Research Guides: Information Literacy Toolkit: Resource for Teaching Faculty: Home

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A Resource for UMD Teaching Faculty, Instructors, and Teaching Assistants

Although we wish a librarian could be embedded in every course, there are limits even to a librarian's power! These materials are intended to support UMD Teaching Faculty, Instructors, and Teaching Assistants across disciplines in incorporating information literacy into their courses.

Looking to collaborate with a librarian to design an instruction session or an activity for your course? Please visit the Subject Specialist Directory and contact the librarian assigned to your school or college.

Is this toolkit missing something? Email libues@umd.edu and let us know! We are always developing new materials and are happy to take suggestions for new topics.

This toolkit is developed and maintained by the University of Maryland Libraries Teaching and Learning Services Unit.
Last update: May 7, 2024

Information Literacy

What is Information Literacy?
Information Literacy Resources and Teaching Tools

Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.” (American Library Association, Presidential Committee on Information Literacy). To be information literate, then, one needs skills not only in research but in critical thinking.

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) has taken the lead in developing information literacy resources; chief among these is the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education. The Framework is organized into six frames, each consisting of a concept central to information literacy, a set of knowledge practices, and a set of dispositions. The six concepts that anchor the frames are presented alphabetically:

Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
Information Creation as a Process
Information Has Values
Research as Inquiry
Scholarship as Conversation
Searching as Strategic Exploration

ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox
The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox is a place to discover ways to use the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education in instructional settings, as well as share your own activities and teaching resources related to the Framework. Searching is open to everyone – a user login is not required
ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Toolkit
The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Toolkit supports professional use and understanding of the Framework. The Framework Toolkit is intended as a freely available professional development resource that can be used and adapted by both individuals and groups in order to foster understanding and use of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.
Project Information Literacy (PIL)
Project Information Literacy (PIL) is a nonprofit research institute that conducts scholarly studies about students and how they find, evaluate, select, and create information for use in their courses and for solving information problems in everyday life.
Open Inquiry Toolkit for Information Literacy
The Open Inquiry Toolkit for Information Literacy provides new learning design resources for the higher education community. The toolkit is unique for its two-pronged approach that develops intellectual virtues and promotes awareness of cognitive biases.

Creative Commons

Information Literacy Toolkit by University of Maryland Libraries is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International