Information Literacy Program: Home

"Information literacy is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any  information we find and use.  It empowers us as citizens to develop informed views and to engage fully with society"

"Information literacy incorporates a set of skills and abilities which everyone needs to undertake information-related tasks; for instance, how to discover, access, interpret, analyze, manage, create, communicate, store and share information. But it is much more than that: it concerns the application of the competencies, attributes and confidence needed to make the best use of information and to interpret it judiciously. It incorporates critical thinking and awareness, and an understanding of both the ethical and political issues associated with using information. Information literacy relates to information in all its forms: not just print, but also digital content, data, images and the spoken word. Information literacy is associated and overlaps with other literacies, including specifically digital literacy, academic literacy and media literacy. It is not a stand-alone concept, and is aligned with other areas of knowledge and understanding. Information literacy helps to understand the ethical and legal issues associated with the use of information, including privacy, data protection, freedom of information, open access/open data and intellectual property. Importantly, information literacy is empowering, and is an important contributor to democratic, inclusive, participatory societies; as interpreted by UNESCO, it is a universal human right."

https://www.cilip.org.uk/ -- https://infolit.org.uk/ILdefinitionCILIP2018.pdf 

Information Literacy is vital to the Mission, Vision, and Values of Missouri State University.  We educate students to be global citizens committed to public affairs, and that is not possible without a foundation in understanding how information is created, disseminated, shared, and used.  The Information Literacy Program at Missouri State University exists to teach and support students in their navigation of the information landscape, and ethical use and understanding of the information process.  See our Guiding Documents for additional insight.