Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Information Literacy Need

Here's a description of the information literacy need from the Council of Australian University Librarians Information Literacy Standards document:

Information literacy is required because of proliferating information access and resources. Individuals are faced with diverse, abundant information choices in their studies, in the workplace, and in their lives. Information is available through community resources, special interest organisations, manufacturers and service providers, media, libraries, and the internet. Increasingly, information comes unfiltered. This raises questions about authenticity, validity, and reliability. In addition, information is available through multiple media, including graphical, aural, and textual. These pose special challenges in evaluating, understanding and using information in an ethical and legal manner. The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information also pose large challenges for society. Sheer abundance of information and technology will not in itself create more informed citizens without a complementary understanding and capacity to use information effectively.

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