College and Research Libraries


A Conceptual Analysis and Historical 
Overview of Information Literacy 
Shirley J. Behrens 

A conceptual analysis is undertaken of information literacy by investigating 
some leading definitions and delineations of the concept. These are analyzed 
with the intention of exploring chronological extensions in the meaning of the 
concept. The range of skills and knowledge required for information literacy has 
. expanded over the last two decades in order to accommodate the continually 
developing requirements for effective information handling, and the article 
notes how the library and information science (LIS) profession is responding to 
these requirements. The review concludes by identifying three main trends in 
information literacy which are evident from the literature of the early 1990s. 

H 
nformation literacy is an abstract 
concept. As a metaphor, it is 
a neatly packaged-and imagi-

- nativ~escriptive phrase 
that is not literally applicable or easily 
interpretable, implying something more 
qualitative and diffuse than is evident in 
the historical meanings of both literacy and 
information. Symbolically, information lit-
eracy appears to represent the ability to 
use information, or possibly the posses-
sion of a knowledge of information. 

In order to ascertain how the concept 
has come to have its current meaning 
and to identify what skills and knowl-
edge are required of a person in order to 
be information literate, some definitions 
suggested since the 1970s will be ana-
lyzed. At the same time, the future sce-
nario for information literacy in the LIS 
field will be outlined by identifying 
what the current trends appear to be 
from the latest literature. 

Owing to the abundance of literature 
on information literacy, only a few of the 
major definitions can be analyzed for the 
purposes of this article.1 The review con-
centrates on literature emanating from 

the United States; however, for purposes 
of comparison, reference is made to 
some definitions discussed in the Nether-
lands, since the Dutch meaning of infor-
mation literacy was originally more 
computer-oriented, but now appears to be 
moving closer to the meaning ascribed to 
the concept in the United States. 

DEFINITIONS OF THE 1970s 

In a proposal submitted to the Na-
tional Commission on Libraries and In-
formation Science (NCLIS) in 1974, Paul 
Zurkowski, the president of the Infor-
mation Industry Association (IIA), sug-
gested the goal of achieving information 
literacy in the country within the follow-
ing decade. Zurkowski described the in-
formation service environment within 
which people who were searching for 
information operated in the United 
States. He described several information 
products and services provided by the 
private sector (nongovernment, nonli-
brary-based business firms), including 
information banks, information bank 
vendors, publishers, information by-
products, and information evaluation 

Shirletj J. Behrens is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information Science at the UnhJeTsity of South 
Africa, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. 

309 



~----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- ---

310 College & Research Libraries 

activities. The traditional relation be-
tween these information activities and 
libraries was then outlined. Zurkowski 
considered how the traditional roles of 
libraries and private sector information 
activities were in a state of transition. He 
also suggested policy questions that 
needed to be resolved so that this envi-
ronment could be maximized in order to 
strive for an information-literate nation. 

Zurkowski was the first to use the con-
cept of information literacy: "People 
trained in the application of information 
resources to their work can be called 
information literates. They have learned 
techniques and skills for utilizing the 
wide range of information tools as well 
as primary sources in molding infor-
mation-solutions to their problems." 2 
In this definition Zurkowski suggested 
that: (1) information resources are ap-
plied in a work situation; (2) techniques 
and skills are needed for using informa-
tion tools and primary sources; and (3) 
information is used in problem solving. 

The concept of information literacy 
appeared again ·in 1976, in a paper pre-
sented by Lee Burchinal at the Texas A& M 
University library's symposium which 
considered the future of organizing 
knowledge: ''To be information literate re-
quires a new set of skills. These include 
how to locate and use information needed 
for problem-solving and decision-making 
efficiently and effectively."3 Burchinal's 
definition linked information literacy 
with: (1) skills that include locating and 
using information; (2) the use of informa-
tion for problem solving and decision 
making; and (3) efficient and effective 
information location and utilization. 

In the same year Burchinal' s definition 
appeared, a different meaning of infor-
mation literacy was offered from outside 
the librarianship field. Cees Hamelink, a 
consultant for mass communication re-
search, used information literacy to refer 
to a need for the public to be Iibera ted 
from the oppressive effects of institu-
tionalized, public media whose struc-
tures were characteristically controlled 
and restrained and which provided 
"pre-digested explanations" on events 
in the world . His point was that people 

July 1994 

needed to be given the chance to make 
their own decisions, within their own con-
texts, of news events. Hamelink made sug-
gestions for alternative news channels or 
information networks that would be inde-
pendent from political and economic in-
terest: ''The most essential contribution to 
alternatives which could counteract the 
dominant channels of public communica-
tion would be learning an alternative use 
of information." 4 

Hamelink saw this alternative use of 
information as related to information lit-
eracy, defined as the ability to obtain a 
wholistic, individual, and independent 
perspective on news events. Although 
Hamelink's approach, related to inter-
preting news events, was not folloWed 
up in the later meanings of information 
literacy, it does relate obliquely to an 
American definition of information lit-
eracy, also provided in 1976. Major R. 
Owens, in contemplating the future of 
libraries and librarians, suggested a con-
nection between active citizenship and 
information literacy: 

Beyond information literacy for 
greater work effectiveness and effi-
ciency, information literacy is needed 
to guarantee the survival of democratic 
institutions. All men are created equal 
but voters with information resources 
are in a position to make more intelli-
gent decisions than citizens who are in-
formation illiterates. The application of 
information resources to the process of 
decision-making to fulfill civic respon-
sibilities is a vital necessity.5 
In 1979 the IIA presented a definition 

. of information literacy that did not in-
clude the confining specification of in-
formation being used in the workplace,. 
as was the case with Zurkowski:"The IIA 
defines an 'information literate' as a per-
son who knows the techniques and skills 
for using information tools in molding 
solutions to problems. "6 The same year, 
in an article on the future of the librari-
anship profession, Robert Taylor intro-
duced the concept of information 
literacy, noting that 

an approximate definition of [infor-
mation literacy] would include the 
following elements: 



• that solutions to many (not all) 
problems can be aided by the acqui-
sition of appropriate facts and infor-
mation; 

• that knowledge of the variety of in-
formation resources available (who 
and where) is a requisite of this lit-
eracy; 

• that the informing process, which is 
continual, is as important as the 
spot information process, which is 
occasional; and 

• that there are strategies (when and 
how) of information acquisition.7 

Taylor linked the library profession 
with information literacy, and noted that 
the concept suggested that many (but 
not all) problems could be solved 
through the use of information, that a 
knowledge of information resources 
(both people and organizations) is nec-
essary, and that there are strategies for 
the acquisition of information. 

