Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment || Information literacy in the networked academic learning environment

Information literacy in

the networked academic

learning environment

Abstract: To improve academic performance and career development,

information literacy has become not only a critical learning skill required

by institutions of higher education, but also a survival strategy/ability that

will be critical in future occupational competition. Every college or university

in the world requires students have the capability to access and locate

information in our networked information society. Without such

capabilities, it would be impossible to promote excellence in learning in

dynamic and interactive academic learning environments. For over a

decade, a great deal of research has been done to evaluate information

literacy programs and leverage information literacy instructions. In light of

new breakthroughs by information technologies in the digital age, many

colleges and universities worldwide have launched information literacy

programs to promote the knowledge and skills necessary for critical

thinking, decision making, and problem solving. However, many

undergraduate students, especially first-year students, remain confused

about scholarly information distributed in cyberspace. They are unsure

where to access and search for scholarly information. In an attempt to

improve learning effectiveness, this chapter defines information literacy and

explores the different relationships among computer literacy, information

literacy, and library literacy. Also discussed are information literacy

competency standards in the twenty-first century and practical approaches

to improve information literacy skills in the networked academic learning

community. Finally, an internationally recognized information literacy

competency assessment and some general education learning outcomes are

introduced.

Key words: casual information search, computer literacy, information literacy,

information literacy competency, information literacy competency standards,

library literacy, literacy, scholarly information search.

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2

Introduction

As a result of the information explosion and information overload, many

college and university students still have difficulty in accessing and

searching for scholarly information in academic information sources. In

the academic world, more and more academic administrators, executives,

instructors, librarians, schoolteachers, and other professionals have

recognized that information literacy is directly associated with teaching

and learning effectiveness. College and university students’ academic

success and career development will depend on their skills in critical

thinking, decision making, and problem solving. Without knowing

where to access and locate scholarly information, there would be no

way of fostering excellence in teaching and learning.

As early as 10 January 1989, the Presidential Committee of the American

Library Association (ALA) pointed out that ‘‘Information Literacy is a

survival skill in the Information Age’’ (ALA, 1989). Since then, a

multitude of scholarly papers have been published exploring the best

approaches to improving teaching and learning effectiveness. Various

information literacy models and programs have been set up to promote

the information literacy competency of students. However, many college

and university students, especially first-year students, still find it difficult to

access and locate scholarly information in dynamic and interactive

academic learning environments. With this in mind, this chapter focuses

on the definition of ‘‘information literacy’’ and its implications for

computer literacy and library literacy. Also explored are information

literacy competency standards in the twenty-first century. In an effort to

improve information literacy skills in our networked information society,

this chapter makes practical suggestions for students to gain a competitive

edge in the academic workplace and in global economic integration. The

chapter concludes with a discussion on the information literacy assessment

and evaluation of students, which should demonstrate their information

literacy skills in the networked academic learning environment.

Learning outcomes

After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Understand information literacy in our networked information

society.

Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment

30

2. Distinguish between information literacy and library literacy.

3. Understand the information literacy competency standards needed in

the twenty-first century.

4. Learn how to improve their information literacy skills.

5. Pass information literacy assessments.

Questions to be answered

1. What is information literacy?

2. What is library literacy?

3. How do computer literacy, information literacy, and library literacy

differ?

4. What are the information literacy competency standards?

5. How can information literacy competency be improved?

6. What does an information literacy assessment focus on?

What is information literacy?

It was the ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy who first

pointed out that ‘‘To be information literate, a person must be able to

recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate,

evaluate, and use effectively the needed information’’ (ALA, 1989).

Based on this definition, the Association of College and Research

Libraries (ACRL), a division of the ALA, further illustrated information

literacy as ‘‘a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when

information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use

effectively the needed information’’ (ACRL, 2013a). Today, this definition

is widely accepted by information literacy educators all over the world.

Once the importance of information literacy regarding a nation’s

competency in global economic integration process became clear, more

and more colleges and universities throughout the world integrated

information literacy programs into their specific infrastructures. Many

academic libraries, public school districts, state governments, and non-

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Information literacy in the networked academic learning environment

profit organizations also initiated diverse learning outcomes measured by

information literacy competency standards. Information literacy has been

recognized as an essential educational goal to assess and evaluate a

student’s aptitude to achieve academic objectives successfully.

