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Information literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning.
“Information is in such abundance today that we have difficulty determining which information is legitimate.”, says Meridith Farkas in an article for American Libraries. Critical thinking skills are required for assessing the value and accuracy of information found online. On Wikipedia, The National Forum on Information Literacy defines information literacy as “…the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.”
Information literacy is related to information technology skills, but has broader implications for the individual, the educational system, and for society. Information technology skills enable an individual to use computers, software applications, databases, and other technologies to achieve a wide variety of academic, work-related, and personal goals. Information literate individuals necessarily develop some technology skills.
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Cornell University offers five excellent criteria for evaluating websites.
So does Colorado State University’s library.
Lesley College offers another for its students, and the rest of us.
The Information Quality WWW Virtual Library has a good bibliography.
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