SESSION 7:

INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION LITERACY

Lecture Outline
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Learning Outcomes
7.3 Definition of Information Literacy
7.4 Information Sources
7.4.1 Primary sources
7.4.2 Secondary sources
7.4.3 Tertiary sources
7.5 Classification and arrangement of materials in the library
7.6 Use of the Catalogue
7.7 Summary
7.8 Self-Assessment Questions
7.9 References and Further Reading

7.1 Introduction
Welcome to this first lecture in Information Literacy. In this lecture, we shall first look at
the definition of information literacy after which we shall have a brief examination of
information sources and how they are categorized. We shall then look at the
characteristics of various types of information sources- primary, secondary and
tertiary. Lastly, we shall look at classification and arrangement of materials in the
library and the tools used to search for information materials e.g. the catalogue.

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 7.2 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
1. Define information literacy.
2. Categorize types of information sources.
3. Describe primary, secondary and tertiary sources of
information.

7.3 Information Literacy

The word literacy is not new to us. The layman’s understanding of the word literacy is
the ability to read and write. According to UNESCO, literacy is more than just being
able to read and write. It is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create,
communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with
varying contexts.

UNESCO defines information literacy as the capacity of people to recognize their

information needs; locate and evaluate the quality of information; store and retrieve
information; make effective and ethical use of information and apply information to
create and communicate knowledge.
Generally, Information Literacy has been defined as a set of abilities to “recognize when
information is needed and to have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use needed
information effectively.” All people need to be prepared for lifelong learning and
teaching individuals appropriate information skills will be a major progression in that
direction. Information Literacy endeavors are just beginning and more work is needed
to understand the complexity, long-term effects and importance of preparing people for
effective information work.
To be information literate means that you are capable of recognizing when information
is needed and being able to locate, evaluate, and use needed information effectively. We

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locate, evaluate and use information from information sources. In the next section, we
are going to look at what information sources are.

7.4 Information Sources

An information source is a person, thing, or place from which information comes,
arises, or is obtained.

Which sources do you mostly rely on for information?

Information resources or sources are basically the materials in which information is

recorded. They are the carriers of information.
Information resources can be categorized on the basis of format and content.
(a) Categorization On the Basis of Format
Using this criterion, information resources can be classified as either printed or
electronic. Information centres have traditionally been known to collect and store
printed materials such as books, journals and other periodicals.
However, due to advances in information and communication technology, the way
information is being produced, repackaged and disseminated has greatly changed over
the past decade. A lot of information is now available in digital format through the
Internet and other electronic media as much as it is available in print.
Electronic resources are relatively new but since their advent (which has been
largely as a result of developments in information and communication
technologies), their usage has surpassed that of their printed counterparts.
Information centres tend to prefer electronic collections for many reasons, including,
but not limited to, the following:
a) digital(electronic) journals and books can be linked from and to indexing
and abstracting databases;

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 b) access can be from the user's home, office, or dormitory whether or not the
physical library is open;
c) the library can get usage statistics that are not available for print collections
d) digital collections save space and are relatively easy to maintain. When total
processing and space costs are taken into account, electronic collections may
also result in some overall reductions in costs.
e) convenience- users can access articles any time from their desktop computer
f) timeliness, and
g) the ability to search text- users can search using many keywords and even
combining them to refine their searches.

(b) Categorization On the Basis of Content

In terms of content, information sources may be categorized into primary, secondary
or tertiary:

7.4.1 Primary sources

Primary sources are original materials. They are from the time period involved
and have not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation. Primary sources
are original materials on which other research is based. They are usually the first
formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic format. They present
original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information. Primary
materials also include research results generated by experiments, which are
published as journal articles in some fields of study and sets of data, such as
census statistics which have been tabulated, but not interpreted.
Examples include:

• Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all
from the time under study);
• Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
• Diaries;

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 • Internet communications on email, listservs etc;
• Interviews
• Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications;
• Letters;
• Newspaper articles written at the time;
• Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage certificate);
• Patents;
• Photographs
• Minutes of Meetings, conferences and symposia proceedings;
• Speeches;
• Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);

7.4.2 Secondary sources

They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources
are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence. They
describe or analyze the primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include:
dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and books and articles that interpret or
review research works.

7.4.3 Tertiary sources

Tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation and collection of
primary and secondary sources. They list, compile, digest or index primary or
secondary sources. Examples of tertiary resources include indexes, abstracts,
bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary sources; handbooks, digests
and almanacs.

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 Take Note
Primary sources are original sources of information. Secondary
sources are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources
while tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation
and collection of primary and secondary sources.

7.5 Classification and arrangement of materials in the library

If you have visited or used any library, you may have noticed that materials are
arranged in a particular order. The reason for this is to enable users to be able to quickly
locate and find materials in their areas of interest. Can you imagine if all materials were
just placed on the shelves without any particular order? It would be chaotic!

In most libraries, materials are organized and arranged on the shelves depending on
their subject content. Each subject is allocated a specific code or number that represents
it. This is what we call classification. It is this code or number that determines where a
particular material is placed on the shelves.
University libraries use a system of classification known as the Library of Congress
Classification Scheme (LCC). This system divides all knowledge into twenty-one basic
classes, each identified by a single letter of the alphabet. Most of these alphabetical
classes are further divided into more specific subclasses, identified by two-letter, or
occasionally three-letter, combinations.

Look at the example in Fig 1. In this example, the number or code LB 2395.C65 1991 is
called the call number. This number will appear in the catalogue record for the
particular book it represents as well as the spine of the book itself. A call number is like
an address; it tells you where the book is located on the shelf. The first two lines (LB
2395.C65) indicate the subject of the book.

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The third line often represents the author's last name and the last line represents the
date of publication.

Fig. 1: Call number

7.6 Use of the Catalogue

A catalogue is a list of all bibliographic items found in a particular library or group

of libraries. Bibliographic items are simply materials that contain information e.g.
books, periodicals, maps, video recordings, sound recordings, etc. A catalogue may
be manual or online. The manual catalogue is slowly becoming obsolete and is being
replaced by online public access catalogue (OPAC).

The catalogue assists the user in finding relevant information materials if he/she
knows the author or title or the subject of the required material. By providing the
details of the material together with the call number, the catalogue will lead the
reader to the right information source.

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Assignment
Visit any library near you and use their catalogue to locate at least
five books on a subject area of your choice.

7.7 Summary

In this session, we have seen that information literacy is a set of

abilities to recognize when information is needed and to have the
ability to locate, evaluate, and use needed information effectively.
As a learner, we expect you to develop the skills to be able to
independently identify a need for information, know where to
find that information, use various mechanisms provided to get
that information and eventually use the information to gain
knowledge. There are various types of information resources-
primary, secondary and tertiary- and therefore understanding
their various characteristics is important so that you can know the
kind of information resource to go for in order to complete a given
task e.g. a class assignment.

7.8 Review Activity

1. What do you understand by the term information literacy?

2. Describe primary, secondary and tertiary sources of
information.
3. Explain how you would find a book on a given subject in the
library.

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7.9 References and Further Reading
1. Grassian, E.S & Kaplowitz, J.R. (2009). Information Literacy
Instruction: Theory and Practice. 2nd Edition. London : Neal-
Schuman Publishers.
2. Armstrong, S. (2017). Information literacy : Separating fact from
fiction. ProQuest Ebook
Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com