Foundations of Information Literacy

Framing information literacy as "necessary for effective lifelong learning," this week's review analyzes how librarians can best educate learners on "info lit" skills.

Posted on September 12, 2022 in Reviews of the Month

Foundations of Information Literacy

Taylor, Natalie Greene. by Natalie Greene Taylor and Paul T. Jaeger ALA Neal-Schuman, 2022
264p bibl index, 9780838949702 $64.99, 9780838938102

In this textbook, Taylor and Jaeger (Univ. of South Florida and Univ. of Maryland, respectively), also coauthors of Foundations of Information Policy (2019), posit that information literacy is a basic human right and necessary for effective lifelong learning. The authors discuss kinds of literacies (e.g., digital, media, health, civic) and point to “info lit” as the metaliteracy for each. Writing for researchers and librarians, they discuss what assessing information means and how to teach that skill, specifying that learners need access to information (the first hurdle) and the understanding to work with it. Several chapters deal with the politics of information—who has controlled it historically, the definitions of mis- and disinformation, social media/advertising, and race and economic strictures. Taylor and Jaeger declare libraries the community institutions to best help learners understand information literacy and contend librarians should “own” the teaching of it and cultivate community collaborations to further their reach. This volume is for librarians charged with infusing information literacy into their teaching and public-facing work. [Disclosure: Choice is part of the American Library Association, which published this book.]

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals.
Reviewer: S. M. Paige, Eastern Florida State College
Subject: Reference – Library & Information Sciences
Choice Issue: Oct 2022

Foundations of Information Literacy

Framing information literacy as "necessary for effective lifelong learning," this week's review analyzes how librarians can best educate learners on "info lit" skills.