Information Literacy: Information Literacy

Information is knowledge acquired in any manner; facts; data; learning; lore... information applies to facts that are gathered in any way, by reading, observation, hearsay, etc., and does not necessarily connote validity.²

Watch How Quickly Data is Generated:

The Internet in Real-Time ¹

¹"Domo Infographic." Inside the Domosphere. Domo. 2011. Web. 27 June 2012.
²"Information." Def. 3 & Syn. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language. College ed. 1968.
^{3, 4}American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report. Chicago: American Library Association, 1989. Print. 
⁵ Ishii, Akiko. "Information Cycle Timeline" [animation]. Owens Library. Northwest Missouri State University. July 2002. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Information literacy, as defined by the American Library Association, is the ability to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."³ 

Information literacy skills are not just for classroom use; they are life skills.

"...information literate people are those who have learned how to learn... they learn how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand."⁴