Students and Information Literacy: High School and Postsecondary Perspectives

Using current research and professional standards, the authors discuss the importance of information literacy skills at all educational levels. Recent research, as well as anecdotal evidence from students, librarians and teachers, indicates that students lack knowledge of research process steps and rely too heavily on general and non-vetted sources. Studies show that students default to these sources in an attempt to complete assignments quickly and demonstrate of a lack of knowledge regarding topic development, source evaluation and ethical use. Policy issues addressed include the need for K-12 information literacy instruction by qualified library/media professionals, cooperation between secondary and postsecondary stakeholders and the need for information skills instruction for pre-service teachers