Information literacy as a university wide general education goal and the librarian's role

Mediation by librarians is ongoing no matter how many online tutorials, web pages, instructional leaflets, or other educational efforts take place. A role that librarians have filled is to teach others how to find published and sometimes unpublished materials. This role is part facilitator and part educator because in the process of showing someone how to find materials other knowledge is often communicated (for instance, knowledge about the publishing industry, publishing within a given academic discipline, or the importance of certain materials over others). The University of Connecticut (UConn) has begun to include information literacy in all four years of undergraduate study and to expect certain increasing competencies after each year. The biggest difference between traditional library instruction and the new efforts involves increased faculty involvement. This paper will explain different definitions of information literacy and efforts to achieve the following student skills: Information development and structure-an understanding of how information is created, disseminated and organized Information access-an understanding of information communication processes and a facility with the tools required to tap into these information communication processes Information evaluation and integration-an ability to evaluate, synthesize, and incorporate information into written, oral, and media presentations".