Is Information Literacy Relevant in the Real World

This is a reworking of a paper presented at the Australian Library and Information Association, Special Health and Law Libraries Conference in Melbourne, Victoria in August 2001. The author asks whether the corporate sector is aware of information literacy as a “new economy” skills set, and a solution to information overload. The move to a knowledge based economy, along with investment by industry leaders in knowledge management and lifelong learning, has prepared the way, but there is little evidence that businesses are addressing the information literacy gap on a micro level. The author looks at whether different terminology is used in the business sector to describe aspects of information literacy. She concludes that while there is some overlap with established concepts, information literacy is generally not adequately addressed, with the result that many workers are poorly equipped to deal effectively with information in their everyday work.