The definitions of the 1970s highlighted 
a number of requirements for 
information literacy, but did not reach 
the point where they identified the 
actual skills and knowledge required 
for information handling at that time. 

In analyzing the definitions proposed 
during the 1970s, one can infer that in-
formation was seen as essential to soci-
ety, and that information handling was 
becoming more complicated, owing to 
the perceived exponential growth in the 
amount of information available. Bur-
china! believed that a new set of skills 
was required, and that the location and 
utilization of information had to be effi-
cient and effective. Most definitions 
stress the use or application of the infor-
mation once it has been located, as well 
as its use for problem solving. The use 
not only of information but also of the 
information tools that provide access is 
mentioned by Zurkowski and the IIA. 
Many of the definitions arose in situ-
ations where the future role of libraries 
and librarians was under deliberation, 
indicating a connection between the LIS 

Overview of Information Literacy 311 

profession and information literacy and 
also possibly a change in direction of 
attitudes toward information provision. 
The definitions of the 1970s highlighted 
a number of requirements for informa-
tion literacy, but did not reach the point 
where they identified the actual skills 
and knowledge required for information 
handling at that time. 

DEFINITIONS OF THE 1980s 

By the start of the 1980s, new informa-
tion technologies had begun to permeate 
society. In 1982 the IIA produced a four-
volume survey of the information infra-
structure of the United States.8 The new 
technologies of the decade had come to 
be recognized as an important feature 
of information literacy; the survey re-
ferred to information literacy as a "gap 
which ... divides the information so-
phisticate who knows how and when to 
use the technology and does so easily 
and efficiently from the information na-
ive who cannot use the technologies and 
hence has limited access to knowledge 
r~urces."9 

In the same year, Time magazine chose 
the computer as Machine of the Year, 
and, inspired by the feature, Forest Hor-
ton considered the potential role that 
computers had as a resource in an infor-
mation age. He referred to Time's con-
sciousness-raising of the computer's 
problem-solving capabilities as computer 
literacy: "Computer literacy has to do 
with increasing our understanding of 
what the machine can and cannot do. 
There are two major components of com-
puter literacy: hardware and soft-
ware."10 He went on to explain, however, 
that information literacy extended be-
yond computer literacy. In spite of Hor-
ton's simplistic explanation of computer 
literacy, his ensuing definition of infor-
mation literacy is worth noting. The 
definition signals the transition to the 
1980s, bringing us into the realm of com-
puter-aided information manipulation: 
"Information literacy, then, as opposed 
to computer literacy, means raising the 
level of awareness of individuals and en-
terprises to the knowledge explosion, and 
how machine-aided handling systems 



------------- ---- --------- ----- - ·-- - - - - ---

312 College & Research Libraries 

can help to identify, access, and obtain data, 
documents and literature needed for prob-
lem-solving and decision-making." 11 

The computer-aided tools and re-
sources that Horton lists provide an in-
dication of how the application of 
computers to the manipulation of infor-
mation was gaining ground by the be-
ginning of the 1980s: online databases, 
telecommunications services, electronic 
mail, abstracting and indexing services, 
custom searches, government and for-
eign information resources, alerting 
services, data analysis services, and li-
brary networks. William Demo fol-
lowed a similar line of thought in 1986 
by considering the technological inno-
vations that were available to process, 
store, retrieve and transmit vast 
amounts of information. He listed ex-
amples of new technologies such as 
microcomputers, cable TV, electronic 
publishing, fibre optics, satellite commu-
nications, videotext, online database 
searching, high-density CD-ROM stor-
age, and robotics.12 His point was that in 
order to master these technologies a new 
intellectual skill was needed. This new 
skill he regarded as information literacy. 
Although Demo did not suggest a work-
ing definition of information literacy, he 
pointed out that only people who pos-
sessed the necessary skills would be able 
to benefit fully from the information age. 

It is apparent that by the middle of the 
1980s the advancing information technol-
ogy <m had begun to affect the infonna-
tion handling requirements for infonnation 
literacy. Demo noted that, along with tradi-
tionalliteracy skills, information literacy 
forms the common prerequisite for life-
long learning. He also observed that the 
meaning of information literacy could be 
explained from different perspectives, 
depending on whether librarians, educa-
tors, or communication experts define the 
term. He suggested that, of all the existing 
definitions, one emanating from the field 
of library user education represented 
one of the most detailed endeavors to 
define information literacy in a function-
ally relevant way.13 This particular defini-
tion had been proposed the year before, 
and remains one of the most detailed expo-

July1994 

sitions to date. The definition can also be 
seen as an important milestone in the in-
formation literacy movement, since it 
marks the point at which information liter-
acy and library user education appear to 
meld,_ and information literacy becomes a 
dominant issue in librarianship. 

The definition lauded by Demo was 
created in 1985 for the Auraria Library at 
the Denver campus of the University of 
Colorado, which also serves the Com-
munity College of Denver and the Met-
ropolitan State College. The library was 
investigating how its user education 
program could evolve to ensure the in-
formation literacy of its 30,000 students 
who ranged from eighteen-year-olds to 
older adults: 

General definition: Information lit-
eracy is the ability to effectively access 
and evaluate information for a given 
need. (Developed by Martin Tessmer, 
1985.) 
Characteristics of information literacy: 

• an integrated set of skills and knowl-
edge 
-skills (research strategy, evaluation) 
-knowledge of tools and resources 

• developed through acquisition of atti-
tudes 
-persistence 
-attention to detail 
-caution in accepting printed word 

and single sources 
• time and labor intensive 
• need-driven (a problem-solving activ-

ity) 
• distinct but relevant to literacy and 

computer literacy. 
Information literacy is not: 

• (only) knowledge of resources 
• library dependent (as sole source) 
• information finding (also under-

standing and evaluating).14 

A number of important aspects of this 
definition can be highlighted: 
• An integrated set of skills is included as 

one of the characteristics of information 
literacy. These skills are identified as 
research strategy and evaluation. 

