacy and Information Technology
Information literacy is related to information technology skills, but has broader implications for the individual, the educational system, and for society. Information technology skills enable an individual to use computers, software applications, databases, and other technologies to achieve a wide variety of academic, work-related, and personal goals. Information literate individuals necessarily develop some technology skills.
Information literacy, while showing significant overlap with information technology skills, is a distinct and broader area of competence. Increasingly, information technology skills are interwoven with, and support, information literacy. A 1999 report from the National Research Council promotes the concept of "fluency" with information technology and delineates several distinctions useful in understanding relationships among information literacy, computer literacy, and broader technological competence. The report notes that "computer literacy" is concerned with rote learning of specific hardware and software applications, while "fluency with technology" focuses on understanding the underlying concepts of technology and applying problem-solving and critical thinking to using technology. The report also discusses differences between information technology fluency and information literacy as it is understood in K-12 and higher education. Among these are information literacy’s focus on content, communication, analysis, information searching, and evaluation; whereas information technology "fluency" focuses on a deep understanding of technology and graduated, increasingly skilled use of it. 2
"Fluency" with information technology may require more intellectual abilities than the rote learning of software and hardware associated with "computer literacy", but the focus is still on the technology itself. Information literacy, on the other hand, is an intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and using information--activities which may be accomplished in part by fluency with information technology, in part by sound investigative methods, but most important, through critical discernment and reasoning. Information literacy initiates, sustains, and extends lifelong learning through abilities which may use technologies but are ultimately independent of them.
Tips for Finding Literary Criticism
1. Identify the work and/or author to be studied.
2. Search the Library Catalog for books about the work or author. Library of Congress Subject Headings, labeled "Subject Terms" in the Catalog, can help you.
Sample Subject Terms:
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616—Biography (search for: shakespeare william biography)
Austen, Jane, 1775-1817—Criticism and Interpretation (search for: austen jane criticism)
Homer—Criticism and Interpretation (search for: homer criticism)
Biographies about authors often include significant discussions of their work. Books of literary criticism frequently discuss a range or group of authors' works. Only a chapter or portion of the book may be relevant to your research. Newer editions of classics may also include critical essays about the work.
3. Browse the shelves. Original works, books about the work, and books about the author are usually shelved together. Start by finding the call number for the original work using the Library Catalog.
4. Some works have significance to other disciplines, such as history, religion, or philosophy. Broaden your search to include books about the relevant historical period, theological issue, or other topics related to the work.
5. Broaden your search to the relevant literary period, for example classical literature. Then check tables of content and indexes to discover which of these books refer to the work you are researching.
6. Consult reference books in the Union College Library:
Bible commentaries R220s
Contemporary Authors
Contemporary Authors (New Revision Series)
Contemporary Authors (Permanent Series)
Contemporary Literary Criticism
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism