Information Literacy in Higher Education: A review and case study

The aim of this article is to review and critique the current state of information literacy education, and propose a way forward. Key developments in the UK, USA and Australia are reviewed, including standards and models of information literacy. The place of information literacy in the higher education curriculum is discussed. Problems with current practice are identified, in particular, prescriptive guidelines which encourage a surface learning approach; delivery by librarians who may lack both educational training and power to influence the curriculum; and poor assessment methods. Alternative approaches are highlighted. A case study of a credit bearing information literacy class, offered by the authors to undergraduates at Strathclyde Business School, is analysed, to argue that information literacy can stand alone as a subject of study, with appropriate learning and teaching methods. The article concludes by proposing models for the information literate student and the information literate university.

[1]  Ray Lonsdale,et al.  A study of the use of electronic information systems by higher education students in the UK , 2001 .

[2]  Carolyn Gutierrez,et al.  A comparison of an electronic vs. print workbook for information literacy instruction , 2001 .

[3]  David Bawden,et al.  Information and digital literacies: a review of concepts , 2001, J. Documentation.

[4]  Valerie Belton,et al.  Developing key skills at Strathclyde business school through the integrative core , 2001 .

[5]  Patricia A Iannuzzi.  Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education , 2000 .

[6]  Bill Johnston,et al.  Conceptions of information literacy: new perspectives and implications , 2000, J. Inf. Sci..

[7]  Nicholas Joint,et al.  Information skills training in support of a joint electronic library in Glasgow: the GAELS project approach to library courseware development , 2000 .

[8]  Hannelore B. Rader.  A silver anniversary: 25 years of reviewing the literature related to user instruction , 2000 .

[9]  C. Bruce.  Information literacy research: dimensions of the emerging collective consciousness. A reflection , 2016 .

[10]  Youth Affairs,et al.  Learning for the knowledge society : an education and training action plan for the information economy , 2000 .

[11]  Hannelore B. Rader.  The Learning Environment--Then, Now and Later: 30 Years of Teaching Information Skills. , 1999 .

[12]  Michael B. Eisenberg.  Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age , 1999 .

[13]  C. Bruce.  Workplace experiences of information literacy , 1999 .

[14]  Cheryl Knott Malone,et al.  Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age, by Kathleen L. Sputzer with Michael B. Eisenberg and Carrie A. Lowe , 1999, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[15]  Louise Limberg.  Three conceptions of information seeking and use , 1999 .

[16]  M. Gibbons.  Higher Education Relevance in the 21st Century. , 1998 .

[17]  Erla P. Heyns,et al.  Implementing an Assessment Plan for Information Literacy , 1998 .

[18]  Veronica Calderhead.  Reflections on Information Confusion in Chemistry Information Learning: The Meaning of the Shift from Library Instruction to Information Literacy , 1998 .

[19]  Kevin Whitston.  Key skills and curriculum reform , 1998 .

[20]  Toni Carbo.  Mediacy: Knowledge and Skills to Navigate the Information Highway , 1997 .

[21]  Christine S. Bruce,et al.  The relational approach : a new model for information literacy , 1997 .

[22]  C. Bruce.  Seven faces of information literacy , 1997 .

[23]  Frank Coffield,et al.  Higher education in a learning society , 1995 .

[24]  P. Candy.  Developing lifelong learners through undergraduate education , 1994 .

[25]  Frank Webster,et al.  What Information Society? , 1994, Inf. Soc..

[26]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau,et al.  A Principle of Uncertainty for Information seeking , 1993, J. Documentation.

[27]  D. Bligh.  Learning to teach in higher education , 1993 .

[28]  A. King.  From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side , 1993 .

[29]  F. Marton,et al.  ON QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING: I—OUTCOME AND PROCESS* , 1976 .

[30]  J. Farradane,et al.  Information Science , 1971, Nature.

[31]  D. Todd,et al.  American Library Association , 2022, Encyclopedia of Big Data.