Webber, S. (2006) “Information Literacy in Higher Education.” In: Stopar, K. and Rabzeljl. (Eds) Informacijska Pismenost med teorijo in prakso: vloga visokošolskih in specialnih knjižnic: Zbornik prispevkov. [Information Literacy between theory and practice: The role of academic and special libraries: Proceedings.] Ljubljana: ZBDS. pp9-20. Information Literacy in Higher Education Sheila Webber Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/ Abstract The paper aims to review approaches to information literacy in Higher Education, discuss the relationship between academics and librarians, and propose the concept of the Information Literate University as part of a vision for the future. The author starts by defining information literacy and identifying key models, in particular the SCONUL 7 Pillar model. She describes information literacy issues from a number of perspectives: the national, institutional and programme perspective, and in terms of the conceptions of pedagogy and information literacy held by the people teaching the courses. This leads to a brief discussion of selected approaches to IL teaching, learning and assessment. Librarians sometimes troubled relationship with academics is identified with references to the literature. Finally, a model for the Information Literate University of the future is described 1 Introduction: Defining information literacy In this paper I will discuss approaches to education for information literacy, some of the challenges to information literacy education and my own vision of information literacy in higher education. I will begin by noting what I mean by information literacy, and by identifying the information literacy model that I use in my teaching. The definition of information literacy developed by me and my colleague Bill Johnston, an educationalist who teaches at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, is: “the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to obtain, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, together with critical awareness of the importance of wise and ethical use of information in society.” (Johnston and Webber, 2004, 3) To expand on this: • “appropriate information behaviour” means that the information literate person is aware of what his/her information “habits” are, and is able to adapt his/her information behaviour depending on the nature of the information need. • “whatever channel or medium” acknowledges that people need many different kinds of information. For example, people are sometimes a good source of information, books may be best in other circumstances, numeric data may sometimes be appropriate. • “wise and ethical use of information in society” means that information literate people are aware of the way in which information may be culturally sensitive, or politically meaningful. It also means that they are aware of legal issues such as copyright. The framework for information literacy which I use in my teaching is the SCONUL “7 Pillars of information literacy” model (SCONUL Task Force, 1999).