There are many information literacy (IL) related standards and definitions globally. The UK's Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) defines information literacy as ‘knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner’ (www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/ advocacy/information-literacy/pages/definition.aspx).

Following on from that definition, in order to be information literate an understanding of the following skills or competences is required:

There are several frameworks, although the US ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) and UK SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries) models (see references) are two of the most often applied. In the teaching context, these frameworks can serve several purposes:

At national level, information literacy standards are useful in policy development – for example, the national information literacy projects in Scotland (www.gcu.ac.uk/ils/framework.html) and Wales (http://library.wales.org/en/information-literacy/national-information-literacyframework) – and sometimes within organizations.

IL frameworks and standards have their limitations in that they often do not mean anything to learners – IL needs to be contextualized for the learners. These are skills that are used for a purpose, so mapping these standards to curriculum or other outcomes shows the relevance.

Consider how you will use the frameworks and language carefully – it may be that these are more appropriate to guide your own planning and development, but need to be translated into the language of your learners and collaborators.