"Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning."
-- ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
The Association of College & Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education establishes key concepts in information literacy and provides flexible framework for implementation.
The Framework establishes six threshold concepts, which are portals to greater understanding and competent practice within a discipline. The threshold concepts each have associated knowledge practices and dispositions. The six threshold concepts are:
- Authority Is Constructed and Contextual - "Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used."
- Information Creation as a Process - "Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences."
- Information Has Value - "Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world."
- Research as Inquiry - "Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field."
- Scholarship as Conversation - "Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations."
- Searching as Strategic Exploration - "Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops."
