Information Literacy: Skills For Life

The amount of information available to our students is increasing rapidly every day and they can be easily overwhelmed with the variety and complexity of it. In addition, because they are so adept at using computers, many students over-estimate their abilities to search for, organize, and utilize information. These students believe that they already have the ability to sift out false information; that they are experts at searching the Web; and that the large numbers of people that use the Web will make detection of falsehoods more likely (Thompson 2003, Profeta and Kendrick 2002, Davis Herring 2001, Calvert 1999, and Tolppanen 1999). Manuel (2002) reports that 28% of freshman at California State University agreed that a “central internet authority reviewed all Web information for its accuracy.” Furthermore, many students also have the mistaken belief that the Web will provide all the information they may need in the course of their college career. Investigating their college library’s resources, whether print or electronic, never occurs to them. To them, it’s all on the Web, it’s all worthwhile, and it’s all free.