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Information Skills - successfully, find, use and evaluate information: Home

Good information literacy skills help you successfully, find, use and evaluate information which is key to academic success and lifelong learning

What is Information Literacy?

In the wider context, information skills are important because it helps to increase information literacy. “Information literacy is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information we find and use. It empowers us as citizens to reach and express informed views and to engage fully with society.”  (CILIP, 2018)

By developing information literacy skills students will be able to:

  • Understand the need to use information and define your research topic
  • Identify the range of information resources available
  • Locate and access information using different library collections
  • Use search tools to locate relevant information by applying effective search strategies
  • Identify and use subject specific library databases
  • Use information independently and critically
  • Locate and evaluate quality information on the web
  • Cite information and use it in a responsible and ethical manner

Why are information skills so important?

With information available in many formats, and of varying quality, it is essential that students have the skills to enable them to exploit the wide range of information resources available and to retrieve, evaluate and use that information effectively.
By empowering students to develop these skills, we can contribute to their academic success and help ensure that our TUS graduates become independent and successful lifelong learners.

How we can help you to develop your information skills

The library at TUS Midwest offers a range of information skills sessions to every student in each Academic Department in the Institute. Subject librarians work in close partnership with teaching staff to develop, design and deliver information literacy skills programmes across each discipline.
Sessions can be once-off classes, project or course related instructional sessions or embedded modules. Best practice has shown that information literacy skills are best developed within the context of academic programmes.

Information skills sessions are available throughout the year and can be booked by students and staff via library website

Resources

Author: Padraig Kirby

The Library, Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest