Institutionalizing Information Literacy

There is increasing recognition that information literacy is essential for individual and community empowerment, workforce readiness, and global competitiveness. However, there is a history of difficulty in integrating information literacy with the postsecondary educational process. This paper posits that a greater understanding of the organizational functioning of different types of colleges and universities can identify targeted strategies to address this issue. It applies Birnbaum's descriptions of four models of higher education organizations and strategies for effectiveness in each to the problem of institutionalizing information literacy. It proposes strategies for the institutionalization of information literacy based on the differences in these models.