Why Information Literacy Is Invisible

• Main Author: William Badke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Communications in Information Literacy 2011-01-01
• Series: Communications in Information Literacy
• Online Access: http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/22464

Despite the many information literacy programs on higher education campuses, the literature of information literacy and the concept of information literacy as a viable academic subject remain hidden to most professors and academic administrators. Information literacy is invisible to academia because it is misunderstood, academic administrators have not put it on their institutions' agendas, the literature of information literacy remains in the library silo, there is a false belief that information literacy is acquired only by experience, there is a false assumption that technological ability is the same as information literacy, faculty culture makes information literacy less significant than other educational pursuits, faculty have a limited perception of the ability of librarians. and accrediting bodies have not yet advanced information literacy to a viable position in higher education. The new information age demands that these barriers be overcome and information literacy take a prominent place within the academic experience.