Without guidance, researchers may find themselves with a plethora of information while still missing key scholarly resources. Information Literacy Information Literacy has been an active concept since it was coined in Australia in 1965. These standards were approved in January 2000. Over the years, information literacy has been equated with a variety of terms. However, as noted in Information Literacy Competency Standards , these terms are different.
Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning.
It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education . Many institutions actively promoting information literacy focus on teaching students how to access and evaluate information unrelated to course content. While utilitarian, this approach may miss what is at the heart of a liberal arts commitment to lifelong learning. Research skills not integrated into courses frequently lack relevance, fail to touch the hearts of students, and seldom involve complex higher level critical thinking skills. Simply put, information literacy best manifests itself in the specific understanding of knowledge creation, scholarly activity, and publication processes found within disciplines.