Information literacy: The seven pillars model (SCONUL)

Information literacy as an iterative cycle Reflect Review Revise

Skill 1Recognise and articulate a need for information –Identify a need for information –Identify existing knowledge –Explore background sources to increase familiarity with topic –Re-evaluate the nature and extent of the information need –Re-define the information need to achieve a manageable result

Skill 2 Determine the extent of the need and the ways of addressing the need Know how information is produced, organised and disseminated Know appropriate kinds of resources – print and electronic Know how to use library services Differentiate between primary and secondary sources Select resources appropriate to need Understand the issues affecting accessibility of resources e.g ILL

Skill 3 Construct strategies for location information Produce a search strategy to acquire the information – a systematic method appropriate to need Articulate the information need appropriately (keywords, synonyms) Understand the principles of databases Select resources appropriate to need

Skill 4 Locate and access information Implement the search strategy in appropriate resources (e.g. catalogues and databases) Assess the quantity, quality and relevance of the search results Identify gaps in the information retrieved and redefine search strategy Use current awareness methods to keep up- to- date

Skill 5 Critically evaluate information obtained from different sources Awareness of peer review process of scholarly publication Awareness of different publication types (e.g. scholarly/popular journals) Evaluate content of information retrieved e.g. reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, bias Appropriately extract information matching the information need

Skill 6 Organise, apply and communicate information to others in ways appropriate to the situation Use information: –Legally –Ethically –With an understanding of social and economic issues Construct a personal bibliographic system Cite information correctly Understand issues of copyright an plagiarism

Skill 7 Synthesise and create