With the rapid advance of information technology, college and

university students need to understand how information delivery and

dissemination are carried out in our networked academic learning

environment. They need to understand that academic excellence and

leadership can only result by acquiring information literacy

competencies. Career development and occupational transitions will

also depend on their information literacy competencies. While designing

different course modules and assignments, new academic instructors

should familiarize themselves with academic information resources and

services available at their specific institution of higher education. To

improve teaching and learning effectiveness, experienced instructors

need to update their experience, knowledge, and skill in using

innovative media to access and locate scholarly information. In

addition, academic librarians have primary responsibility for promoting

library innovations for faculty, students, and local community users. They

must make sure that faculty connected with library liaison programs

knows where to seek assistance whenever needed.

However, when the ALA and ACRL proposed these two closely

associated definitions, they failed to define ‘‘information’’ before they

defined ‘‘information literacy’’. Like many other academic libraries in

the world, Georgia Southern University Library has created a web page

to promote information literature skills in the fast-changing academic

learning community. Following common practice in American colleges

or universities, this web page cites the ACRL’s classic definition of

‘‘information literacy’’. However, few academic administrators or

librarians in the United States could ever have expected the extent to

which the weakness of this approach would impact academic

information literacy instruction around the world (Figure 2.1). Only

after spending more than 20 years exploring information literacy in

academic learning environments did it dawn on us that the inadequacy

of these two information literacy definitions could impact the instruction of

academic information literacy and the information literacy programs

themselves:

g By failing to define what information is, how can the ALA and ACRL be

so sure that academic information literacy models and programs will be

initialized and implemented correctly?


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g If academic instructors do not understand what information is and how

information is delivered in cyberspace, how can they successfully

improve teaching and learning outcomes from information literacy

instructions?

g If undergraduates and graduates do not understand what information

is or how information formats and media will impact their search

methods and sources, how can we expect them to develop and

improve their aptitudes and skills in competitive academic and

business scenarios?

It makes little sense to build a mansion without a solid foundation. It is

not practical to teach information literacy without defining what

information is. It is impossible to improve information literacy skills

without knowing how information is exchanged and shared across

our networked information society. Without this fundamental

understanding of the underlying concept of information and its close

association with information formats and media, students cannot be

considered information literate, and our efforts to promote their

information literacy competencies are called into question. This is the

reason why we discussed the definition and features of information in

Chapter 1.


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Figure 2.1 Information Literacy Program at Georgia Southern University Library

Source: http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/libref/literacy.html

Computer literacy, information literacy, and

library literacy

In our networked information society, the information explosion and

information overload pose a challenge to individuals who need to access

and search for information in cyberspace. Constant advances in cutting-

edge and emerging technologies have created more and more innovative

formats and media to promote high-speed information delivery and

dissemination. The rapid development of information technologies has

had the effect of confusing many undergraduates, especially first-year

students, who do not possess the essential aptitudes required to access

and locate scholarly information from academic information sources.

Computer literacy generally refers to an individual’s experience,

knowledge, and skills at maintaining and using computer hardware and

software. In our networked information society, computers (including

desktops, laptops, and netbooks) have become essential tools to deal

with email communications, image editing, instant messaging (IM),

Internet surfing, social networking, video making, word processing, and

so on. An individual’s computer literacy has a close relationship with the

efficiency and the speed of accessing and locating information in

cyberspace. Moreover, it will impact a student’s selection of academic

majors and career paths in the future.

According to the ACRL, ‘‘information literacy’’ is defined as an

individual’s ability to identify his information needs and his aptitude to

acquire and use the needed information. In the age of print, basic literacy

referred to an individual’s ability to read and write. In the digital age,

information literacy refers to one’s comprehensive ability, experience,

knowledge, and skills of obtaining, synthesizing, transforming, and

utilizing information from widely distributed networking environments.

On the one hand, there is the impact that advancing information

technologies have on the means of information delivery and

dissemination in the digital age; on the other hand, however, academic

libraries still rank as important information gateways for students to access

and search scholarly information. In our networked academic learning

environment, therefore, information literacy is closely tied to computer

literacy and library literacy.

Library literacy is the ability to utilize library information resources and

services, including archives, course reserves, digital libraries, dissertations

and theses, government documents, IM services, interlibrary loan (ILL)

and document delivery, library network services, library workshops,


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special collections, and other specific service-oriented programs, in diverse

library settings. Despite today’s inceasingly powerful web search engines,

academic libraries are still functioning as information gateways for

academic faculty, students, and other local community users. However,

library literacy is only a part of information literacy. Although library

literacy is closely associated with information literacy, it is not identical

to information literacy. Information literacy covers a much wider area than

library literacy does.

