Library Science and Information Literacy

Information literacy research examines how people find, evaluate, and use information, with particular attention to what happens when students and researchers encounter the overwhelming volume of sources available through digital technologies. Academic librarians and education scholars work together to understand not just whether people can locate information, but whether they can think critically about its origins, quality, and relevance — a distinction that has grown more consequential as search engines and social platforms increasingly shape what people see and believe. Current work is investigating how different generations, particularly younger students who grew up with constant internet access, develop (or fail to develop) genuine evaluative habits rather than surface-level search fluency. Open questions include how to assess information literacy in meaningful ways beyond standardized checklists, and how libraries can redesign instruction and physical spaces to better support the kinds of inquiry-driven learning that institutions claim to value.

Works

114,392

Total citations

280,868

Keywords

Information LiteracyDigital LiteracyAcademic LibrariesInformation BehaviorLibrary InstructionGeneration Y