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The following literatures cover current theories, approaches, and
assessments of information literacy, with the intention of providing effective

suggestions and methods to educate students and increase their proficiency.
Articles touch upon ways to improve students information literacy skills through
different methods and assessments of effectiveness. The students observed in
these studies range from high school to undergraduates to non-traditional students,
including community college and online-based. It is important to study the
information literacy abilities of different students to find common patterns of
success and failure.
Additionally, studying a diverse range of ages supports the theory that
information literacy is a life skill and is not limited solely to traditional academia.
Information literacy is generally defined as having the ability to access,
evaluate, and use information effectively and ethically (Latham & Gross, 2008). Its
current challenges include the advancement of internet resources, needs of
increasingly diverse students, and relevance outside of academia.
While the importance of information literacy has long been understood,
traditional methods of instruction have failed to adequately address the diverse
needs of todays students and the overabundance of information accessible through
the internet. Information literacy is an increasingly essential life skill as this
unmediated information requires a unique analysis by evaluating it in critical,
skeptical, and savvy ways; however, the speed of change has evolved faster than
education curricula (Miller & Bartlett, 2012).
Research on students initial information literacy abilities showed that the
majority had poor skills, such as choosing the first result in a search engine hit list
(Miller & Bartlett, 2012, p. 40). Teachers and schools are often faulted for student
shortcomings. Miller and Bartlett believe schools havent been able to keep up with
rapidly changing technologies; relatedly, the majority of teachers surveyed felt they
would need training in order to adequately teach digital fluency (p. 49). Latham and
Gross (2008) found students most frequent answer to how they learned to search
for information in the library or online was taught myself.
Securing class time for information literacy instruction has been a barrier, as
emphasis has been focused on increasing student performance on standardized
testing (Martin, Garcia, & McPhee, 2012). OSullivan & Dallas (2010) echo this
sentiment, stating that No Child Left Behind legislation led many high school
curriculums to abandon inquiry-based projects that challenge students to apply the
knowledge they obtain through research; this robs students of the skills needed to
research and write an analytic paper that actually applies the knowledge a student
obtains to a specific social problem or issue.
Librarians are criticized as well, with accusations such as handing the
students a fish instead of showing students how to fish (Fox & Doherty, 2012).
The suggestion of taking issue with surrendering their authority as learning experts
to further engage students in learning is also made (Doherty & Ketchner, 2005).
While a variety of methods and theories were used, researchers that
continuously assessed results and adjusted accordingly had highly successful
outcomes. Fain (2011) reviewed the five-year long data of students whose skills
increased significantly after receiving library instruction. She found these reviews
showed patterns and trends in student performance, which can be used to provide
directions for improving programs.
Several researchers used the standards of the Association of College and

Research Libraries to assess information literacy success. Funes (2004) utilized
these when developing the curriculum for an information competency course,
concluding the students skills improved. Samson (2010) presented quantitative
evidence of a substantial link between learning outcomes and the rubric. Fox and
Doherty (2012) used a backward design method based on defining the desired
students learning outcomes (SLOs) to aid in designing information literacy
instruction tools accessible for students outside of the classroom. Their findings
benefit non-traditional students who may not have the opportunity to attend inperson information literacy classes.
Continuing to look beyond the traditional class by incorporating information
literacy lessons across the curriculum is an idea shared by many professionals.
Swanson (2004) believes it will create information literacy success in students.
Warren (2006) feels it is especially important in community colleges, where
students often have limited time due to balancing studies with work and family
obligations. Other collaborative efforts explored include community college
collaborations outside their institution to supplement their often limited resources
(Warren, 2006,).
Collaborative efforts can start in high school by guiding students in research
with university-level standards. Martin et al. (2012) explore the successful outreach
effort by a university library with a high school information literacy class. OSullivan
& Dallas (2010) created a senior-level class based around a single research paper,
breaking the process into a series of steps and lessons. Students who participated in
the class reported how it significantly prepared them for college assignments.
While academic success is important, information literacy must also be