In today’s information society, academic and public libraries are not the

only information gateways for college and university students to access

and search multi-format and multi-media information. As the Internet and

the World Wide Web (WWW) have gained in popularity, undergraduates

and graduates do not need to physically walk into a library building before

they can access, search, and use a library’s 24� 7 online information

resources and services. They need more practice and training to sharpen

their information literacy skills, instead of just library literacy skills. In

addition to understanding general ways of information access in their own

library network, college and university students are expected to

demonstrate compatible information literacy competencies in other

dynamic academic learning environments and competitive business

scenarios.

Information literacy competency standards for

the twenty-first century

Approved by the ACRL’s Board of Directors on 18 January 2000, the

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

(ILCSHE) was published; it contains five standards and twenty-two

performance indicators and is used to evaluate a student’s information

literacy skills in academic learning environments. The ILCSHE’s five

standards and twenty-two performance indicators are listed as

follows:

‘‘Standard One:

The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the

information needed.


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Performance Indicators:

1. The information literate student defines and articulates the need for

information.

2. The information literate student identifies a variety of types and

formats of potential sources for information.

3. The information literate student considers the costs and benefits of

acquiring the needed information.

4. The information literate student reevaluates the nature and extent of

the information need.

Standard Two:

The information literate student accesses needed information effectively

and efficiently.


1. The information literate student selects the most appropriate

investigative methods or information retrieval systems for accessing

the needed information.

2. The information literate student constructs and implements effectively

designed search strategies.

3. The information literate student retrieves information online or in

person using a variety of methods.

4. The information literate student refines the search strategy if necessary.

5. The information literate student extracts, records, and manages the

information and its sources.

Standard Three:

The information literate student evaluates information and its sources

critically and incorporates selected information into his or her

knowledge base and value system.


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1. The information literate student summarizes the main ideas to be

extracted from the information gathered.

2. The information literate student articulates and applies initial criteria

for evaluating both the information and its sources.

3. The information literate student synthesizes main ideas to construct

new concepts.

4. The information literate student compares new knowledge with prior

knowledge to determine the value added, contradictions, or other

unique characteristics of the information.

5. The information literate student determines whether the new

knowledge has an impact on the individual’s value system and takes

steps to reconcile differences.

6. The information literate student validates understanding and

interpretation of the information through discourse with other

indiiduals, subject-area experts, and/or practitioners.

7. The information literate student determines whether the initial query

should be revised.

Standard Four:

The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group,

uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.


1. The information literate student applies new and prior information to

the planning and creation of a particular product or performance.

2. The information literate student revises the development process for

the product or performance.

3. The information literate student communicates the product or

performance effectively to others.


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Standard Five:

The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal,

and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses

information ethically and legally.


1. The information literate student understands many of the ethical, legal

and socio-economic issues surrounding information and information

technology.

2. The information literate student follows laws, regulations,

institutional policies, and etiquette related to the access and use of

information resources.

3. The information literate student acknowledges the use of information

sources in communicating the product or performance’’ (ACRL,

2013b).

All in all, the ILCSHE is the first comprehensive guide in the twenty-first

century to promoting information literacy instructions and programs in

higher education. It has set up an essential framework for academic

administrators, faculty, librarians, and students to understand what

information literacy competencies are needed in the digital age.

Standard One focuses on a student’s ability to determine his

information needs. Standard Two emphasizes a student’s ability to

access and obtain the needed information. Standard Three examines a

student’s ability to evaluate his information search results. Standard

Four requires that a student be able to use information effectively in our

networked academic learning environments. Standard Five outlines a

student’s ability to use information ethically and legally.

As a result of technical limitations in 1989, it was impossible for the ALA

Presidential Committee on Information Literacy to predict precisely how

network technologies and web technologies would impact the means of

academic information delivery in today’s academic learning environments.

Although the ACRL defines information literacy precisely, the ILCSHE

contains several obvious weaknesses:

1. The first weakness is that the ACRL standards failed to define what

information was before they defined ‘‘information literacy’’. As a

result, many undergraduates and graduates find it difficult to


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understand the nature and the scope of information they need and how

it is delivered in cyberspace. They do not even know how to specify

their information needs correctly.

2. The second weakness is that the ACRL standards fail to indicate clearly

how information media and information formats will impact

information access and information search in the digital age.

Standard Two only stipulates ambiguously that ‘‘The information

literate student accesses needed information effectively and

efficiently’’ (ACRL, 2014). Although the current Performance

Indicator 2 under Standard One requires that ‘‘The information

literate student identifies a variety of types and formats of potential

sources for information’’ (ACRL, 2014), the related outcomes only

focus on the most popular means of generating general data,

information, and knowledge. On the contrary, academic instructors

and students need to know exactly how specific online and printed

scholarly information is categorized, delivered, and disseminated in

the academic information world. Instead of using a performance

indicator saying that ‘‘The information literate student retrieves

information online or in person using a variety of methods’’

(ACRL, 2014), the author suggests that the ACRL could modify the

third performance indicator for Standard Two as ‘‘The information

literate student retrieves online and printed information using a variety

of methods.’’ Furthermore, the ACRL needs to review the current

Standard Two and the order of Performance Indicators 1 and 2.