• Information literacy extends beyond 
mere locating of information to include 
understanding and evaluating the in-
formation. 



• The library is not the only source of 
information. 

• Information literacy requires particu-
lar attitudes, such as the awareness of 
a need for information and the accu-
rate application of the information. 
Coming as they do from the user edu-

cation field, where the general accent 
was traditionally only on locating infor-
mation in a library, the points indicate 
the broader perspective that user educa-
tion would take in the future. The defi-
nition suggests the wide parameters of 
possible information resources, and im-
plies that information seeking is not con-
fined to locating information in libraries. 

During the 1980s, attention was also 
paid to the place of information literacy 
within the literacy spectrum of an infor-
mation society. For example, in 1987 
Carol Kuhlthau asked the question: 

What does it mean to be literate in 
an information society? Information 
literacy is closely tied to functional 
literacy. It involves the ability to read 
and use information essential for eve-
ryday life. It also involves recognizing 
an information need and seeking in-
formation to make informed deci-
sions. Information literacy requires 
the abilities to manage complex 
masses of information generated by 
computers and mass media, and to 
learn throughout life as technical and 
social changes demand new skills and 
knowledge. 15 
Jan Olsen and Bill Coons also consid-

ered information literacy within the 
wider literacy spectrum: 

We define information literacy as 
understanding the role and power of 
information, having the ability to lo-
cate it, retrieve it, and use it in decision 
making, and having the ability to gen-
erate and manipulate it using elec-
tronic processes. In short, information 
literacy is a necessary expansion of the 
traditional notion of literacy, a re-
sponse to the revolution in which we 
are living.16 
By the second half of the decade, aca-

demic librarians were reviewing their 
user education programs with a view 
to the future. 17 A paradigm shift had 

Overview of Information Literacy 313 

started as they reassessed their goals: 
" . . . information literacy instead of 
library literacy."18 By the end of the dec-
ade, instruction in library skills was con-
sidered to be "too small a concept for the 
needs of education in an information so-
ciety'' and many user education pro-
grams were being replaced by those 
aiming to achieve information liter-
acy. 19.2° At this stage of the 1980s, libraries 
in the United States were paying par-
ticular attention to their role in the learn-
ing process, as a result of several reports 
on the necessity for educational reform 
in the country, such as A Nation at Risk 
and College. 21 The adoption of the infor-
mation literacy goal was the library pro-
fession's response to having its role 
essentially ignored or overlooked in the 
educational reform process. Librarians 
now began paying attention to the con-
nection between user education, infor-
mation literacy, and lifelong learning. 

The adoption of the information 
literacy goal was the library 
profession's response to having its 
role essentially ignored or overlooked 
in the educational reform process. 

In 1987 a national symposium on "Li-
braries and the Search for Academic Ex-
cellence" was organized jointly by 
Columbia University and the University 
of Colorado, to consider the role of aca-
demic libraries in educational reform. 
Those attending ·included university 
lecturers and administrators, library 
educators, and representatives from 
government, business, and educational 
associations. In reporting on the sympo-
sium, Patricia Breivik gives an indication 
of the issues of the time and the direction 
in which academic libraries were heading. 
She notes that there was consensus at the 
symposium that, in order to improve un-
dergraduate education, it would become 
vital for libraries to integrate fully with 
the learning process. 22 This was an aspect 
which the College report had highlighted, 
complementing several of the educa-
tional reform reports such as A Nation 



314 College & Research Libraries 

at Risk which had suggested that stu-
dents should be prepared for lifelong 
learning. Breivik explains: 

To accomplish this [lifelong learn-
ing], students need to become "infor-
mation literate," whereby they: 
• Understand processes for acquiring 

information, including systems for 
information identification and de-
livery. 

• Can evaluate the effectiveness of 
various information channels, in-
cluding libraries, for different kinds 
of needs. 

• Master basic skills in acquiring and 
storing their own information, e.g., 
database skills, spreadsheet and 
word processing skills, and book, 
journal, and report literature. 

• Are articulate, responsible citizens 
in considering public policy issues 
relating to information, e.g., copy-
right, privacy, privatization of gov-
ernment information, and issues yet 
to emerge.23 

Further thoughts at this 1987 confer-
ence were that, for students to become 
information literate, information han-
dling skills (incorporating new technol-
ogy applications) should be mastered at 
the undergraduate level, and taught 
within existing academic courses rather 
than in separate user education programs. 

Thus, as the awareness of the impor-
tance of information literacy grew in 
momentum in the late 1980s, there was 
the conviction that the necessary infor-
mation skills should be taught by inte-
grating them into existing curricula. 
Information literacy had become a gen-
eral educational issue, with librarians as 
library skills teachers playing a leading 
role. By the end of the decade, the role of 
library skills in teaching critical thinking 
was being explored, and user education 
programs were expanding to encompass 
the wider implications of teaching infor-
mation literacy, as W. B. Lukenbill ex-
plained: "When applied to library use, 
information literacy involves going well 
beyond location skills and correct an-
swer responses, into educating users in 
abilities which build insight and promote 
the development of strategies which help 

July 1994 

structure successful approaches to solv-
ing .information needs."24 

Not all approaches to information lit-
eracy were library-oriented in the 1980s. 
In the Netherlands, the Advisory Com-
mittee for Education and Information 
Technology (ACEIT), formed in 1981, 
recommended in its first report in 1982 
that a new subject ("Learning about in-
formation technology") be introduced 
into general secondary education. The 
National Institute for Curriculum De-
velopment started a national project in 
1983, aimed at introducing all students 
in lower secondary education (age 
group twelve to sixteen years) to IT; the 
goal of the project was to integrate this 
into the general curricula.25 In its second 
report, in 1984, the A CElT called this pro-
posed new subject "Information literacy 
and computer literacy (ICL)" defining it as 
"the knowledge and skills concerning the 
use of computers for getting information 
to solve a given problem or to know more 
about a certain subject, as well as for the 
control of processes." 26 

The concept of ICL differed from in-
formation literacy as understood in the 
USA, as, in the Dutch sense, "informa-
tion and computer literacy" was "not 
aimed at computer literacy in the mean-
ing of learning programming skills and 
how to operate a computer, but an intro-
. duction to 'information and computer 
science' conceived of as that part of com-
puter science and information science 
that every citizen should know."27 

The provisional ICL curriculum dis-
tinguished four main aspects: applica-
tions of IT; information and data 
processing; data-processing systems; 
and the social significance of IT. 28 It thus 
appears that ICL as envisaged in the 
Netherlands in the 1980s had more to do 
with IT (essentially computers) than 
with information handling in general. 

The 1980s closed with the publication 
of two important documents in the 
United States, both emphasizing the role 
of the library in information literacy 
teaching: a book by Patricia Breivik and 
E. Gordon Gee (that developed from the 
aforementioned 1987 conference) which 
focused on the role of libraries in attain-



ing improvements in higher education, 
and a report from the American Library 
Association.29 Both documents placed 
information literacy firmly at the fore-
front as a combined library and educa-
tional issue. The Breivik and Gee book 
was published under the auspices of 
the American Council on Education, 
thereby indicating that the importance 
of information literacy was being ac-
knowledged at the national level in the 
educational sector.30 

At the time of their book's publication, 
Breivik and Gee were the librarian and 
the president respectively of the Univer-
sity of Colorado. Their common belief is 
that quality education should help stu-
dents to become lifelong learners, the 
requirement being that students need 
to become "effective information con-
sumers who are able to locate perti-
nent information for any need in their 
personal or professional lives" -that 
is, students need to become informa-
tion literate. 31 Breivik and Gee's philoso-
phy is that in an information society, the 
ultimate measurement of the quality of 
undergraduate education is whether 
students are self-directed, independent 
learners. They believe that the library 
has a pivotal role in education: 

Libraries are where the knowledge 
of all disciplines is related within a 
meaningful framework. Libraries pro-
vide a model for the information envi-
ronment in which graduates will need 
to work and live. Libraries are a natu-
ral environment for problem-solving 
within the unlimited universe of in-
formation. Libraries provide the 
framework for synthesizing special-
ized knowledge into broader societal 
contexts. And finally, libraries and li-
brarians can help students master 
critical information-literacy skills.32 
The University of Colorado's ap-

proach to introducing information liter-
acy into the curriculum provided the 
framework for the issues discussed in 
the book. In common with many other 
American universities in the late 
1970s, undergraduates at the Univer-
sity of Colorado had been required to 
take courses in computer literacy. How-

Overview of Information Literacy 315 

ever, this was found to be inadequate 
preparation for information literacy. 
The university's librarians were tak-
ing a leading role in the information 
literacy movement, and the univer-
sity's administrators were convinced 
that the library had an important role 
to play in the educational reform un-
der way. The partnership formed be-
tween the library and the university 
administration paved the way for the 
introduction of resource-based learning 
across the curriculum at the University 
of Colorado. 

Breivik and Gee emphasize the impor-
tance of partnerships in striving for infor-
mation literate graduates: partnership 
between the university administration 
and the library; partnership between the 
classroom and the library; and partner-
ship between the business community 
and the library.33 Information literacy 
teaching is thus seen as the joint respon-
sibility of the library, the whole univer-
sity, and the community for which it 
provides human resources. 

The second major document that ap-
peared in 1989 was the report of the ALA 
Presidential Committee on Information 
Literacy. The report emphasized the im-
portance of achieving information liter-
acy and stressed that it could be 
achieved only by means of a new model 
of resource-based learning. The report was 
widely publicized and gained significant 
attention worldwide. As a result, the 
ALA's definition of information literacy 
is the most frequently used today: 

To be information literate, a person 
must be able to recognize when infor-
mation is needed and have the ability 
to locate, evaluate, and use effectively 
the needed information .... Ulti-
mately, information literate people 
are those who have learned how to 
learn. They know how to learn be-
cause they know how knowledge is 
organized, how to find information, 
and how to use information in such 
a way that others can learn from 
them. They are people prepared for 
lifelong learning, because they canal-
ways find the information needed for 
any task or decision at hand.34 



316 -college & Research Libraries 

The ALA report discusses the impor-
tance of information literacy to indi-
viduals, business, and citizenship, 
stressing the importance of information 
for problem solving and decision mak-
ing. Recommendations for improving 
the standard of information literacy con-
centrate on reducing the gap between 
the classroom and the library by intro-
ducing a new model .of learning: 

What is called for is not a new infor-
mation studies curriculum but, rather, 
a restructuring of the learning process. 
Textbooks, workbooks, and lectures 
must yield to a learning process based 
on the information resources available 
for learning and problem solving 
throughout people's lifetimes-to 
learning experiences that build a life-
long habit of library use. Such a learn-
ing process would actively involve 
students in the process of 
• knowing when they have a need for 

information 
• identifying information needed to 

address a given problem or issue 
• finding needed information 
• evaluating the information 
• organizing the information 
• using the information effectively to 

address the problem or issue at hand. 
Such a restructuring of the learning 

process will not only enhance the critical 
thinking skills of students but will also 
empower them for lifelong learning and 
the effective performance of profes-
sional and civic responsibilities.35 

The report incorporates all the fore-
most issues that appeared in definitions 
of information literacy throughout the 
1980s and, most importantly, identifies 
the actual information handling skills re-
quired for information literacy. As a 
result of this report, the National Fo-
rum on Information Literacy was es-
tablished to continue promoting the 
concept of information literacy in the 
United States.36 

As interest in information literacy in-
creased during the late 1980s, the litera-
ture shows a considerable augmentation 
in the meaning of the concept compared 
with that of the previous decade. The 
1970's definitions had emphasized the 

July 1994 

fact that information literacy reqwred a 
new set of skills for the efficient and 
effective utilization of information and 
its access tools, and that the use or appli-
cation of the located information was 
intended for problem solving. 

