Being information literate means having the skills to find, evaluate, and apply information. It involves more than just being able to read and write. In the digital age, there are many information sources available, so students need to learn how to navigate them. The example of buying a computer shows how information literacy works in practice - the person identifies their need, searches online to find options, evaluates the results, and ultimately makes a purchase decision based on the information gathered. To be successful in college requires developing these types of information literacy skills.

1. What does it mean to be
“information literate”?

2. Why do you need to know
this?
After all you are literate.
You can read and write.
So, isn’t that all you need to
get through college?

3. It’s true being literate is the ability to read
and write.
It’s also true that you need to read and
write to get through college.

4. Information literacy is
something different.

5. So what is it?

6. It’s a life skill used to go from a place of
not knowing something, to finding a
source of knowledge, to examining that
source and then using what you have
learned properly.

7. Today information literacy is
very important because there
are so many information
resources available.
To be information literate
means you have developed a
very important set of skills.

8. According to the American Library
Association (to make this official),
“Information Literacy is
the set of skills needed
to find, retrieve,
analyze, and use
information.”

9. Let’s use a simple real life example.
You want to buy a computer.
That appears an easy task to solve.

10. First you need to know what type of
computer you want to buy!
– PC
– Mac
– Other

11. There are some things you know already!
Your friend, Maria, has a Windows computer!
You like the computer she has.
You want to buy a Windows computer.

12. But, she didn’t like the store
where she bought the
computer.
Tells you not to go there.
She said, “The service was awful!”
You want to go to a computer store. You ask Maria where she
bought her computer.

13. So where do you go?
You need information about computer stores.
What do you do?
You search for information about computer
stores on the Internet.

14. You use your favorite search engine.

15. You find many
computer stores.

16. There are too many computer
stores on the results list. You
want to limit the choices.
It is important to you to find a
computer store near you.
So, you narrow your search by
adding the name of your town
into the search form.

17. There are five computer stores in
your town.
You do another search. This time
adding the name of the
computer that you want to buy.
The next search lists three stores in
your town.

18. The first two stores are close to your
house.
The third you’ll have to drive to reach.
You look at the various store websites.
The stores near your house sell the
computer you want for $799.

19. The one furthest away is
running a special at $499.

20. At each step in locating the store you’ve:
• Identified the information needed.
• Searched to find the information.
• Retrieved the information.
• Analyzed the information.

21. Next you did the following.
• Identified the additional information you
needed.
• Searched to find the additional information.
• Retrieved the information.
• Analyzed the information.

22. What’s Next?

23. USE THE
INFORMATION!!
You are now computer store knowledgeable.
You’ve gained knowledge from your research.
You are ready to act upon the information attained
from your research.

24. You get in your car and go to the
store.
You buy your new
computer.

25. This is how information
literacy works!
Through a logical series of
steps you found,
retrieved, analyzed, and
used information.

26. Next we’ll look at the academic world and answer an important
question.
“What does it mean to be information literate for college?”
Do the student activity for this lesson.
After that proceed to the next lesson.
Revised Wednesday, February 4, 15