How can ‘‘The information literate student constructs and

implements effectively-designed search strategies’’ after he ‘‘selects

the most appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval

systems for accessing the needed information’’? The rule of thumb is

that ‘‘effectively-designed search strategies’’ must be set up before

students are able to select ‘‘the most appropriate investigative

methods or information retrieval systems for accessing the needed

information.’’

3. The third weakness is that the current ACRL standards do not help

students understand the difference between general information and

scholarly information. By simply stating that ‘‘The information literate

student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently,’’

Standard Two and its five related performance indicators fail to

clearly specify the kinds of information resources and search

methods recommended in higher education scenarios. The related

performance indicators of Standard Two do not measure a


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student’s information literacy aptitude to ascertain which particular

academic information resources and services his information search

needs. A general or casual information search is a means of

information retrieval for personal and amusement purposes.

Normally, a popular web search engine like Google is used to

search for information about games, social life, e-commerce, and

topics of interest to the searcher. In contrast to a casual information

search, a scholarly information search refers to a process of accessing

and locating academic information, which includes academic books

and journal articles that have undergone a personal review process.

Academic databases and specific web search engines like Google

Scholar are needed to search for online scholarly information such

as peer-reviewed articles, reports, reviews, white papers, etc. In

addition, a scholarly information search needs to make use of print

information resources to retrieve archived and current information, in

the event full text online scholarly information is not available.

4. The fourth weakness is that the ACRL standards as they stand do not

foster a spirit of creation and innovation. While it measures whether

‘‘The information literate student, individually or as a member of a

group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose,’’

Standard Four and its three performance indicators fail to set up

anything to assess whether or not an information-literate student

has been able to use searched information to create new knowledge

or develop new skills. Rather than simply copying, editing,

modifying, and saving information, there is a need for a spirit of

creativity, discovery, exploration, and innovation to produce new

knowledge in today’s information society. This should lie at the

heart of accessing and searching online and print information in

cyberspace.

5. The fifth weakness is that the ACRL standards do not advise students

how to access and search for information in a safe way. Apart from

focusing on the related economic, legal, and social concerns during the

process of information retrieval, the ACRL Standards should advise

students how to access, search for, and use information safely in

private access and public access computing environments. While the

digital resolution is reshaping current and future academic learning

environments, safety issues concerning the use of computers should

become an indispensable indicator to measure students’ information

literacy competencies in the academic learning world. Table 2.1 lists


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some basic differences between casual information search and

scholarly information search.

6. The sixth weakness is that the 2014 modified ACRL Standards fail to

stress the implications of information search while promoting

information literacy competency. Based on the current

infrastructure, Standard One refers to information needs; Standard

Two describes information access; Standard Three discusses

information evaluation; Standard Four outlines information use;

and Standard Five explains the ethical and legal implications of

information literacy competency. Standard Two – ‘‘The information

literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently’’

– clearly cannot resolve the confusion that arises as a result of treating

information access and information retrieval together. Information

access creates the technical condition for information retrieval,

while information retrieval methods impact the effectiveness of

information access. If the ACRL does not separate information

access and information retrieval out into two different standards to

access information literacy competency, students will never be sure

when and where they should use different search methods to access

various print and online information from academic databases, library

consortia services, open-source information providers, web OPACs,

and other web search engines. Students need to understand that on-site

or off-campus locations will impact their information access and


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Table 2.1Differences between casual information search and scholarlyinformation search

No. Differences Casual information search Scholarly information search

1 Format E-format (web) E-format (web)þ print format

2 Media Web search engines: Web search engineþ academicBingþ GoogleþWikipedia, etc. databases

3 Subjects Games, daily life, e-commerce, Academic subjects and scholarlypersonal interests, etc. research

4 Time range Historyþmodern Historyþmodern

5 Information Web Academic databasesþ archivesresources þ web

information retrieval activity. Different information search methods

need to be applied according to the information sources they plan to

use. It is not a practical for the ACRL to combine information access

and information retrieval within one standard to evaluate information

literacy competency in higher education.

How to improve information

literacy competency?

Information literacy competency refers to an individual’s aptitude to access

and locate information in our networked information society. The

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education is

the first academic guide showing how students can excel in academic

achievement and performance. In our networked academic knowledge

society, college and university students are already required to

demonstrate their ability to search and use scholarly information in

various scenarios. From the perspective of a tenured teaching faculty

and an experienced information services librarian, the following

approaches are recommended for students wanting to improve their

information literacy competency in the digital age.

