Bawden (2001) has produced a review article about interpretations of information literacy, and alternative words and phrases that are sometimes used (e.g. information competency, mediacy). The phrase "information skills" (rather than information literacy) is used, for example, by the Standing Conference of National and University Libraries (SCONUL) in the name of its Task Force, and was used by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) when tendering for a project looking at training in UK further and higher education (The Big Blue, 2001).

Although some people are afraid that learners will be put off by the word "literacy" (since they could resent being seen to be illiterate), Bawden shows that information literacy is still the most commonly used phrase to describe the concept. In our work we have not found that students have problems with the term. Now that it has been asopted by UNESCO in the Prague Declaration and Alexandria Proclamation it seems to be firmly established as the international term to describe this concept.

Much of the literature has been produced by librarians, and there are clear links with earlier discussion and practice of bibliographic instruction and library skills training. Most of the definitions of information literacy have been in terms of the information literate person rather than of information literacy itself. Carbo (1997) notes that Zurkowski (the then president of the US Information Industry Association) used the phrase "information literates" in 1974, to identify people "trained in the application of information resources to their work". Plotnick (1999), ACRL (2000) and numerous others quote the American Library Association (1989) in saying that:

"To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information"

Other definitions of the information literate person tend to cover the same elements, but expand on them in one way or another. For example, Doyle (1992) defined an information literate person as one who:

• "recognises the need for information;
• recognises that accurate and complete information is the basis for intelligent decision making;
• identifies potential sources of information;
• develops successful search strategies;
• accesses sources of information, including computer-based and other technologies;
• evaluates information;
• organises information for practical application;
• integrates new information into an existing body of knowledge, and;
• uses information in critical thinking and problem solving."

Lenox and Walker (1993) also define information literacy by characterising the information literate person: one who has the analytical and critical skills to formulate research questions and evaluate results, and the skills to search for and access a variety of information types in order to meet his or her information need. As will be outlined below, this focus on the individual is continued in the US and Australian standards for information literacy.

Shapiro and Hughes (1996) provide a broader vision in referring to:

"a new liberal art that extends from knowing how to use computers and access information to critical reflection on the nature of information itself, its technical infrastructure, and its social, cultural and even philosophical context and impact"

The Prague Declaration (2003) included a definition of information literacy, positioning information literacy within lifelong learning, namely:

Information Literacy, which encompasses knowledge of one's information needs and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively use information to address issues or problems at hand, is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the information society, and is part of the basic human right of life long learning.

The UK's Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) produced a definition in 2005 which aimed to be shorter and snappier than some of the others (see also Armstrong, 2005):

Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner. http://www.cilip.org.uk/professionalguidance/informationliteracy/definition/

As everyone else has produced a definition, we thought we would come up with our own: at the moment (2003) it is:

"Information literacy is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society."

Our own concept of information literacy as a subject of study includes:

• Models of information literacy
• Models of information behaviour (different approaches to searching, browsing, interpersonal communication etc.)
• Characteristics and types of information sources;
• Search formulation and strategy, and Information Retrieval
• Information economy & society: issues of information ownership and transfer, censorship, presentation/publication of information, ethics in the use of information etc.
• Critical thinking, including critical thinking in relation to information sources and services

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The most frequently mentioned model is that of Christine Bruce. She has published a book (1997a), there is a summary of her ideas on her web site (Bruce 1997b), and she has published numerous articles on the topic (e.g. Bruce 1999). She used the phenomenographic method (involving in-depth interviews focusing on a few key questions) to identify seven different ways of experiencing information literacy: the "Seven faces of information literacy".

This was qualitative research, carried out with higher education professionals in Australia, and Bruce states that different cultural/ professional groups may exhibit a different range of conceptions. However, the work has raised strong interest with people in different countries. The faces are not seen as a way of "pigeonholing" people into a particular face, but are better used to help people reflect on their own approach to information literacy, understand other people's differing approaches, and become more information literate themselves.