regarded as equally important in the workplace. DAngelo (2012) says information
has a place in business because information is needed to innovate and to create
new products and processes. Workplace information literacy includes textual,
social, and physical information that serve as a way of knowing about a range of
sites of explicit and tacit knowledge within the workplace landscape (Lloyd, 2006,).
Correspondingly, new ideas of redefining information literacy have recently
emerged. Lloyd (2006) argues that a clear understanding of the nature of
information literacy must include drawing meaning from it through engagement
and experience with information. Similarly, Ward (2006) argues the need to
understand information in a more conceptual way so students will connect both
analytically and imaginatively. Swanson (2004) believes students must learn about
information in a critical model, which includes defining information, relevance, and
credibility.
Regardless of how one defines it, assessment has proven to be an imperative
aspect of improving all information literacy skills. Lindauer (2004) developed an
assessment method to aid librarians, including testing students abilities rather than
relying on their personal feedback and defining student learning outcomes at the
beginning; this is similar to the backwards design method utilized by Fox and
Doherty (2012). Warren (2006) believes assessment directly benefits students
because they receive feedback on their educational progress, which engages them
as full partners in the learning process. Doherty and Ketchner (2005) support this
through their theory that students learn best when theyre active participants in the
learning process.
While there are no definitive solutions to the issues of improving information

literacy, several successful themes have emerged. Ongoing assessment and
subsequent program evolution have proven to effectively improve skills by
researchers such as Samson (2010) and Fain (2011).
Additionally, engaging students in education has proven to successfully
empower them and increase learning (Douherty & Ketchner, 2005). Building classes
around desired student learning outcomes ( Fox & Doherty, 2012) and combining
old and new techniques to improve digital fluency (Miller & Bartlett, 2012) also show
positive results.
The fundamental path to successful information literacy requires embracing
the idea that there is no definitive end to evaluating information. In order to
understand all aspects and forms of information literacy, it must be accepted as a
lifelong learning process that requires continuous exploration.
Bibliographies
D'Angelo, B. (2012). Student learning and workplace il: A case study. Library Trends,
60(3), 637-650.
Doherty, J. J., & Ketchner, K. (2005). Empowering the intentional learner: A critical
theory for information literacy instruction. Library Philosophy and Practice,
8(1). Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/lpp.htm
Fain, M. (2011). Assessing information literacy skills development in first year
students: A multi-year study. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 37(2),
109-119.
Funes, C. H. (2004). An odyssey: Palomar college develops an information literacy
course. Community & Junior College Libraries, 12(3), 61-65.
Latham, D., & Gross, M. (2008). Broken links: Undergraduates look back on their
experiences with information literacy in k-12 education. School Library Media
Research, 11. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/slr
Lindauer, B. G. (2004). The three arenas of information literacy assessment.

Reference & User Services Quarterly, 44(2), 122-129.
Lloyd, A. (2006). Information literacy landscapes: An emerging picture. Journal of
Documentation, 62(5), 570-583.
Martin, C. M., Garcia, E.P., & McPhee, M. (2012). Information literacy outreach:
Building a high school program at California State University Northridge.
Education Libraries, 34(1), 34-47. Retrieved from
http://units.sla.org/division/ded/education_libraries.html
Miller, C., & Bartlett, J. (2012). Digital fluency:Towards young peoples critical use
of the internet. Journal of Information Literacy, 6(2), 35-55. Retrieved from
http://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/index
O'Sullivan, M. K., & Dallas, K. B. (2010). A collaborative approach to implementing
21st century skills in a high school senior research class. Education Libraries,
33(1), 3-9. Retrieved from
http://units.sla.org/division/ded/education_libraries.html
Samson, S. (2010). Information literacy learning outcomes and student success. The
Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(3), 202-210.
Swanson, T. A. (2004). A radical step: Implementing a critical information literacy
model. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 4(2), 259-273.
Ward, D. (2006). Revisioning information literacy for lifelong meaning. The Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 32 (4), 396402.
Warren, L. A. (2006). Information literacy in community colleges: Focused on
learning. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 45(4), 297-303
Warren, L. A. (2006). Information literacy in community colleges: Focused on
learning. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 45(4), 297-303.

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The following literatures cover current theories, approaches, and

assessments of information literacy, with the intention of providing effective

Several researchers used the standards of the Association of College and

While academic success is important, information literacy must also be

While there are no definitive solutions to the issues of improving information

Lindauer, B. G. (2004). The three arenas of information literacy assessment.

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