Definitions during the 1980s added the 
following scope to information literacy: 

. • New informatiol) technologies have to 
be taken into consideration with re-
gard to the manner in which they can 
assist information handling, and the 
skills which are required for their use. 

• Particular attitudes, such as the aware-
ness of a need for information, a will-
ingness to locate and use information, 
the appreciation of the value of infor-
mation, and the accurate application 
of the information, are required. 

• Higher order critical thinking skills 
s~ch as understanding and evaluating 
information are necessary; mere loca-
tion of information is insufficient. 

• Although libraries are regarded as 
major repositories of information 
sources, they should not be seen as the 
only resources. 

• Library skills are not sufficient for 
complete information literacy; neither 
are computer skills. 

• User education programs require a 
paradigm shift in order to accommo-
date the full range of skills required 
for information literacy. 

• In an information society, information 
literacy could be seen as an extension 
of the literacy realm. 

• Information literacy is a prerequisite 
for active, responsible citizenship. 

• The goal of information literacy is the 
attainment of lifelong skills which en-
able the person to be an independent 
learner in all spheres of life. 

• Information literacy teaching can en-
hance the attempts at educational 
reform which aim at producing in-
dependent learners. 

• The teaching of information literacy is 
a combined librarianship C\nd educa-
tional issue that requires a partnership 
between the two disciplines. . 

• In order for information literacy 
teaching to be effective in the educa-
tional sphere, the skills should be 



taught across the curriculum in a re-
source-based learning approach. 

• Various information skills are re-
quired for infonna tion literacy: 
-knowing when there is a need for 

information 
- identifying the information needed 

in order to address a problem 
-finding the needed information 
-evaluating the located information 
-organizing the information 
-using the information effectively to 

address the problem. 
By the end of the 1980s, information 

literacy was no longer an embryonic 
concept. It had been defined with clar-
ity, and its realm comprehensively de-
lineated by the identification of the 
actual skills and knowledge that are re-
quired for information handling in an 
information-permeated, technologically 
advanced society. 

TRENDS IN THE EARLY 1990s 

By the start of the 1990s, the meaning 
of information literacy as proposed by 
the ALA was generally accepted. Infor-
mation literacy had become a major is-
sue in librarianship, since the profession 
saw in it a way that its members could 
make a contribution toward a society of 
lifelong learners. Three main trends are 
apparent in the 1990's literature to date: 
educating for information literacy is en-
joying attention; information literacy is 
being considered as part of the wider 
literacy continuum; and librarians are 
evaluating their role in the information 
literacy movement. 

Educating for Information Literacy 

Although the introduction of informa-
tion literacy courses or programs was 
evident in the second half of the 1980s, 
the latest literature indicates that the 
trend is continuing world wide, spurred 
on to a large extent by the ALA report. 
Several information literacy courses or 
programs that have been introduced at 
universities are discussed in the litera-
ture.37 Attention is also being paid to 
models and theories for curricula for in-
formation literacy.38 Most models origi-
nate from the LIS field, many showing 

Overview of Information Literacy 317 

roots in previous user education pro-
grams offered by academic libraries. 

In the Netherlands, by the start of the 
1990s, the information and computer lit-
eracy (ICL) course introduced in 1983 
was being taught at nearly all secondary 
schools. Ongoing curriculum develop-
ment in the Netherlands has provided 
more clarity on the Information Science 
element of ICL: 

ICL will involve the knowledge and 
skills needed for data collection, or-
ganizing, processing and retrieving. 
These specific skills are likely to be 
addressed implicitly in computer ap-
plications in the more traditional sub-
ject matter areas. This focus relates to 
a class of skills for which the computer 
is an important, versatile aid. The gen-
eral idea behind emphasizing infor-
mation-handling skills is that data and 
information are different concepts.39 
ICL covers both manual and comput-

erized data collection and processing, 
and emphasis is placed on differentiat-
ing between knowledge and informa-
tion. Particular elements of Information 
Science, as incorporated in ICL, are iden-
tified as general databases that are used 
''by virtually everybody" (for example 
encyclopedias, pus timetables, videotext 
systems), and the need for the organiza-
tion of databases so that data are acces-
sible and usable.40 Although ICL in the 
Netherlands appears to remain slanted to-
ward computer applications, the course 
now shows a shift toward general infor-
mation handling knowledge and skills, 

' with an accent on problem solving in the 
sense of finding relevant information by 
using appropriate IT.41 Thus it appears that 
the Dutch meaning of information literacy 
could be moving closer to the meaning 
common in the United States. 

What the future worldwide scenario 
will be can only be surmised. It would 
appear that the development and intro-
duction of curricula that promote infor-
mation literacy will remain topical 
internationally during the 1990s. Whether 
educating for information literacy will be 
undertaken by means of separate courses 
or programs, or whether it will be accom-
plished by_ wider-ranging educational 



~--------------------------------------------------------------- ~~----

318 College & Research Libraries 

approaches or reforms, and the extent to 
which IT becomes the central issue, still 
remains to be seen. 