Casual information search vs. scholarlyinformation search

An information-literate student is supposed to be able to differentiate

between the requirements for a casual information search and those for

a scholarly information search. Information formats and information

media also have a great impact on the information search methods and

information resources available. In the modern information age, students

must understand the advantages and limits of robust web search engines

for full text information sources. The leading web search engines face a

challenge from a lot of independent information brokers and publishers

who are collecting scholarly information in their own academic databases.

They then sell their products to different academic libraries and library

consortia. General web search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Wikipedia

have no access to them.


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Information needs

An information-literate student should have a general idea about the

academic information literature available in topics related to his courses

and majors. A good way to doing this is by consulting with his instructors

and academic information services librarians. Failure to do so will mean

missing out on what sources and services are available in our networked

academic information society.

Information resources and services

An information-literate student is supposed to familiarize himself with the

ways in which academic information delivery and dissemination are

carried out in our networked academic world. He should be able to

differentiate between the requirements for a casual information search

and those for a scholarly information search. Only when he knows

which academic information resources and services are available will he

be able to utilize them more effectively and efficiently. This is the reason

information literacy competency is recognized as a means of improving a

student’s academic performance and achievement in ever-changing

academic and competitive business environments.

Information searchmethods and plans

An information-literate student must be able to put together an appropriate

search plan before starting information searches. He needs to learn how to

use dynamic search methods including such items as author name, key

words, subject, and title in order to access and obtain scholarly

information. He must use appropriate search methods to acquire peer-

reviewed scholarly information from the academic resources and services

available, such as full-text dissertations, journal articles, research papers,

reports, and reviews from academic databases, rather than copying and

pasting some general information generated by web search engines like

Ask, Bing, Google, and Wikipedia.

Academic libraries

An information-literate student must understand the roles academic

libraries play in today’s information society. In academic learning


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environments, academic libraries are still recognized as the primary

information gateways to access and locate scholarly information

delivered by specific academic information resources and services. A

short library tour will be helpful to understand how to access and locate

these resources and services. In most cases, an information services

librarian will be very glad to give a student keen to learn such a tour.

Information formats and informationmedia

An information-literate student must understand the impact innovative

information formats and media have had on the ways of accessing and

locating scholarly information in today’s information society. He needs to

improve his ability to process and synthesize multi-format information

via the many applications, databases, networks, platforms, and systems.

In academic learning environments, he should understand that the paper

format is still available even though the e-format is becoming increasingly

popular. While innovative information media provide users with more

channels to access information, dynamic information formats will

decide which online and print information resources are available.

Information evaluation and synthesis

An information-literate student must be able to evaluate information

effectively once the list of research results shows up. During the course

of knowledge production, information evaluation and synthesis are skills

promoting critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving.

Without knowing how to evaluate the information searched, it will

never be possible to modify, synthesize, and use information effectively.

Utilizing information ethically, legally, and safely

An information-literate student needs to learn how to access and utilize

information ethically, legally, and safely in our networked information

age. In higher education scenarios, issues of copyright and plagiarism have

become the focus of information literacy instructions and programs. It is

also very important to understand how to protect personal privacy in

private-accessed and public-accessed computing environments. See

Chapter 8 for a more detailed discussion.


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Foster the spirit of creation and innovation

An information-literate student must understand the role played by

information literacy competency. In addition to measuring his

experience, knowledge, and skills at accessing and locating the

information needed, information literacy competency also fosters his

potential adaptability, capability, creativity, and innovation to produce

new knowledge from the information collected and searched. Without the

spirit of creativity and innovation, academic learning will lose its ability to

create new knowledge and reform the future world.

Follow developing trends

An information-literate student must keep up with developing trends in

cutting-edge and emerging technologies. To achieve more academic

success and future career development, the important thing is to

maintain adaptability and marketability. This means using past

experience, knowledge, and skills to access and locate the needed

information made available by new innovative information formats and

media in the future. In today’s information society, he is therefore expected

to have some knowledge of cloud computing, computers, data, databases,

formats, information, media, networks, operating systems, servers, the

web, etc. No matter which majors he selects in the future, all of his

experience, knowledge, and skills in following IT developing trends will

definitely help him excel not only in academic learning environments but

also in competitive business scenarios.

