Information Literacy Modules: Getting Started

Information Literacy is the critical set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze and use information. The American Library Association has referred to it as "a survival skill in the Information Age." They explain:

Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because 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 can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand.

This guide was developed to help you improve your information literacy skills and are designed to familiarize you with basic concepts and to guide you through the research process. Remember that Public Services Librarians are available at all three campus libraries to answer any questions you may have and to help you with specific research assignments.

Click on the "Developing a Research Strategy" link at the bottom of this page to get started. You will find links at the bottom of each page that will navigate you through the entire guide. These links are meant to take you through the entire research process and give you a deeper understanding of the topics as they relate to one another. You will encounter review questions periodically throughout the guide that you can use to check your knowledge.

Alternatively, you can click on the tabs at the top of this page to get started with individual topics without using the navigational links. You will find these tabs especially useful if you need to return to a particular topic for review.