Information Literacy in the Digital Age: An Evidence-Based Approach

by Teresa S. Welsh, Melissa S. Wright

Welsh and Wright, both from the University of Southern Mississippi, look at the various types of information literacy students need to succeed in the Digital cultural literacy, library literacy, computer literacy, network literacy, media literacy. For each type of literacy, Welsh and Wright provide contextual background information, basic concepts, a resource list, exercises, and activities to help librarians teach the skills and to reinforce the concepts for learners. This stellar guide is a one-stop source for developing 21st century literacies.

Genres: Library Science

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a clear, accessible writing style, the authors provide a broad overview of the many facets of information literacy: cultural literacy, network literacy, media literacy, government literacy, and financial literacy, to name a few. Each chapter concludes with exercises to help readers engage with the topic and a list of resources for further study. This introductory text will be frustrating for those wanting an in-depth treatment of a particular aspect of information literacy, though such was not the authors’ aim for this book. Welsh and Wright accomplished what they set out to do: develop a teaching tool for information literacy instructors.

The strength of this work is the authors’ inclusion of context for each topic, which serves two purposes: 1) to situate the topic (ethical literacy) in a socio-historic context (university accreditation and faculty tenure) and 2) to relate the topic to a specific library instruction context (fair use and plagiarism). The example from the chapter on ethical literacy reveals the text’s noticeable bias toward academic libraries; however, many other chapters explore themes that are relevant beyond the academia. School and public library professionals may use the themes explored in this text as a stimulus for further thought.

A table of contents is available from the publisher’s website.