Information literacy at the University Libraries
According to the American Library Association, “To be prepared for a future characterized by change, students must learn to think rationally and creatively, solve problems, manage and retrieve information and communicate effectively. By mastering information problem-solving skills, students will be ready for an information-based society and technological workplace.”

An information literate person can:

• Understand the organization of information
• Recognize and articulate a research problem
• Develop appropriate search strategies
• Select and use information retrieval tools
• Locate and retrieve sources
• Analyze and critically evaluate information
• Organize and synthesize information
• Use and apply information

For more information on information literacy, please see the Association for College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy in a Nutshell: Basic Information for Academic Administrators and Faculty.

The University Libraries have placed working toward information literacy as one of its primary goals. To this end, a Plan for Information Literacy at the University of Rhode Island was developed in 2002. The progress we have made in implementing the Plan through Fall 2003 is summarized in Information Literacy: Challenges for the Future.