Library 101

In today's world, it can be fairly common to experience information overload. The sheer volume of information and the rate at which it changes can be overwhelming. Managing information therefore is an essential skill for both life and work. That's where information literacy comes in.

Information Literacy means being able to recognize when information is needed and having the ability to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively (American Library Association, 1989).

To put it another way, an information literate individual needs to know when information is needed, and how to access, use and evaluate that information, all in a ethical and legal way (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2000). As you might guess, information literacy involves researching, but it also includes critical thinking. It goes beyond a simple set of skills, helping to develop a process of lifelong learning that is applicable outside of the classroom or library. Think, for example, about buying yourself a new bike (or set of skis, or running shoes, or what have you). First you would probably want to know the different types and styles available. Then you would want to know how much each one costs. You might search on the internet or go to local stores to browse. Once you decide to make a purchase, you would want to make sure that you are purchasing from a reputable dealer. Finally, in telling people about your great new bike (or skis, or shoes) you would never claim to have built it yourself, you would tell everyone exactly where you got it! This process is just as important when writing a research paper as when buying a bicycle.

Most people use the internet daily and probably assume that they have good information literacy skills. However, you will need advanced information literacy skills for graduate school and clinical practice. This tutorial will introduce you to the concepts of information literacy and evidence-based practice, and guide you through using the FNU Library.

You probably know that you will need to do research for papers and assignments as a graduate nursing student, but information literacy will be important to you as a nurse-midwife or nurse practitioner as well. You will need these skills to stay abreast of the most current research for your own professional development and to implement current evidence-based approaches in the clinical setting (Morgan, 2007). Evidence-based practice (EBP) makes this need especially crucial. “The health care fields are now demanding a more research-based approach to nursing and health care” (Morgan, 2007, p. 42). EBP relies on having the most current research, and as an advanced practice nurse, you will need to know how to find and evaluate that research. Susan Pierce, an associate professor at Northwestern State University of Louisiana College of Nursing, when interviewed for the Faculty Matters column in Nursing Education Perspectives, points out that, “without information literacy knowledge and skills, nurses cannot conduct evidence-based practice…” (2005, p. 266).

You will need to be familiar with the following terms to begin using library resources:

• Abstract: A brief, objective summary of the essential content of a work that presents the main points but has no independent literary value (may be written by the author).
• Bibliographic Record: an entry representing a specific item in a catalog or database, containing all the data elements necessary for a full description of the item.
• Catalog: A comprehensive list of the books, periodicals, maps, and other materials in a given collection, arranged in systematic order to facilitate retrieval (usually alphabetically by author, title, and/or subject).
• Citation: a written reference to a specific work or portion of a work (book, article, etc.), clearly identifying how the work is to be found.  A citation usually contains the following elements:
  • Book - author, title, publication location, publisher, publication date
  • Article - author, title, source, volume, date, page numbers
• Database: Any grouping of data for a particular purpose or for the use of a particular set of End users, usually organized via Fields, and providing tools to enable manipulation of the data such as sorting, grouping and extraction.  Normally stored on computer files, a database might contain bibliographic data, or numerical, statistical material, etc., and may be assembled and marketed commercially, or by an organization, library, or individual.  Access to an online database may be obtained via a Host.
  A simpler definition of a database is: a structured collection of information organized so you can retrieve it through a computer system.
• Interlibrary Loan: A book or other item is loaned between libraries.
• Periodical: A magazine, journal, newspaper, or annual publication which is published at regular intervals.
• Subject heading: the most specific word or phrase that describes the subject (or one of the subjects) of a work, selected from a list of preferred terms or controlled vocabulary and assigned as an added entry in the bibliographic record to serve as an access point.

All definitions taken or paraphrased from Harrod’s Librarians’ Glossary, 8th ed. or ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.

American Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final report. https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. http://hdl.handle.net/11213/7668

Faculty matters. (2005). Nursing Education Perspectives, 26(5), 266-267. 

Harrod, L. M., & Prytherch, R. J. (1995). Harrod's librarians' glossary: 9,000 terms used in information management, library science, publishing, the book trades, and archive management. Gower.

Morgan, P. D., Fogel, J., Hicks, P., Wright, L., & Tyler, I. (2007). Strategic enhancement of nursing students' information literacy skills:  Interdisciplinary perspectives. ABNF Journal, 18(2), 40-45. 

Reitz, J.M. (2007). ODLIS – Online dictionary for library and information science. http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_A.aspx.