Information Literacy

Information literacy empowers people with critical skills to find, evaluate, use, and create information. You can use the resources on this page to cultivate information literacy in your community.

Learn more about how to use the resources on this page.

Why Teach Information Literacy Skills?

Our information environment is made up of the people, organizations, and systems that collect, process, disseminate, and act on information. Thanks to modern technology, we have access to more information than ever before. That can make it hard to figure out what’s true, who to trust, and how to act on the information we read.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, one in five, or more than 43 million, U.S. adults lack the skills needed to complete tasks that require comparing and contrasting information, paraphrasing, or making inferences about the material they have read. By teaching information literacy skills, you can bridge this gap and give everyone the skills they need to find their way in today’s complex information environment.

How Is Information Literacy Related to Digital, Health, Financial, and Science Literacy?

On this website, in addition to the basics of information literacy, you can find resources on digital literacy, health literacy, financial, and science literacy. While all of these topics fall under the general umbrella of information literacy, they address specific types of information, and people need more specific skills to navigate them effectively. This website may expand in the future to cover more information literacy-related topics.

Featured Resource

What Is Information Literacy?

Created by the Brooklyn Public Library

The Brooklyn Public Library’s information literacy page provides resources to build critical thinking skills that help people identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively.

Explore Brooklyn Public Library’s information literacy resources

Explore More Information Literacy Resources

Lesson Plans and Programs

Use these lesson plans and programs to teach key information literacy skills.

A hand holding a smartphone open to a news app.

Evaluating Online Sources Toolkit Test

Created by Rowan University
Videos, tutorials, and strategies to support adults in evaluating the credibility of online sources

A group of 4 diverse children, around 4 years old, smile and craft at a table.

Creating Informed Learners in the Classroom: Facilitator Handbook

Created by Purdue University
A handbook designed to help educators incorporate information literacy skills in the classroom

A white woman in a wheelchair reaches for a book on a library shelf, with another woman reaching for the shelf as well from behind the wheelchair.

Information Literacy Program

Created by Smithsonian Libraries
A collection of interactive resources dedicated to helping people of all ages learn to think critically about how they identify, find, evaluate, and use information

More Resources

Resources to Use and Share with Your Community

Share these resources with community members — or use them as inspiration to plan information literacy programming.

A young woman with dark brown skin and dark hair smiles outside in front of a mural while working on a laptop.

Literacy Clearinghouse

Created by the American Library Association (ALA)
A collection of resources to promote literacy (including information, digital, health, and financial literacy) for people of all ages

An older Black woman sits on a green couch and looks at a tablet.

What Is Information Literacy?

Created by Brooklyn Public Library
Videos and other resources to help people identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively

Training Resources for Professionals

Use these resources to build your own knowledge of information literacy and learn how to teach information literacy skills in your community.

An older man with light brown skin and gray hair sits on a couch and looks at a tablet.

Information Literacy Initiative

Created by the Public Library Association (PLA)
Information literacy resources for library professionals, including the award-winning Super Searchers program, frameworks for educating students about information literacy, and more

An older female teacher instructs a younger male student while they sit in two chairs facing one another.

Literacy Resources

Created by ProLiteracy
Research articles, webinars, and other resources for adult literacy instructors

An older couple sit on their couch and look at a tablet together.

Literacy Toolkits

Created by the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA)
Toolkits to help library professionals develop literacy programs and partnerships (including information, health, and financial literacy)

A blue gradient map of the United States.

U.S. Skills Map: State and County Indicators of Adult Literacy and Numeracy

Created by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Map that estimates levels of adult literacy and numeracy across the country

Four children hold 4 puzzle pieces close together, but not fully connecting them.

Literacy Gap Map

Created by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
Map that traces the relationship between adult literacy, health, income, and education across the country

A diverse group of young and older adults stand in a semi-circle with arms over each other's shoulders.

American Communities Project

Created by the American Communities Project
A project that uses data and reporting to study cultural, socioeconomic, and political changes transforming local communities in the U.S.

A smiling Black woman with dark curly hair smiles at the camera as two other woman discuss something behind her.

Community Engagement Playbook

Created by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
A playbook outlining a step-by-step approach to building community engagement

An older woman with short gray hair and light brown skin reviews files that are organized on a shelf.

Explore Census Data

Created by the U.S. Census Bureau
A central hub to explore data collected by the U.S. Census, which can help in understanding different aspects of your community and how it compares to others

A young woman with light brown skin and curly hair shows something on her tablet to a man with light brown skin, dark hair, and glasses who is seated to her right.

Data.gov

Created by the General Services Administration (GSA)
A central hub for the U.S. Government’s publicly available data, featuring data visualizations and research tools, which can help with exploring issues relevant to your community and interpreting data

A young Black man sits at a table in front of a large bookcase, smiling at something he sees on his laptop with his hands excitedly brought up to his face.

Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) Literacy Community

Created by Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT), a program of California State University Long Beach
An online community of faculty, library staff, administrators, and other stakeholders to share resources to enhance the quality of ICT teaching and learning

Evaluation Resources for Professionals

Use these tools to evaluate the impact of information literacy-related projects in your community.

A group of 6 young professionals sit in a circle talking actively.

Evaluation Resources

Created by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
A variety of program planning tools and evaluation definitions, methods, and case examples

The Program Manager’s Guide to Evaluation

Created by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
A manual on planning and implementing a program evaluation

A Black man stands with his 6 co-workers and moves sticky notes on the wall.

Toolkit to Measure Your Museum’s Social Impact

Created by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums and Thanksgiving Point
A guide for museum professionals to collect and analyze social impact data with helpful tips, checklists, best practices, and ready-to-use materials and language

Information Literacy Funding Opportunities

Check out these funding opportunities for information literacy initiatives.

Grant Programs

Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
IMLS offers a variety of grants and funding opportunities for museums, libraries, and other educational institutions

A diverse group of men and women stand together, with a young man and older woman shake hands.

Partnership Agreement Grants ENGLISH

Funded by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA)
NEA’s State and Regional Partnership Agreement Program awards grants to state and jurisdictional art agencies and regional art organizations to help everyone live more artful lives

A diverse group of female students wearing blue scrubs collaborate on a laptop.

Grants.gov ENGLISH

Created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
At Grants.gov, you can find and apply for grants from federal government agencies

Real-World Examples: Information Literacy in Action

Find out how libraries, museums, and educational institutions across the country are promoting information literacy.

An older Black man with gray hair, glasses, and wearing a suit jacket talks to someone while holding a blue clipboard.

Social Wellbeing Report

Created by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Find out how museums and libraries across the country affect the wellbeing of their communities

Decorative page from the Strengthening Networks, Sparking Change document.

Strengthening Networks, Sparking Change: Museums and Libraries as Community Catalysts

Created the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Explore case studies and conceptual frameworks for libraries, archives, and museums seeking to spark change in their communities

A young woman sits with her mother at their kitchen table to review information on an ipad.

Libraries Combating Disinformation: From the Frontline to the Long Game

Created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Open Learning Library
Explore the results of a study of 3 Montana libraries — including the informational needs and search habits of community members and the role of librarians in helping library patrons search for information effectively

3 young adults sit at a long table of iMacs, working on the computers.

Data Literacy with, for, and by Youth

Created by the Pratt Institute
Learn how informal educational organizations can empower young people in a data-centric world