Information Literacy encompasses a range of key skills; it develops employability, supports widening participation and retention activities. 

There are a number of definitions of Information Literacy, although these all share the same basic characteristics. 

In its Higher Education Competency Standards for 2000 the US based Association of College and Research Libraries defined information literacy as,

“an intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and using information—activities which may be accomplished in part by fluency with information technology, in part by sound investigative methods, but most important, through critical discernment and reasoning”.

According to their definition the information literate person must be,

“…able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information”

[Taken from Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education by Association of College and Research Libraries (a division of the American Library Association), January 18, 2000. ]

These standards were endorsed by the American Association for Higher Education and the Council of Independent Colleges in February, 2004.  

If you want more background on this project look at the American Library Association web page on Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm.

Information Literacy in the UK

CILIP  (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) define information literacy as:

"Information Literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner".

In this country recent research across the sector has established new models which characterise the skills and attributes an information literate person should have.  The JISC funded “Big Blue” project managed jointly by Manchester Metropolitan University Library and Leeds University Library is such a model.  

For more background see the Big Blue Project website
http://www.library.mmu.ac.uk/bigblue/bigblue.html.