We, together with Stuart Boon, carried out a three year study, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, into UK academics' conceptions of information literacy (and pedagogy for information literacy) in four disciplines: Chemistry, English, Marketing and Civil Engineering. We also used the phenomenographic approach. We identified different conceptions of information literacy in each discipline (Webber et al, 2005):

• In Marketing, information literacy as: 1) Accessing information quickly and easily to be aware of what’s going on; 2) Using IT to work with information; 3) Possessing a set of information skills and applying them to the task in hand; 4) Using information literacy to solve real-world problems; 5) Becoming a critical thinker; and 6) Becoming a confident, independent practitioner.
• In English, information literacy as: 1) Accessing and retrieving textual information; 2) Using IT to access and retrieve information; 3) Possessing basic research skills and knowing how and when to use them; and 4) Becoming confident, autonomous learners and critical thinkers.
• In Chemistry, information literacy as: 1) Accessing and searching chemical information; 2) Mastering a chemist's information skill set; 3) An essential part of the constitution, creation and communication of knowledge
• In Civil Engineering, information literacy as: 1) Accessing and retrieving data and information; 2)Applying and using information; 3) Analysis and sense making; 4) Creating, and incorporating information into, a professional knowledge base

The above conceptions of information literacy were identified through research. The following drew on research, but were formulated by groups or individuals.

The Standing Conference of National and University Libraries (SCONUL) set up a Task Force on Information Skills, which identified produced a "7 pillars" model of information literacy (see Standards page.)

Finally, a model which seems quite widely used in the USA to teach information skills is the Big6 information problem-solving approach (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 2001). This bases learning around the six steps:

1. Task Definition
2. Information Seeking Strategies  
3. Location and Access
4. Use of Information  
5. Synthesis  
6. Evaluation  

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American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy.(1989) Final Report. Chicago: American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/presidential.htm

Armstrong, C,et al. (2005) “CILIP defines Information Literacy for the UK.” Library and information update, 4 (1), 22-25. http://www.cilip.org.uk/publications/updatemagazine/archive/archive2005/janfeb/armstrong.htm

Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2000) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm

Bawden, David. (2001) "Information and digital literacies: a review of concepts." Journal of Documentation57 (2), 218-259.

The Big Blue (2001) The Big Blue: information skills for students. http://www.library.mmu.ac.uk/bigblue/ JISC-funded project researching information skills training for students.

Bruce, Christine. (1997a) The seven faces of information literacy. Adelaide: Auslib Press.

Bruce, Christine. (1997b) Seven faces of information literacy in higher education. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology. http://sky.fit.qut.edu.au/~bruce/inflit/faces/faces1.htm

Bruce, Christine. (1999). "Workplace experiences of information literacy". International journal of information management, 19 (1), 33-47.

Carbo, Toni. (1997) Mediacy: knowledge and skills to navigate the information superhighway, in Infoethics Conference: Monte Carlo, Monaco: 10-12 March 1997. Paris: UNESCO.

Doyle, Christina. (1992) Outcome measures for information literacy within the national education goals of 1990: final report of the National Forum on Information Literacy. Summary of findings. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. (ERIC document no; ED 351033). http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/23/4a/12.pdfl

Eisenberg, Michael B. and Berkowitz, Robert E. (2001) The Big6 information problem-solving approach. Richmond Beach: Big6. http://www.big6.com/

Lenox, M. F. and Walker, M.L. (1993) Information literacy in the educational process. The Educational Forum. 57 (2), 312-324.

Plotnick, Eric. (1999) Information literacy: ERIC Digest. Educational Resources Information Centre, 1999. (ERIC document no; ED427777). http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-4/information.htm

Rader, Hannelore. (1999) "The learning environment: then, now and later: 30 years of teaching information skills." Reference services review. 27 (3), 219-224.

Rader, Hannelore. (2000) "A silver anniversary: 25 years of reviewing the literature related to user instruction." Reference services review, 28 (3), 290-296.

Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL). (1999) Information skills in higher education: a SCONUL Position Paper. London: SCONUL.
This proposes a 'seven pillar' model for information literacy. http://www.sconul.ac.uk/activities/inf_lit/papers/Seven_pillars.html

Shapiro, Jeremy J. and Hughes, Shelley K. (1996) Information Literacy as a Liberal Art: Enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum. Educom review. 31 (2), 31-35. http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/review/reviewArticles/31231.html

Town, Stephen. (2001) "Performance measurement of information skills education: what's important?" SCONUL newsletter, (22), 21-23.

Webber, S., Boon, S. and Johnston, B. (2005) A comparison of UK academics’ conceptions of information literacy in two disciplines: English and Marketing. Library and information research, 29 (93), 4-15. This will be available online at http://www.cilip.org.uk/specialinterestgroups/bysubject/research/publications/journal/archive

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