Information literacy is more than a set of skills

Information literacy is more than a set of skills. It is process whereby students learn to become independent, lifelong learners. It enables learners to think deeply and critically and to take ownership over their own learning. It should be safe to assume that these skills are embedded into the classroom and adopted by teachers, yet it seems to be understood that it is the focus of the teacher librarian (TL) to teach students to adopt these essential skills (Langford, 1998). 

With so many information literacy policies and processes now prevalent, it would be easy for a teacher or TL to become confused by the literature and to question what it is they are teaching (Langford, 1998). However by knowing that the teaching of these skills encourage student-centred learning and in turn enhance student outcomes, excellent TLs will take the time to understand these processes and implement them. The benefits of these processes far outweigh the time and work required of the TL to implement such a process. 

Kulthau’s Information Search Process (ISP), originally developed in the 1980’s and 1990’s, is one process that focuses more on the feelings associated with learning rather than the skills themselves. It focuses on the experience of the student, and the aspects that the student is presented with throughout the process. These include the feelings, thoughts and actions of the student ranging from feelings of anxiousness and uncertainty to confidence and clarity as the process is undertaken (Kulthau, 2004). Through my own personal experience of implementing the ISP it was obvious how important it was for students to undertake a learning task at their own pace and level and to become actively involved in the learning process. By implementing this, along with an inquiry based approach such as guided inquiry, students decide what it is they want to learn and how they are to do this with assistance from the teacher where necessary. Though for the most part, the students are in charge of what they are learning.

With the abundance of information and technologies that students are faced with every day it is necessary to provide students with the skills and abilities to sort through this information independently and decide for themselves what is necessary and important to their learning. Beyond this, it is not enough for them to just be aware of the skills set they need to be encouraged to apply these to ensure they are adequately prepared for lifelong learning. Without these skills and this preparation students will find themselves lost amongst the emergence of new technologies and the overload of information and will not understand how to effectively sift through this to find what it is they are looking for.

Kuhlthau, C.C. (2004). Learning as a process, in Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and

                information services, Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, pp.13-27.

Langford, L. (1998). Information literacy: a clarification. Retrieved from
                http://www.fno.org/sept98/clarify.html