Information Literacy

            From tear-stained, chubby cheek years to hunched back, wrinkled skin years, people take in information. However, the ability to observe information does not automatically make a person information literate. The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, sums up information literacy as the ability to "recognize when information is needed and…locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" ("Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education"). Information is a necessity in recreational, instructional, and academic situations. While information literacy is being increasingly associated with technology, it can apply to any other source of knowledge. The most impacting or “effective” pieces of information can come from a huge variety of sources, including online articles, pictures, books, diagrams, interviews, and periodicals. In finding resources, critical thinking plays a major role. A person must discern if the information is credible and applicable to a certain topic ("Information Literacy in the Core Curriculum "). In addition, author’s intent, bias, context, and diction are just some of the aspects that information literate people will include in their analyses.

            The key word for me is “discernment.” Normally, I don’t have a problem with telling when I need information. If I can’t carry on with my task, it’s pretty obvious that I am missing some type of information. One of the hugest areas of difficulty is determining credibility, especially with the Internet. Depending on the situation, I have different standards. For a recipe, good reviews or four out of five stars might be enough to convince me of a recipe’s credibility. However, for research papers, I have to put in a lot more effort. I tend to use books more than the Internet. While books can still have flaws, I know that the editing process makes them more reliable. If I do use Internet sources, I check into the nature of the source and background of the author. For simple craft type activities, I tend to choose instructions with good pictures because the results seem more guaranteed to turn out nice. Especially because of AP classes, I have come to realize the importance of analyzing resources. Mr. Robinson described it like this: evaluation is the depth charge that protects the duck of evidence from a pike of doubt that wants to destroy your stance (I hope this makes sense). Before I actually knew the term, I had already made information literacy an important part of my life.

Works Cited

"Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education." Information Literacy  
           Competency Standards for Higher Education | Association of College and Research 
           Libraries (ACRL). Ed. American Library Association. American Library Association, 
           2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

"Information Literacy in the Core Curriculum ." Definition and Standards. Ed. Loyola 

           Marymount University. Loyola Marymount University, 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.