Information and Media Literacy Toolkit
In his second budget address, Governor Josh Shapiro charged the Department of Education and our Office of Commonwealth Libraries with developing resources to help schools incorporate information literacy into all aspects of learning so that our youngest Pennsylvanians have the skills to navigate the world around them. As more and more Pennsylvanians turn to digital sources for news and information, it’s more important than ever that students be equipped with the skills to discern between fact and fiction online. Information literacy is a vital component of the high-quality academic standards taught across the Commonwealth. These new resources will not replace those standards. Rather, we will provide tools that schools can use to enhance existing lessons and empower the next generation of Pennsylvanians.
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Overview/Rationale
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National Events
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Commonwealth Resources
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Organizations/Online Communities
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Guides/Manuals/Toolkits
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Digital Citizenship Resources
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Fact-Checking Tools
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Educator Resources
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Family Resources
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Key Terminology
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The following terminology was compiled from (the) Information Literacy Glossary - Research & Course Guides at State University of New York at Oneonta and Digital Wellness Lab Glossary.
Access Point: Particular way of looking up information in an access tool, for example, author, title, subject.
Access Tools: Reference sources that lead to materials in which the information needed can be found, such as databases, indexes, and catalogs.
Citation: Entry composed of elements needed to locate a source of information, sometimes referred to as a bibliographic citation.
Course Reserves: Materials that instructors set aside for the students in a class to read, including but not limited to books, DVDs, and articles.
Database: Organized collection of information in electronic form, often used to refer to a computerized index (a systematic guide to the contents of an information source, particularly periodicals), which often includes the full text of cited items. Libraries subscribe to databases like they subscribe to journals and often limit user access. A database is a type of access tool and might be referred to as a subscription or fee-based database in contrast to a free database or a website.
Data Set: A collection of data from a single source or intended for a single project.
Digital citizenship – The responsible, safe, and respectful internet and technology use.
Digital wellness – An intentional state of physical, mental, and social health that occurs with mindful engagement with the digital and natural environment.
Disinformation – Content or statements that spread false or inaccurate information with the deliberate intent to mislead or manipulate.
Evidence-based – Refers to the systematic decision-making process, and actions or activities are undertaken using the best research available. Evidence-based practice aims to remove, as far as possible, subjective opinions, unfounded beliefs, or biases from organizational decisions and actions.
Fact – A true statement verified or proven with research and evidence.
Fake news – False or misleading information masquerading as legitimate news.
Field: Part of a record used for specific information about the source, for example, author, title, and subject. Fields allow users to find sources of information by using specific access points, such as author, title, or subject, when searching access tools.
Generative AI (genAI) – Artificial intelligence system designed to process user prompts and respond with text, images, audio, or other output modeled on an existing training data set.
Information Environment: The aggregate of individuals, organizations, and systems that collect, process, disseminate, or act on information.
Information Life Cycle: The stages through which information passes, typically characterized as creation or collection, processing, dissemination, use, storage, and disposition, including destruction and deletion.
Information Literacy: A collection of skills demonstrating that an individual can recognize when and what information is needed and then critically and reliably search for, retrieve, analyze, and use that information.
Internet: Network of computer networks throughout the world
Keyword Search: Provides results based upon a straightforward match between the search term and word(s) appearing anywhere in the record for an information source.
Media literacy – The ability to consume, engage with, and create media critically.
Misinformation – Content or statements that spread false or inaccurate information, with or without the intent to mislead.
Monograph: Single-volume books providing in-depth research into a single subject or part of a subject. Monographs are geared toward an academic audience and are intended to contribute to a broader body of knowledge in an academic discipline. These books are also sometimes referred to as scholarly monographs.
Peer-Reviewed: A review process by others in the field to evaluate the validity and integrity of the information.
Periodical: Publication that appears regularly, of which newspapers, magazines, and journals are types.
Popular Source/Magazine: Periodical intended for general readership.
Primary Source: Information created close to the original event or phenomenon. For example, a photograph or video of an event is a primary source. Data from an experiment is a primary source.
Record: Entry in an access tool that provides the information needed to identify a source
Receptive screen use – Watching or reading screen-based media that doesn’t require thinking or active engagement, such as scrolling through social media feeds or watching videos online. (see also: Passive screen use)
Scholarly Source/Journal: (referred/peer-reviewed) Periodical containing scholarly information or research reports. When articles submitted for publication are read by other experts in the field, a journal is labeled as refereed or peer-reviewed.
Search Engine/Subject Directory: Search mechanism for locating information on the World Wide Web, with the former providing results based on computer-matched terms and the latter providing results based upon the human assignment of subject terms to websites.
Secondary Source: Information about or interpreting/analyzing a primary source, such as articles or books written about a previous, original study.
Style Manual: Guide to formatting citations of external sources in both the text and in the bibliography of a paper. The most common citation styles are APA, MLA, and the Chicago Manual of Style, though others exist, especially for specific disciplines, such as Chemistry.
Subject Search: Provides results based upon a match between the search term and the subject(s)/descriptor(s) assigned to a particular information source.
Tertiary Source: Information that summarizes or synthesizes the research in secondary sources. For example, textbooks and reference books are tertiary sources.
World Wide Web: Hypertext linking of information on the Internet.
