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Information & Research Literacy at UST: Information Literacy in Context

IL Framework defined and explained

What is Information Literacy?

"Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning" (Association of College & Research Libraries).

ACRL's Information Literacy Framework: Background

ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education grew out of a belief that information literacy as an educational reform movement will realize its potential only through a richer, more complex set of core ideas. Intentionally called a framework, it is based on a cluster of flexible interconnected core concepts. Six threshold concepts comprise the framework. 

The Framework opens the way for librarians, faculty, and other institutional partners to redesign instruction sessions, assignments, courses, and even curricula; to connect information literacy with student success initiatives; to collaborate on pedagogical research and involve students themselves in that research; and to create wider conversations about student learning, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the assessment of learning on local campuses and beyond.

ACRL's Framework (2016)

Authority Is Constructed and Contextual

  • This frame refers to the recognition that information resources are drawn from their creators’ expertise and credibility based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Experts view authority with an attitude of informed skepticism and an openness to new perspectives, additional voices, and changes in schools of thought.

Information Creation as a Process

  • This frame refers to the understanding that the purpose, message, and delivery of information are intentional acts of creation. Recognizing the nature of information creation, experts look to the underlying processes of creation as well as the final product to critically evaluate the usefulness of the information.

Information Has Value

  • This frame refers to the understanding that information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. The flow of information through systems of production and dissemination is impacted by legal, sociopolitical, and economic interests.

Research as Inquiry

  • This frame refers to an understanding that research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.

Scholarship as Conversation

  • This frame refers to the idea of sustained discourse within a community of scholars, researchers, or professionals, with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of competing perspectives and interpretations.

Searching as Strategic Exploration

  • This frame refers to the understanding that information searching is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a broad range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding is developed.