Information Literacy Standards and Outcomes

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.”

Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. ACRL Chicago 2016.

Our information literacy standards support the university mission to prepare students to thrive in a rapidly changing world.  

Framework

We base our Information Literacy standards on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.  

This framework is founded upon the concept of metaliteracy, or the idea that information is increasingly not only acquired, but produced and shared in collaborative communities. Succeeding in this environment requires critical thinking and metacognition skills to use information, data and scholarship ethically.  Students, faculty and librarians share a responsibility to develop and foster these skills.  

Learning Outcomes

UNE’s academic programs identify specific information literacy goals for their disciplines, with assistance from librarians as needed. UNE Librarians recommend the following general competencies be acquired by all students:

Undergraduate Students:

• Understand how materials are organized in the UNE Libraries’ physical and online environments.
• Construct effective search strategies.
• Use a general academic database, such as ProQuest Central or Academic Search Complete.
• Understand and create citations.
• Distinguish between scholarly and popular information sources.
• Distinguish between free Web sources and fee-based Web sources.
• Evaluate an information source for currenty, relevance, authority, accurace and purpose.
• Understand how to use information ethically.

Graduate Students:

In addition to the above, graduate students will be able to:

• Define and articulate their need for information.
• Identify the subject librarian for their discipline or subject area.
• Identify, access, and use a variety of relevant resources specific to their discipline (e.g., books, e-books,  journals, databases, government documents, primary/secondary sources, websites, etc.)
• Locate a library resource and request through Interlibrary Loan if necessary.
• Demonstrate an understanding of copyright and fair use.

Library Instruction Services

As Research and Teaching Librarians, assuring that your students achieve these critical information literacy outcomes is our first priority. Learn more about our classroom teaching & support services to support information literacy in the classroom.