Information Literacy: About Information Literacy

According to the American Library Association, 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. To be information literate, then, one needs skills not only in research but in critical thinking." 

The Association of College & Research Libraries states that 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. 

Skills in information literacy are not only for the academic realm, but are also very important in everyday life. For example, making informed and conscious decisions about choices in government or what kind of loan to get from a bank are all examples of the need to be information literate in the real world.