Patricia Breivik suggests that it is not 
a new information studies curriculum 
that is called for, but rather a complete 
restructuring of the learning process to 
incorporate resource-based learning. 
Through this approach, she believes the 
development of critical thinking skills 
would become integral to the learning 
process, thus preparing students for life-
long learning.42 Lawrence McCrank dis-
cusses academic programs for information 
literacy, and notes that any program that is 
hosted by the library must use the library 
as a gateway to other information services 
and organizations (such as other libraries, 
archives, museums, galleries, publishing 
houses, clearing houses, media centers, 
databases and telecommunications serv-
ices), since the academic library does not 
have the monopoly on information re-
sources. He also suggests that the con-
cept of information literacy is so wide 
that it can only be effectively accommo-
dated by means of a "full-scale, formal 
program across the curriculum, perhaps 
in imitation of 'Writing across the Cur-
riculum' developments."43 

Exploring the Literacy Continuum 

The 1990s began with the spotlight on 
the universal illiteracy problem. The 
United Nations General Assembly pro-
claimed 1990 as "International Uteracy 
Year" to mark the start of a ten-year effort 
to reduce illiteracy. As a result of the focus 
on illiteracy, the current meaning of liter-
acy was explored: Was the ability to read 
and write--as manifest in the traditional 
meaning of literacy-sufficient for func-
tioning in present society? 

Researchers in the 1980s had already 
introduced the notion of information lit-
eracy being part of the literacy spectrum.44 
Experts on literacy had earlier established 
that the dichotomous framework of liter-
ate or illiterate was no longer feasible. Any 
contemporary definition of literacy would 
need to recognize that the concept implied 
a continuum which represented different 
degrees of development at which indi-
viduals were functional. 45 

July 1994 

Today, literacy is viewed as an evolv-
ing concept, its meaning dependent on 
the social and individual requirements 
of a specific society. Since literacy has to 
be considered in its cultural, social, eco-
nomic, and political contexts, its defini-
tion should take into consideration the 
expanding information needs of society. 
An Australian view comes from Bever-
ley Campbell, who gives an indication of 
what would be regarded as literacy for 
an adult in an information society: 

Literacy involves the integration of 
listening, speaking, reading, writing 
and critical thinking; it incorporates 
numeracy. It includes the cultural 
knowledge which enables a speaker, 
writer or reader to recognize and use 
language appropriate to different so-
cial situations. For an advanced tech-
nological society ... the goal is an active 
literacy which allows people to use lan-
guage to enhance their capacity to think 
create and question, in order to partici-
pate effectively in society.46 

It would appear that the development 
and introduction of curricula that 
promote information literacy will 
remain topical internationally during 
the 1990s. 

The focus on literacy /illiteracy at the 
start of the 1990s dovetailed with the 
established information literacy move-
ment. Information literacy is now being 
explored in more depth within the con-
text of the literacy spectrum.47 It appears 
that dependence on information in to-
day's society-whether a highly devel-
oped information society or a developing 
community of illiterates or neoliter-
ates-could influence and expand the 
contemporary meaning of literacy to in-
clude information literacy. 

Role of Librarians 

The literature from the beginning of the 
1990s indicates that librarians throughout 
the world, both in practice and as educa-· 
tors in LIS departments, are intent on 
firmly establishing a role for their profes-



sion in the information literacy movement. 
Current literature indicates that librarians 
plan to keep information literacy in the 
headlines, and that attention is also being 
paid to information literacy teaching in 
public libraries. The partnership that is 
necessary between librarians and educa-
tors is enjoying particular attention. 

Keeping Information Literacy at the 
Forefront. The National Forum on Infor-
mation Literacy was formed as a result 
of a recommendation of the ALA report 
on information literacy that a coalition 
be formed to coordinate national organi-
zations promoting information literacy.48 
This forum plans to target particular 
groups that can benefit from informa-
tion literacy issues, and intends keeping 
information literacy an active issue 
among academics: higher education is 
one such targeted group!9 The forum 
also intends promoting information lit-
eracy as an integral part of the literacy 
continuum. 50 

Information literacy was one of the 
issues focused on at the Second White 
House Conference on Libraries and In-
formation Services (WHCLIS) in 1991, 
where national attention was drawn to 
the contribution made by libraries and 
information services to a literate, produc-
tive and democratic society.51 One of the 
recommendations of the second WHCLIS 
calls for the U.S. government to establish 
a National Coalition for Information Lit-
eracy (including schools, libraries, labor 
and industry, government, parents and 
the general public), with the intention of 
developing a strategic plan for the gen-
eral development of skills required for 
information literacy. 52 

Information Literacy and Public Li-
braries. A suggestion in the ALA report 
on information literacy was that public 
libraries are potentially the strongest 
and most far-reaching community re-
source for encouraging lifelong learn-
ing.53 Whereas public libraries had not 
been involved in user education pre-
viously (but had been involved in liter-
acy issues), information literacy's place 
in the literacy continuum provides these 
libraries with a new challenge. The need 
to provide user education to clients of 

Overview of Information Literacy 319 

public libraries is discussed by several 
authors, and Helena Zobec suggests co-
operation between public libraries and 
schools in the sense that public libraries 
provide access to community resources 
necessary for information literacy.54.55 

Partnership with Teaching Staff and 
Policy Makers. Advocates of informa-
tion literacy believe that, unless librari-
ans create partnerships with teaching 
staff and policy makers, the LIS profes-
sion will not have much success in tak-
ing a leading role in information literacy 
teaching. 56 Breivik, however, warns that 
by becoming partners with teaching 
staff, librarians must be careful that they 
are not doing themselves out of their 
previous teaching responsibilities, con-
centrated in user education. 57 

Lawrence McCrank expresses reser-
vations about whether librarians are 
overreaching their goals in their quest 
for information literacy, and whether in-
formation literacy is perhaps merely 
souped-up terminology for user educa-
tion. He is critical of a number of issues 
relating to librarians and information lit-
eracy; for example, he asks whether li-
brarians are recognized by other experts 
and by the public as having the compe-
tence and expertise to provide such bold 
initiatives as are proposed in informa-
tion literacy programs. He asks whether 
librarians have the credentials, training, 
and postdegree accomplishments to 
teach information literacy. 58 

However, increasing attention is be-
ing paid to the issue of partnership be-
tween librarians and teachers. 59 In a paper 
written at the request of the WHCLIS staff, 
Breivik notes that teachers, as the peda-
gogical and subject specialists, require 
complementary assistance from those 
whose expertise is in information if the 
objectives of a course are to be achieved 
through resource-based learning.60 

CONCLUSION 

This review of the literature has 
shown how the meaning of the concept 
information literacy has expanded over 
the last twenty years in order to accom-
modate the growing requirements for 
the effective handling of information, 



320 College & Research Libraries 

and how the LIS profession has re-
sponded to the information literacy 
movement. The review indicates that in-
formation literacy is most likely to re-
main topical in the field of librarianship 
during the rest of the decade. 

