Blackwell Library

According to Middle States:
 
"Information literacy is an intellectual framework for identifying, finding, understanding, evaluating and using information. It includes determining the nature and extent of needed information; accessing information effectively and efficiently; evaluating critically information and its sources; incorporating selected information in the learner's knowledge base and value system; using information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose; understanding the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and information technology; and observing laws, regulations, and institutional policies related to the access and use of information. Information literacy is vital to all disciplines and to effective teaching and learning in any institution"
   (Middle States Commission on Higher Education Characteristics of Excellence in Higher
    Education: Eligibility Requirements and Standards for Accreditation, 2002)
 
According to Salisbury University:

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) indicates that information literacy skills, “…apply to all disciplines in an institution’s curricula” and that “information literacy is an essential component of any educational program at the graduate or undergraduate levels.” 
 
The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) also recognizes information literacy as one of the core competencies as part of their goal for Student Centered Learning.
 
The Middle States' definition of information literacy is based upon national standards developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), which defines an information literate individual as one who is able to:
 
     ● Determine the extent of information needed;
     ● Access the needed information effectively and efficiently;
     ● Evaluate information and its sources critically;
     ● Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base;
     ● Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose;
     ● Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information,
        and access and use information; and
     ● Observe laws, regulations, and institutional policies related to the access and use of
        information.
 
Two specific Middle States standards speak directly to information literacy:
 
Standard 11: Educational Offerings
 
The institution's educational offerings display academic content, rigor, and coherence that are appropriate to its higher education mission. The institution identifies student learning goals and objectives, including knowledge and skills, for its educational offerings.
 
Relative to this standard, an accredited institution is expected to possess or demonstrate…
     ● collaboration among professional library staff, faculty, and administrators in fostering
        information literacy… …skills across the curriculum;
     ● programs that promote student use of a variety of information and learning resources...
 
…and for analysis relative to accreditation standards, should show…
     ● evidence of information literacy incorporated into the curriculum with syllabi, or other
        material appropriate to the mode of teaching and learning, describing expectations for
        students’ demonstration of information literacy skills; and
     ● assessment of information literacy outcomes, including assessment of related learner
        abilities.
 
Standard 12: General Education
 
The institution's curricula are designed so that students acquire and demonstrate college-level proficiency in general education and essential skills, including oral and written communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical analysis and reasoning, and technological competency.  What are presented as general education skills are not necessarily distinct and apart from each other.  There is an inherent relationship among these skills.  This interrelatedness is evident in the concept of “information literacy,” which embraces all of the specific general education skills.
 
Relative to this standard and for analysis toward accreditation standards, an accredited institution should show...
     ● evidence of articulated expectations of student learning outcomes for… information
        literacy… for all undergraduate degree students.
 
(Middle States Commission on Higher Education Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education: Eligibility Requirements and Standards for Accreditation, 2006)