Of course, it is a mistake to assume that undergraduates and graduates

would always improve their levels of information literacy as long as they

visit an academic library after taking a short library tour. A library tour is

only the first step to familiarizing oneself with the academic information

resources and services available. In addition to attending an information

services librarian’s presentation, students would still need more practice to

sharpen their skills for accessing and searching scholarly information from

different knowledge discovery tools. Once they have built up experience,

knowledge, and skills in processing and synthesizing information in

current academic learning environments, they will be able to access and

use future information via innovative information formats and media as

yet unknown to today’s academic administrators, instructors, librarians,

schoolteachers, and other professionals. If they can do this successfully,


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they will possess the real information literacy competencies needed for the

twenty-first century.

Information literacy assessment and evaluation

The purpose of information literacy competency is to assess and evaluate a

student’s ability, experience, knowledge, and skills at accessing and

acquiring multi-format information in our networked academic learning

environment. Generally speaking, an assessment focuses on an interactive

process of examining teaching and learning outcomes, while an evaluation

measures a student’s knowledge and skill levels. Based on the ACRL’s

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education,

many colleges and universities in the world have recognized and

stipulated general learning outcomes which students must achieve while

completing a particular degree program. For first-year students, Georgia

Southern University has identified the following nine general education

learning outcomes as a benchmark (GSU, 2011):

g Effective analysis of information. Students organize, analyze, and

summarize information to draw logical conclusions.

g Effective communication. Students communicate both orally and in

writing to present opinions and ideas effectively and persuasively.

g Ethical and informed decision making. Students consider alternate

points of view and follow accepted rules of conduct in making ethical

choices and decisions.

g Historical and cultural perspectives. Students examine current

knowledge and events in relation to their historical and cultural

contexts.

g Problem-solving ability. Students identify problems, evaluate their

potential for resolution, and apply social, behavioral, and

mathematical principles to real-world situations.

g Quality of life. Students participate in social, intellectual, creative and

recreational activities that facilitate quality of life and reflect the human

experience.

g Responsible citizenship. Students evaluate differing points of view,


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values, and diversity in human behavior in an informed and civil manner

through participation in local to global activities.

g Scientific and quantitative reasoning. Students use scientific methods of

inquiry to explain, discover, or predict phenomena.

g Use of technology. Students ethically apply appropriate and current

technology and technology skills for the purposes of learning,

communicating, and growing as informed individuals.

Many colleges and university libraries in the United States have designed

and developed various information literacy assessments to examine the

information literacy competencies of students. One of the best information

literacy competency assessments is Project SAILS1 (https://www.

projectsails.org), a pioneering standardized assessment set up by Kent

State University in Kent, Ohio to assess the information literacy skills of

undergraduates and in doing so gained a national reputation (Figure 2.2).

While designing and developing Project SAILS, as many as 42,000

undergraduate students from 69 institutions in America and Canada

took the SAILS Test between 2003 and 2005. Unfortunately, the latest


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Figure 2.2 Project SAILS

Source: https://www.projectsails.org/

statistics of Project SAILS are not available from the website. As a leading

assessment of information literacy competency, the SAILS Test includes a

cohort test and an individual test, focusing on eight information literacy

skill sets as follows:

g Developing a research strategy

g Selecting finding tools

g Searching

g Using finding tool features

g Retrieving sources

g Evaluating sources

g Documenting sources

g Understanding economic, legal, and social issues

The SAILS Test, which contains 45 multiple choice questions, examines the

information literacy competencies of students identified while accessing,

locating, and evaluating scholarly information in the networked academic

learning environment. College and university students, especially first-year

students, should pay special attention to these eight fields, which will help

them achieve their academic goals. At the moment, the SAILS Test is not

available for individual students. As the SAILS Test has been validated for

undergraduates in America and Canada, students can only participate in

these assessments if they are registered via their institutions in America and

Canada. For more detailed information about Project SAILS and the SAILS

Test, the reader should contact relevant university librarians or staff

working at Project SAILS directly.

Summary

Information literacy will continue to grow with each new revolutionary

breakthrough in many fields of science and technology as the digital age

progresses. The Internet and cloud computing will open up new domains

for information literacy competency in our ever-changing networked

information world. As cutting-edge and emerging technologies bring

about innovative ways of accessing, acquiring, processing, synthesizing,

and storing information, it is imperative for academic institutions to define


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and develop new information literacy standards in service-oriented and

student-centered academic learning environments. College and university

students, especially first-year students, must understand that their

information literacy competencies are key to academic success and

achievement. In the academic learning world, they need to demonstrate

their ability, experience, knowledge, and skills at accessing, locating,

reviewing, and using scholarly information as a first step toward

exceling in the academic learning community and the competitive

business world. Without possessing the information literacy skills

required, there is little chance of students becoming prominent creators,

inventors, and leaders capable of changing and promoting the development

of science, technology, and human civilization. As a result of knowing how

to access and search for scholarly information effectively, they will be able

to foster and promote their skills at critical thinking, decision making, and

problem solving. Regardless of the way innovative information formats

and media impact ways of information delivery and dissemination in the

future, students will be in a good position to adapt to twenty-first century

advances.

