Information Literacy (IL) learning experiences: A literature review

Abstract

This paper is a review of extant literature on information literacy. The study reports literature on IL learning experiences in institutions across the globe. It also discusses the spectrum of literacy to give information literacy a context. Furthermore, the paper presents an overview of IL learning initiatives in academic environments in developed and in developing countries, and concludes that there are more IL activities in most developed countries except parts of Europe as compared to developing countries. In Africa, despite infrastructural, technological and personnel challenges, many countries have significant IL learning initiatives at individual universitiy levels, except in South Africa where there are several initiatives that are national and regional. The paper demonstrates that although IL is gaining attention in universities in Africa as a critical aspect of higher education learning, a lot needs to be done to expedite the process in terms of policy guidelines and resources to ensure adequate equipment and trained personnel. The study is important in informing trends of information literacy development and implementation in academic environments in both the developed and developing countries for comparison.