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Various higher education reports have shown that students are lacking information literacy skills when they enter colleges and universities. According to the recent "Report to Stakeholders on the Conditions and Effectiveness of Postsecondary Education," published in the May/June 2001 issue of Change magazine, less than half (48%) of the undergraduate students surveyed by the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement were "confident in their ability to find information-essentially the skills needed to research a topic" (p. 29).
In its 2001 Handbook, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) includes information literacy as a core learning ability and competency at the undergraduate level (p. 20). According to the National Forum on Information Literacy, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education has also recognized the importance of information literacy.
Although students may be able to teach themselves how to "surf" the Internet, download music, send email, or "cut and paste" text passages into documents, they have not taught themselves how to become information literate in the sense discussed here. The California State University library faculty are partnering with discipline-based faculty colleagues, as well as with secondary level and community college faculty members, to provide guidance and assistance. Other institutions are engaged in similar projects. For example, the Colorado Student Assessment Program shows that students learn and academic achievement is enhanced when librarians and teachers work together. Recently, the Glendale Community College in Southern California reported a positive relationship between instruction in information literacy and improvement of student grades.
The challenge ahead for educators is to recognize the value of including information literacy skills vertically and horizontally throughout the curriculum, integrated into such areas as lower and upper division general education courses, courses in the major, electives, and capstone learning experiences. When educators do so, all students will have the requisite skills, knowledge, and abilities to become both critical consumers and ethical producers of information. In addition, by displaying a combination of analytical and critical thinking, information evaluation, and ethical behavior, our students will have greater potential to grow into informed citizens, lifelong learners, and solid role models for future generations.
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