Students have achieved "Information Literacy" when they are able to:

1. Recognize the value of information

• Recognizes the need for information in personal, work and academic settings
• Recognizes the value of information in society at large. Student is aware of the ethical issues, such as information access, copyright and the responsibility to properly credit information sources
• Appreciates that the skills gained in information competence enable lifelong learning
• Recognizes the value of being able to use information effectively

2. Explore information needs

• Ability to define information need
• Ability to concisely articulate and formulate a search question
• Can identify sub topics while researching
• Ability to identify potential and appropriate information providers and resources

3. Understand information structures

• Understands and uses electronic communication
• Understands how library collections, databases and/or the Internet are organized, indexed, classified and accessed for academic research
• Understands and uses library catalogs
• Understands and uses Web browsers and Internet search engines
• Understands and uses periodical indexes (also known as article databases)
• Understands and uses other reference print and electronic resources
• Can identify differences between scholarly and popular information
• Understands library services, particularly the role of the Reference librarian

4. Develop and apply effective search strategies

• Can prioritize sources to organize searches effectively and efficiently
• Uses appropriate thesauri and other tools to identify controlled vocabulary to search for information needed
• Can use broader, narrower and related vocabulary terms effectively
• Understands and uses Boolean logic and truncation
• Can recognize when he/she has sufficient information

5. Locate and retrieve information sources

• Interprets bibliographic citations and Internet equivalents and knows how to obtain cited items
• Uses interlibrary loan, document delivery, or other means to obtain material not available locally
• Understands access and institutional ownership and licensing issues

6. Analyze and critically evaluate information based on standard criteria

• Uses criteria including authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage, organization, purpose

Borrowed from Carol Hansen, Instruction Services Librarian, Weber State Univ., Utah