Real World Example 1

Information literacy: book search

Reading, of course, is fundamental in academic learning environments.

Students are often required to read a lot before they write their term papers.

One of the first challenges facing students when they arrive at college and

university is where to find the books they need. The ability to carry out a

book search is an information literacy skill essential to surviving in

competitive teaching and learning activities. Of course, students already

know the answer: go to the library! But, there are a number of other

questions that need addressing here. Do you have to physically go to an

academic library building before you can borrow a book? Which tools

should you use to discover whether this library has the book you need? Do

you know how many methods you can use to search for a book? What do

you do if the library does not have the book you are looking for? Where can

you seek additional assistance in case you do not know what to do? If you

have no idea how to answer these questions correctly, you really need to

improve your information literacy competency; otherwise your current

academic performance and future career paths could be very, very tough.


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Information literacy: information onthe American Civil War

The Information Services Desk is a wonderful place for information

services librarians to observe the information literacy competency of

students in academic learning environments. Unfortunately, many

undergraduates, especially first-year students, still do not have the

information literacy skills expected by their instructors. For example,

the author was once approached by a girl student who asked for

information about the American Civil War. Obviously, she did not have

the information literacy skills and competencies to search for the scholarly

information she needed for her paper. She had no idea about the academic

information resources available nor did she understand information

formats. The author had to ask her to clarify her information needs

before a scholarly information search could be done for her. Since

information on the American Civil War is a broad term, it contains a

multitude of books, images, maps, movies, reviews, scholarly papers,

videos, etc. Without further specification, there was little or no chance

of finding the information she needed, all of which was exacerbated by

information delivered in academic learning having different formats, such

as print formats and online formats.


Information literacy:Library of Congress Subject Headings

The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), a common reference

book compiled by the U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/

index.html), is often used to make it easy for library users to search

library collections. Cataloging librarians and library technicians also use

it as a reference book for library bibliographic control. Each subject

heading in LCSH, including corporate bodies, personal names, uniform

titles, etc., indicates its associated Broader Terms, Narrower Terms,

Related Terms, and Subject Scopes for information retrieval. While

working at the information services desk one day in the spring semester

in 2011, the author was surprised to learn that a group of Georgia Southern

undergraduates had been asked to use this library reference book to learn


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how to search for information at Zach S. Henderson Library. Confined by

the principles of intellectual freedom, the author was unable to question the

course design and its teaching approach. The author agrees that it is helpful

for college and university students to learn how to select related key words

and subject terms based on the essence of their paper topics. However, it is

an out-of-date way for information retrieval. Before the Internet and the

WWW became popular, LCSH was often used to select related appropriate

index terms and subject terms before searching library card catalogs. In

today’s dynamic and interactive academic learning environments, web-

based OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogs) in academic libraries

have provided faculty and students with much faster access to scholarly

information than LCSH. These enhanced library catalogs have advanced

features that display related terms and subject terms for different topics. In

fact, library innovation has provided instructors and students with

advanced access to locate information. Some instructors need to update

their experience, knowledge, and skills to access and locate scholarly

information before they start teaching their students. To improve their

teaching and learning efficiencies, some instructors need to improve and

update their information literacy competencies, too.

Self-review exercises

Keeping in mind our discussions in this chapter, answer the following

questions:

1. What is literacy?

2. What is computer literacy?

3. What is information literacy?

4. What is library literacy?

5. How does information literacy differ from library literacy?

6. How is computer literacy associated with information literacy?

7. How is computer literacy associated with library literacy?

8. What is the Library of Congress Subject Headings?

9. What are the five information literacy competency standards set up by

the ACRL?


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10. How does a casual information search differ from a scholarly

information search?

11. What is Project SAILS?

12. Which information literacy skill sets does the SAILS Test assess?

13. Why do so many colleges and universities like to assess information

literacy skills in today’s higher education settings?

14. Why should each college or university student improve his information

literacy skills?

15. After reading this chapter, how do you plan to improve your

information literacy competence in academic learning environments?

Brainstorming and discussion

Keeping in mind our discussions in this chapter, consider the following

critical thinking statements:

1. Now that we have many powerful web search engines, why do a lot of

undergraduates still find it difficult to search for scholarly

information?

2. Why did the ALA Presidential Committee in 1989 say that

‘‘Information Literacy is a survival skill in the Information Age’’?

