Information literacy is more than a requirement to get you through college. To be information literate, you’ll be able to use that skill the rest of your life, just like reading. In today’s world, we cannot even get out of bed without interacting with some sort of information, whether it be on our phones, in a classroom, at work, or relaxing at home watching TV or talking to friends and family. Not only does information literacy help us navigate all the data and media we are bombarded with, but it also supports other important skills.

Critical Thinking

When a person learns and practices information literacy, their critical thinking skills grow, according to the Association of College & Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (2016). This allows them to increase their awareness of assessing content with skepticism and understanding of their own worldview. By not taking everything that shows up on a screen at face value and looking more deeply for the truth in an objective manner. Someone who is both information literate and a critical thinker approaches a question or problem open-mindedly, interpreting information and different ideas and perspectives to reach reasonable conclusions.

AI and Information Literacy

With generative AI like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude being used more and more, one may see it as a helpful tool. It can also provide inaccurate, biased, or even harmful information. Being information literate allows you to be a little skeptical of the AI Overview, thereby effectively analyzing the response to your prompts to avoid using bad content. AI is discussed more in-depth in Chapter 5.

Lastly, learning doesn’t stop once you’ve completed the course or earned your degree. New technologies and innovations happen all the time. Information literacy provides you with the tools you need to understand and adapt to the many changes life throws at you. In the next section, you will see just how those tools are used in everyday life.

References

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2016). “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education”, American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework