History of Information Literacy

Developing an Information Literacy Mindset

The history of information literacy in the U.S. first evolved in 1974. Then president of the Information Industry Association, Paul G. Zurkowski, Esq. coined the term “information literacy” to sound an alarm of America’s unpreparedness.  We, as a nation, was not ready to handle the information and communication technology infrastructure barreling down the information superhighway.

In subsequent decades, the concept of information literacy continued to struggle to gain national acceptance as a legitimate teaching and learning tool in the classroom as well as the workplace.

However, in 2009, President Obama did issue the first presidential proclamation establishing October as National Information Literacy Awareness Month.  Information literacy practices engages the use of critical academic and workplace skills. Every American must learn them in order to become competitive in today’s digital, global marketplace.

Below are Prezi presentations outlining the historical evolution of information literacy in the United States. Also included are detail specifics on the importance of Americans developing the associated skill set.