3. Why did the author criticize the ALA and ACRL for failing to define

‘‘information’’ before they defined ‘‘information literacy’’?

4. In what way is information literacy competency associated so closely

with a student’s academic performance and career development in

today’s information society?

5. Which of computer literacy, information literacy, or library literacy is

more important at improving a student’s learning effectiveness in

academic learning environments?

6. In addition to computer literacy and library literacy, what else should

be involved in improving information literacy in the digital age?

7. From your own personal experience, which information literacy


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competency standards do you suggest that the ACRL should modify to

improve teaching and learning efficiency?

8. From your own personal perspective, which new information literacy

competency standards do you suggest the ACRL should consider in the

future?

9. What is a library’s role in improving your information literacy skills in

the digital age?

10. Why will the many street-smart skills of undergraduates fail to help

them when they access and search for academic and scholarly

information?

11. In our networked academic learning environment, what will help a

student develop and improve his information literacy skills?

12. What will be helpful to improve a student’s information literacy

competency when he needs to search academic and scholarly

information?

13. Which learning outcomes should be identified to assess a student’s

information literacy skills?

14. How will the rapid development of cutting-edge and emerging

technologies challenge and impact the current ILCSHE?

15. Based on the eight information literacy skill sets that the SAILS Test

focuses on, which one is the most important for a student to improve

his skills at searching for scholarly information?

Mini-quiz

Keeping in mind our discussions in this chapter, select one answer to fill in

the blank spaces (Mini-quiz answers can be found in Appendix 2):

1. ___________ refers to one’s ability to access and acquire information

in the digital age.

a. Computer literacy

b. Information literacy

c. Library literacy

d. Network literacy


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2. In our networked information society, ____________ represents an

individual’s experience, knowledge, and skills of using different

computer software and hardware.

a. academic literacy

b. computer literacy

c. information literacy

d. library literacy

3. In academic learning environments, _______________ is still one of

the primary information literacy competencies required for students to

utilize a library’s information resources and services.

a. academic literacy

b. computer literacy

c. information literacy

d. library literacy

4. Information format is a specific way of ______________.

a. collecting and organizing experience

b. copying and faxing information

c. downloading and uploading knowledge

d. encoding and organizing information

5. Which tool will help you search for archived scholarly information?

____________.

a. A citation list

b. A library catalog

c. A social networking site

d. A web search engine


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6. What would you do if the university library does not have a copy of a

scholarly paperback you need to write a term paper? ______________.

a. Buy the book from the local bookstore

b. Check the library’s network to see if you can access an e-book

version

c. Give up, since the library does not have it

d. Search for it on Google Book

7. If you are required to search for two full text peer-reviewed research

papers, where would you plan to start your search? ___________.

a. From an academic library’s databases

b. From Google.com

c. From a list of printed scholarly journals subscribed by a library

d. From reading related subject books

8. Information resources refer to a collection of information categorized

under different _____________

a. information applications

b. information downloads

c. information formats

d. information subjects

9. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, it is defined as

______________ if you copy so many words or ideas from a source that

it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not.

a. information sharing

b. plagiarism

c. standing on the shoulder of a giant

d. symbolism


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10. In an academic library, e-books are also searchable from the library’s

_____________.

a. academic databases

b. bookshelves

Case study

Missed information in a student’s term paper

In the morning of the last day of the fall semester in 2012, the author was

working behind the Information Services Desk at the library’s Learning

Commons. All of a sudden, a student rushed into the Learning Commons

to ask for emergency assistance. He told the author that his instructor gave

him an assignment to write a term paper with a list of references. Somehow,

he forgot to list the journal name in one of his citations while compiling his

reference list. He did include other related information, such as the author

name, volume number, page numbers, and the year of publication for this

research paper. To earn an ‘‘A’’ grade, his teacher asked him to add the

missing information for this reference. How do you think you could give

him a hand since his deadline was so tight?

Case study questions

g Based on the information he had, how would you set about helping him?

g What information tools would you plan to use?

g Based on the information he had, how many search methods do you

think you could try?

g What would you do if Google does not show any meaningful results?

g Which library information resources would you plan to use if you

decided to search your local academic library?

g What would you do if you had no means of discovering the required

information?


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Note

1. SAILS stands for Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy

Skills.

References

ALA (1989) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy’s Final Report.Available from: http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential

ACRL (2014) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.Available from: http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency [Association of College & Research Libraries].

GSU (2011) General education outcomes. Available from: http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/provost/pdf/GeneralEducationOutcomes.pdf[Georgia Southern University].


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Documents

Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment || Information literacy in the networked academic learning environment