Whether the information literacy 
movement (as it relates to teaching skills 
in utilizing information successfully, 
and the preparing of a learning society 
through the teaching of lifelong skills) 

July 1994 

will spread beyond librarianship-nota-
bly into the general education field-will 
depend on how successful librarians are in 
promoting both the importance of the is-
sues and the significance of their role in 
accomplishing them. However, although 
it has become apparent that information 
literacy is regarded as a combined librari-
anship and educational issue, at present 
the literature remains essentially confined 
within the LIS discipline. 

REFERENCES AND NOTES 

1. For almost two decades Reference Services Review has published annual reviews of the 
literature on library orientation and instruction (encompassing information literacy). The 
reviews for 1988 to 1991 give an indication of the extent of the literature: for 1988 there were 
149 references; 1989 had 158 references; 1990 had 132; and in 1991 there were 195 references, 
an increase of 48 percent over the previous year. For Hannelore B. Rader's reviews for these 
particular four years see Reference Services Review 17 (Winter 1989): 73-86; 18 (Winter 1990): 
35-47; 19 (Winter 1991): 71-84; and 20 (Winter 1992): 69-84, 36. 

2. Paul G. Zurkowski, The Information Service Environment Relationships and Priorities (Wash-
ington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, 1974), 6. 

3. Lee G. Burchinal, "The Communications Revolution: America's Third Century Challenge," 
in The Future of Organizing Knowledge: Papers Presented at the Texas A & M University 
Library's Centennial Academic Assembly, Sept. 24, 1976 (College Station, Tex.: Texas A & M 
University Library, 1976), 11. 

4. Cees Hamelink, "An Alternative to News," Journal of Communication 26 (Autumn 1976): 
122. 

5. Major R. Owens, "State Government and Libraries," Library Journal101 (Jan. 1, 1976): 27. 
6. Eugene Garfield, "2001: An Information Society?" Journal of Information Science 1 (1979): 210. 
7. RobertS. Taylor, "Reminiscing about the Future," Library Journal104 (Sept. 15, 1979): 1875. 
8. Forest W. Horton, ed., Understanding U.S.Information Policy: The Infostructure Handbook, 

vols. 1-4 (Washington, D.C.: Information Industry Association, 1982). 
9. As cited in William Demo, The Idea of "Information Literacy" in the Age of High-Tech (New 

York: Tompkins Cortland Community College, 1986), 6. 
10. Forest W. Horton, "Information Literacy vs. Computer Literacy," Bulletin of the American 

Society for Information Science 9 (1983): 14. 
11. Ibid., 16. 
12. Demo, The Idea of "Information Literacy." 
13. Ibid., 13. 
14. Patricia S. Breivik, "Putting Libraries Back in the Information Society," American Libraries 

16(Nov. 1985):723. 
15. Carol C. Kuhlthau, Information Skills for an Information Society: A Review of Research 

(Syracuse, N.Y.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources, 1987), 2. (Reprinted in 
Information Reports and Bibliographies 19 [1990]: 14-26.) 

16. Jan K. Olsen and Bill Coons, "Cornell University's Information Literacy Program," in Coping 
with Information Illiteracy: Bibliographic Instruction for the Information Age; Papers Pre-
sented at the Seventeenth National LOEX Library Instruction Conference Held in Ann Arbor, 
Michigan, 4 and 5 May 1989, ed. Glenn E. Mensching and Teresa B. Mensching (Ann Arbor, 
Mich.: Pierian, 1989), 8. 

17. See, for example, the various contributions in Bibliographic Instruction: The Second Genera-
tion, ed. Constance A. Mellon (Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1987). 

18. Joanne R. Euster, ''Technology and Instruction," in Bibliographic Instruction, 57. 
19. Patricia S. Breivik, "Information Literacy: Revolution in Education, in Coping with Informa-

tion Illiteracy, 1. 



Overview of Information Literacy 321 

20. Various chapters in Coping with Information Illiteracy illustrate this transformation. 
21. The major report in this regard is that of the National Commission on Excellence in 

Education, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. A Report to the Nation 
and the Secretary of Education (Washington, D.C.: The Commission, 1983), which ignored 
the role of libraries. An enormous body of literature appeared in response to this document. 
A bibliography compiled five years after the publication of the report lists over 200 items, 
including research reports, essays, federal and state reform proposals, summaries, reviews 
of original reform reports, and reports on programs that had been introduced (see Bonnie 
G. Gratch, "Five Years after A Nation at Risk: An Annotated Bibliography," Reference Services 
Review 17 (Winter 1989): 29-48. It was not until Ernest L. Boyer's College: The Undergraduate 
Experience in America (New York: Harper & Row, 1987) that librarians found substantial 
support from outside their profession for their role in educational reform. 

22. Patricia S. Breivik, "Making the Most of Libraries in the Search for Academic Excellence," 
Change 19(July I Aug. 1987):46. 

23. Ibid., 46-47. 
24. W. B. Lukenbill, "Information Literacy: Using the Process Approach in Bibliographic Instruc-

tion," International Review of Children's Literature and Librarianshfp 4(1989):168. 
25. Ard P. Hartsuijker, "Curriculum Development of Computer and Information Literacy in the 

Netherlands," Education and Computing 2 (1986): 89-9oland Bram Van Weering and Tjeerd 
Plomp, "Information Literacy in Secondary EducatiOI/ in the Netherlands: The New Cur-
riculum," Computers and Education 16(1991):17. 

