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Information literacy, as defined by various sources including the American Library Association and the Prague Declaration, is the ability to identify information needs, locate and evaluate sources, and use information effectively and ethically. This encompasses skills like understanding information organization, using research techniques, and applying information to create knowledge. The importance of information literacy stems from its role in problem-solving, decision-making, and lifelong learning. In today's information-rich environment, it's crucial for independent learning, bridging the information gap, and fostering critical thinking for economic and cultural progress. Information literacy also addresses copyright and authorship concerns. Key dimensions include media literacy (accessing, analyzing, and creating media), network literacy (computer and network skills), digital literacy (using digital devices), scientific literacy (understanding scientific concepts), and visual literacy (interpreting visual information). Ultimately, information literacy empowers individuals and enables participation in society.

Definition of Information Literacy
According to the American Library Association, information literacy as a
set of abilities empowering individuals to recognise when information is
needed and to be able to locate it, evaluate it and use it effectively. The
Presidential Committee on Information Literacy also defined information
literacy as a set of skills, which requires an individual to: “recognise when
information is needed and can locate, evaluate, and use effectively the
needed information.”
The Prague Declaration (2003) states that information literacy is the ability
to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is
organised, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate
those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It
is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques. “Information
literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all
professions, to all learning environments, and all levels of education. It
enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become
more self-directed, and assume greater control over their learning.”
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As derived from the Alexandria Proclamation of 2005, adopted by
UNESCO’s Information for all Programme (IFAP), Information Literacy is
the capacity of people to:
· Recognise 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.
3.3 Functions and Importance of Information Literacy
In the present days, understanding information literacy is very important
because it encourages problem-solving approaches, thinking skills, asking
questions and seeking answers. Information literacy helps you to find
needed information, evaluate sources and helps to foster decision making.
Information Literacy is the set of aids required to find, retrieve, analyse and
use information. As a result of information explosion due to the advent of
technology, it became increasingly clear that you cannot learn all you need
to know in your field of study at the university as well as in your place of
employment. Information literacy tends to equip us with the critical skills
necessary to become independent lifelong learners. Too often we assume
that since we can write research papers and read textbooks that are gaining
information literacy skills unfortunately this is incorrect.
The American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information
Literacy (January 10, 1989, Washington, D.C) states that “Ultimately,
information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They
know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organised, how to
find information and how to use information in such a way that others can
learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning because
they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at
hand”.
The Importance of Information literacy has been summed up by Bound as
“Information Literacy is a prerequisite for participative citizenship, social
inclusion, the creation of new knowledge, knowledge sharing, personal
empowerment and learning for life”. Importance of information literacy is
listed as follows:
 information literacy is needed to understand the difficult question of
ownership of information and copyright
 students should learn to respect the author’s right
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 to be an independent lifelong learner it is essential to achieve a high
level of information literacy
 information literacy is to help close the gap between the information
poor and the information-rich
 Information literacy is required to have a critical thinking approach,
that would lead to the economic and cultural progress of any nation
 a sheer abundance of information in electronic format has made
information literacy increasingly important
3.4 Dimensions of Information Literacy
Media Literacy: this is the ability to access, analyse, evaluate and create
media or some of the skills needed to know when and what information is
needed, where and how to find that information, how to evaluate it
critically and organise it once it is found and how to use it ethically. The
concept extends beyond professional and educational boundaries
Network Literacy: this is an emerging digital literacy which deals with
computer and network skills. It helps populations to participate in the
networked society. Web Literacy relates a subset of information literacy
which requires the ability to access, search, utilize, communicate and create
information on the World Wide Web (WWW).
Digital Literacy: this is very significant in the current context, Digital
Literacy deals with the knowledge, skills and behaviour of the users in a
wide range of digital devices such as smartphones, laptops desks tops.
Scientific Literacy: this deals with the knowledge and understanding of
scientific concepts and processes needed for personal decision making,
participation in civic and cultural affairs and economic productivity. It also
includes specific types of abilities. In the National Science Education
Standards, the content standards define scientific literacy
Visual Literacy: this is the ability to understand the information in the
form of graphics, images, and presentations and interpret the same. This
includes thinking, learning, and expressing oneself in terms of image,
photographs, cartoons, line drawings, diagrams, concept maps, and other
visual representations are all important in visual literacy; and Critical
literacy i.e., the ability to evaluate critically the human, intellectual and
social strengths, limits, benefits and costs of it.