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INFORMATION LITERACY

What is information literacy?

There are five basic standards that define the set of abilities that an information literate student needs to develop¹. They are:

1. The information student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
2. The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
3. The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into his or her knowledge base. 
4. The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
5. 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.
   
   ¹Association of College & Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Sueltenfuss Library is to cultivate information literacy at OLLU by:

1. Teaching the lifelong skills of finding and evaluating information in order for students to succeed at OLLU and beyond.
2. Working collaboratively with faculty to identify resources and learning activities to teach information literacy competencies².
3. Assisting faculty in validating courses for the Technology & Information Literacy (TIL) component of the general education program. 
4. Designing assignment-specific library instruction sessions for courses as requested by the instructor.

²As defined by the Association of College & Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.

Find Your Library Liaison

Each department is assigned a faculty librarian as their liaison. Faculty librarians provide guidance in the selection of materials and also provides information literacy instruction. For a list of library liaisons, click here.

General Education Validation for Information Literacy

Technology and Information Literacy is a general education requirement at OLLU. The Sueltenfuss Library can help you get your course validated for this requirement. For more information, contact Steve Wise, Head of Reference & Instruction, at 431-4118 or wises@lake.olusa.edu

• Download the Technology and Information Literacy Validation Form

Assessing Information Literacy

• ETS iSkills
• Project Sails
• Information Literacy Test, James Madison University

Examples of Information Literacy Assignments

These websites can give you some ideas on how to incorporate information literacy assignments into your classes:

• Designing Effective Information Literacy Assignments - McHenry Community College Library
• Tutorial for Developing and Evaluating Assignments - University of Maryland University College
• Commonly Used Information Literacy Assignments Matched to the ACRL Standards - San Jose State University Library
• Actual Course Assignment Examples from Each College Matched to ACRL Standards- San Jose State University Library

Other Information Literacy Links

• Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report
• Core Readings in Information Literacy
• Adapting ACRL Standards