26. Cited in Van Weering and Plomp, "Information Literacy in Secondary Education," 17. 
27. Tjeerd Plomp and Gerrit Carleer, "Towards a Strategy for the Introduction of Information 

and Computer Literacy (ICL) Courses," Comp~ters and Education 11(1987):53. 
28. Hartsuijker, "Curriculum Development," 90-91 . 
29. Patricia S. Breivik and E. Gordon Gee, Information Liter~cy: Revolution in the Library (New 

York: Macmillan, 1989); and the American Library Association Presidential Committee on 
Information Literacy: Final Report (Chicago: ALA, 1989). 

30. Patricia S. Breivik, "Information Literacy," Bulletin of the Medical Libran; Association 79(Apr. 
1991):227. 

31. Breivik and Gee, Information Literacy, x. 
32. Ibid., 28. 
33. Ibid., 153. 
34. American Library Association Presidential Committee, 1. 
35. Ibid., 7. 
36. Patricia S. Breivik, ''National Forum on Information Literacy," in ALA Yearbook of Library 

and Information Services (Chicago: ALA, 1990), 209; and Breivik, "Information Literacy," 227. 
37. For some examples, see Alexandra Dimitroff, Francis X. Blouin, Carolyn 0. Frost, Barbara 

MacAdam, and Carla J. Stoffle, "Alliance for Information: Michigan Librarians and Library 
Faculty Join Forces for the Future," Research Strategies 8 (Spring 1990): 52-58; Barbara 
MacAdam, "Information Literacy: Models for the Curriculum," College & Research Libraries 
News 51 (Nov. 1990): 948-51; and Hannelore B. Rader, "Bringing Information Literacy into 
the Academic Curriculum," College & Research Libraries News 51 (Oct. 1990): 879-80. 

38. Susan N. Bj0mer, "The Information Literacy Curriculum-A Working Model," Iatul Quar-
terly 5 (1991): 150-60; Marilyn Naito, "An Information Literacy Curriculum: A Proposal," 
College & Research Libraries News 52 (May 1991): 293-96; and Lawrence J. McCrank, 
"Academic Programs for Information Literacy: Theory and Structure," RQ 31 (Summer 
1992): 485-97. 

39. Van Weering and Plomp, "Information Literacy in Secondary Education," 19. 
40. Ibid., 19. 
41 . Ibid ., 21. 
42. Patricia S. Breivik, "Literacy in an Information Society," Information Reports and Bibliog-

raphies 20(1991):13. 
43. McCrank, "Academic Programs," 493. 
44. See, for example, Kuhlthau, Information Skills for an Information Society; and Olsen and 

Coons, "Cornell University's Information Literacy Program." 



322 College & Research Libraries July1994 

45. 

46. 

47. 

48. 
49. 
50. 
51. 
52. 

53. 
54. 

For two oft-quoted examples, see Robert L. Hillerich, "Toward an Assessable Definition of 
Literacy," English Journal 65(Feb. 1976):53; and Geraldine J. Clifford, "Such und Lesen: 
Historical Perspectives on Literacy and Schooling," Review of Educational Research 
54(1984):479. 
Beverley Campbell, "What Is Literacy? Acquiring and Using Literacy Skills," Australasian 
Public Libraries and Information Services 3: 149. 
Some examples include Lori Arp, "Information Literacy or Bibliographic Instruction: Se-
mantics or Philosophy?" RQ 30 (Fall 1990): 46-49; Shirley J. Behrens, "Literacy and the 
Evolution towards Information Literacy: An Exploratory Study," South African Journal of 
Library and Information Science 58 (Dec. 1990): 353-58; and Breivik, "Literacy in an Infor-
mation Society." 
American Library Association Presidential Committee, 11. 
Breivik, "Information Literacy," 227. 
Breivik, "Literacy in an Information Society," 10-11. 
Ibid., 10-14. 
Barbara J. Ford, "Message from the President [Association of College and Research Libraries 
1990-91 Annual Report]," College & Research Libraries News 52 (Nov. 1991): 659-60. 
American Library Association Presidential Committee, 6. 
For example, Charles Curran, "lnformption Literacy and the Public Librarian," Public 
Libraries 29 (Nov./Dec. 1990): 349-53/ Sheila S. Intner, ''The Public and Bibliographic 
Instruction: Missed Opportun~es in Creating a Positive Information Environment," Refer-
ence Librarian 31 (1990): 15-39{ and Susan Diehl and Terry L. Weech, "Library Use Instruction 
Research and the Public Library," Public Libraries 30 (Jan./Feb. 1991): 33-42. 

55. Helena Zobec, "Cooperation between School and Public Libraries," Australasian Public 
Libraries and Information Services 3 (Dec. 1990): 245-48. 

56. 

57. 
58. 

Trish Ridgeway, "Information Literacy: An Introductory Reading List," College & Research 
Libraries News 51 (July I Aug. 1990): 646. 
Breivik, "Information Literacy," 227. 
Lawrence J. McCrank, "Information Literacy: A Bogus Bandwagon?" Library Journa/116 
(May 1, 1991): 38-42. 

59. Some examples include ~emma Devinney, ''The BI FIG: Cultivating Teaching Success," RQ 
30 (Winter 1990): 189-92[ ~ader, "Bringing Information Literacy into the Academic Curricu-
lum,", Emily L. Werrell and Threasa L. Wesley, "Promoting Information Literacy through a 
Faculty Workshop," Research Strategies S(Fall 1990): 172-80/'Bryn Davies and Anne Mur-
doch, ''Tutor Librarians: Creating a Climate for Change," Education Libraries Journal 34 
(1991 ): 9-14;/Sonia Bodi, "Collaborating with Faculty in Teachipg Critical Thinking: The Role 
of Librariarls," Research Strategies 10 (Spring 1992): 69-76; and Eugene A. Engeldinger, 
"Frustration Management in a Course-Integrated Bibliographic Instruction Program," RQ 
31 (Fall1992): 20-24. 

60. Breivik, "Literacy in an Information Society," 13.