Information literacy

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The Campus Library’s team of Liaison and Research Support Librarians and the Health Library’s Training and Information Support team provide group information literacy sessions that are embedded within many courses and offered as standalone sessions. To book onto standalone sessions or access other training resources, please visit our training page. For sessions with a health focus, please visit the Health Library training page. Both Libraries also offer one-to-one support to students and academic staff when needed.

What is information literacy?

CILIP defines information literacy as:

“The ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information we find and use. It empowers us as citizens to reach and express informed views and to engage fully with society.” (CILIP, 2018)

Developing these skills is an important part of your growth as a Keele student (Keele Graduate Attribute) and though it may not say specifically, many of these will appear on assessment criteria your tutors will be using to mark your work while you're here. These skills will not only help you in your university work but are also transferable skills within the workplace and in everyday activities, such as, booking a holiday, so developing information literacy is an essential skill for life and a key employability attribute.

What do our information literacy sessions cover?

Here are some of the topics covered by the Library during its information literacy sessions:

  • How to develop effective literature searches
  • How to find information using the Library’s subscription databases
  • How to create an effective search strategy when using the Library’s subscription databases
  • How to manage references for a project using reference management software, such as, RefWorks
What are the benefits of information literacy?

By becoming information literate an individual can:

  • Recognise and articulate a need for information
  • Distinguish ways in which the information need may be addressed
  • Construct strategies for locating information
  • Locate and access information
  • Compare and evaluate information obtained from different sources
  • Organise, apply and communicate information to others in appropriate ways
  • Synthesise and build upon existing information, contributing to the creation of new knowledge
The eight elements of DigitalKeele

Information literacy is just one element of digital literacy and you can develop this and your own digital literacy with the DigitalKeele programme by completing tasks and training across all eight elements:

  • Identity: This involves the ability to build a wholesome online and offline identity. 
  • Use: The ability to use technology in a balanced, healthy, and civic way. 
  • Safety: The ability to understand, mitigate, and manage various cyber risks through safe, responsible, and ethical use of technology.
  • Security: The ability to detect, avoid, and manage different levels of cyber threats to protect data, devices, networks, and systems. 
  • Emotional Intelligence: The ability to recognise, navigate, and express emotions in one's digital intra- and interpersonal interactions. 
  • Communication: The ability to communicate and collaborate with others using technology. 
  • Literacy: The ability to find, read, evaluate, synthesise, create, adapt, and share information, media and technology. 
  • Rights: The ability to understand and uphold human rights and legal rights when using technology.