Information Competency

Information competency (IC) is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning (“Introduction”).

Instruction by library faculty supports CCSF Institutional Learning Outcome (ILO) #1 Critical Thinking and Information Competency:

Apply quantitative reasoning to questions or problems.
Locate, evaluate, and use information appropriately.
Use critical or creative reasoning, including diverse perspectives.

In English C1000 (see the Course Outline of Record, under Assignments), completion of five of the Library’s online research skills workshops, or a combination of online workshops and librarian-led instruction, satisfies the CCSF Information Competency Graduation Requirement.

Information Competency Initiative Chronology

CCSF Library employs the "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" to engage students in developing information competency skills. Library instruction fosters critical thinking about these concepts:

Authority is constructed and contextual
Information creation as a process
Information has value
Research as inquiry
Scholarship as conversation
Searching as strategic exploration

"Introduction.” Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Association of College & Research Libraries, 11 Jan. 2016, www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework.