Rethinking Information Literacy Instructions in the Digital Age

Over twenty years ago, the American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy defined information literacy. Since then, numerous scholarly papers have been published which explored the best approaches for improving learning effectiveness of information literacy instructions and programs. Because of the impact that evolving cutting-edge and emerging technologies have on information delivery and dissemination, we must rethink how we teach information literacy in today’s student-centered academic learning environments. Based on the well-known Big6 information literacy model (http://www.big6.com), this paper explores some inadequacies and misunderstandings for existing American information literacy instruction models in the networked computing world. Global information literacy instructors should be able to adapt and modify their specified information literacy models after considering, discussing and applying the practical suggestions garnered in this paper from our American experience. From a novelty angle, this paper will offer considerations for improving learning outcomes of global information literacy instructions in the coming years of the 21st century.