Status Quo of teaching Information Literacy in German Libraries. An exemplary study

The term information literacy defines techniques and methods of research, evaluation and usage of information and is considered a key competence in the modern information society. The German term "Informationskompetenz" originally derived from the Anglo-American language has established itself in recent years in German libraries. This paper describes the status quo of teaching information literacy in German libraries on the basis of a survey. The selection of libraries chosen to take part in the study was based on criteria drawn upon through an extensive online search. The study was conducted with a survey whose questions where grouped into the subjects "General", "Personal", "Education" and "Methodology" with the objective to assess the Impartation of Information Literacy in German Libraries. The survey was conducted in September and October of 2014 through completed questionnaires by the respective librarians. The results of this exemplary study reveal that information literacy is actively imparted in German libraries while the emphasis is not the same. Further notable issues are the lack of a common definition of information literacy as well as absent or inadequate standards for information literacy.