Information Literacy can be termed as a set of individual abilities to identify, retrieve, evaluate and use information that is appropriate to a particular requirement. It is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society.
To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. The information literate individuals are those who have learned how to learn. Scholars who develop information literacy skills will be more successful in their studies and their daily lives. These skills are an essential element in becoming a lifelong learner. An Information Literate student is one who is able to:
• Recognise his information requirements
• Analyse and formulate queries based on his information requirements;
• Identify and locate potential sources of information;
• Design, develop and successfully use various search strategies;
• Evaluate information gathered from various sources and in various formats;
• Use information in critical thinking and problem solving;
• Use information ethically;
• Integrate new information into the existing body of knowledge;
• Effectively communicate the knowledge and ideas with rest of the world;