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*Collection of pieces: ACRL Framework

In a rapidly changing higher education environment and increasingly complex information ecosystem, students have a greater role and responsibility in creating and using scholarship, data and information ethically. As educators, we can aid students in cultivating these skills, by designing curriculum that encourages enhanced engagement with the core ideas about information and scholarship within their disciplines.

The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was developed to aid students and educators navigate this new terrain in higher education. 

There are six core concepts in the Framework, and they each have accompanying Knowledge Practices and Learner Dispositions. This section will briefly outline each concept, but should you wish to read more, the Framework is hyperlinked here for your convenience.

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  • Authority is Constructed and Contextual
  • Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.
  • Information Creation as a Process
  • Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.
  • Information has Value
  • Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination
  • Research as Inquiry
  • Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.
  • Scholarship as Conversation
  • Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
  • Searching as Strategic Exploration
  • Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.

Interested is how other universities are approaching Information Literacy? Take a look!

Willamette University (Oregon)

Belmont University (Tennessee)

University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois)

Denison University (Ohio)

American University (Washington D.C)

SUNY Empire (New York)

Merrimack University (Massachusettes)

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