From prescribed reading to the excitement or the burden of choice : Information literacy: foundation of e‐learning

Purpose – The paper focuses on e‐learning from an information literacy perspective and promotes the view that information literacy education needs to play a central role within any e‐learning initiative. The main aim of this paper is therefore to present the claim that e‐learning must be supported by an information literacy framework to enable an effective interaction between learners, information literacy educators and complex information environments. Design/methodology/approach – Literature‐based analysis of the main issues covered. These include: the challenges generated by the proliferation of digital information and the consequent need for information literacy education to counteract the phenomenon of information overload; the comparison of the information literacy approach promoted by Australia and the USA with the ICT‐skills approach adopted by the UK. Findings – Examples of information literacy frameworks promoted by the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Australian and New Zealand Institute are used to illustrate the strong association between the “learning‐how‐to‐learn” model, lifelong learning and the global knowledge economy. The UK perspective on e‐learning reveals a similar lifelong‐learning agenda, although in this case ICT skills, not information literacy, are identified as a priority, even though the effectiveness of lifelong‐learning competences depends on the learner's ability to interact with constantly changing information and knowledge structures. Originality/value – The paper promotes the view that a fully‐fledged information literacy education, based on nationally recognised standards, must underpin any pedagogical initiative especially in the area of e‐learning which requires the learners’ active engagement with a wide range of information sources and formats. The paper is therefore relevant to those professionals involved in the development of policy and provision at higher education level.