What Is Information Literacy?

Information literacy is 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.”

American Library Association. Final Report of the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy.
Chicago: American Library Association, 1989

Why is Information Literacy Important to Our Students?

Information Literacy (IL) is recognized internationally as an essential competence for effective participation in education, employment and society. By helping students to develop IL skills, we are preparing them to think critically, use information effectively for their academic, professional and personal lives, and access and use information ethically and legally.

An information literate person is able to:

recognise the need for information and determine the nature and extent of the information needed
find information effectively and efficiently
critically evaluate information and the information seeking process
manage information
apply prior and new information to create new understandings
use information with understanding and acknowledge cultural, ethical, economic, legal, and social implications

Milestone

Oct 2000	Topical Library Workshops introduced to the PolyU community.
Oct 2001	Collaborating with Department of Building and Real Estate, an online programme delivered via the WebCT platform as part of the programme of MSc/PgD in Project Management: Research & Consultancy Techniques was started in Oct 2001.
Dec 2002	Online Information Literacy Programme available to all users.
Sep 2003	Information Literacy Certificate Programme of Library workshops launched.
Sep 2004	Trilingual virtual orientation programmes available to all users.
Oct 2008	Launched of the Research Series of Topical Library Workshops.
Feb 2009	A proposal “Pao Yue-kong Library and Information Literacy of PolyU: Working Toward a Curricula” was delivered at the meeting of the Learning and Teaching Committee in Feb 2009. LTC was supportive to the idea of helping students to develop their IL skills, and recommended the Library to approach the Faculties, Schools and Departments for further collaborations.
Apr 2010	Starting Apr 2010, the Library delivers one module of the Compulsory Subject on Research Ethics for all Research Postgraduate Students.
Sep 2010	A new information literacy package was prepared for the Extended Common Orientation Programme (ECOP) for first year students.
Sep 2011	Two new Teaching and Learning Labs with flexible layouts and central AV control systems are available in the Research Enhancement Centre for the conduction of classes and various user education activities.
Oct 2012	Students' topical workshops attendance will be acknowledged as an achievement – those who have attended 3 workshops within an academic year, their participation will be recorded in the Co-curricular Achievement Transcript (CAT) issued by the Student Affairs Office of the PolyU.