SI InfoLit - Information Matters

In an age where generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Claude can produce essays, summarize research, generate code, create lesson plans, and even draft emails in seconds, one might wonder whether traditional Information Literacy remains essential. The answer is a simply “Yes”, perhaps more than ever before. While AI dramatically changes how we access, create, and interact with information, it does not replace the critical human skills needed to evaluate, interpret, contextualize, and ethically use that information. In fact, the rise of AI-generated contents make strong information literacy skills even more crucial for navigating an increasingly complex information landscape.

Original

June 3, 2026 Maísa Coelho França

How Are Brazilian Researchers Working on Information Literacy?

Information literacy has become a serious focus in scientific research and political advocacy within Brazilian Librarianship and Information Science. Since the early 2000s, Brazil has come a long way: it shifted from a simple, user education approach to studies about critical thinking, multiple perspectives, and real social commitment. Shaped by real challenges such as regional inequalities, political turbulence, and the rush to go digital, Brazilian research can’t be separated from social justice, fixing education, and keeping democracy strong.

Translation

June 3, 2026 Camilla Lyckblad

The Chatbot Will See You Now: When Access Isn’t Enough

Digital healthcare can increase convenience, reduce travel time, and make services available to more people, more quickly. Patients can access test results, book appointments, renew prescriptions, and, in many countries, read their medical records online. Yet as healthcare becomes increasingly digital, I find myself asking a different question: who is this system really designed for? More specifically, who is expected to understand it?

Opinion

June 2, 2026 Alison Hicks

Claims for Disciplinarity: If Information Literacy Is a Discipline, What Is It a Discipline Of?

What is information literacy a discipline of? This short paper outlines why we, as information literacy scholars and ex-teaching librarians, reluctantly reject both the promise and the premise of the disciplinary claim.

Featured Opinion

May 22, 2026 Elaine Kong

Beyond “Check the Source”: Information Literacy for Health Decisions in the Age of AI

For decades, the golden rule of information literacy was simple: check the source. Who wrote the article? When was it published? Does the URL end in .gov or .edu? Those questions still matter, but in today’s digital ecosystem, they are no longer enough. Modern users don’t just read static webpages; they navigate a chaotic blend of search engine snippets, algorithmic social feeds, influencer testimonials, and AI-generated summaries. In high-stakes arenas like personal health, evaluating a single “source” is no longer the primary task. The real challenge is making sense of an entire information environment.

Featured Original

May 22, 2026 Andrew Walsh

Neurodiverse Perceptions of Information Literacy

In many academic and professional settings, IL is treated as something people either possess or lack. Once someone is qualified or trained, they are often assumed to be information literate by default. In contrast, we believe that becoming information literate in the workplace is a continuous, effortful, and highly contextual process, particularly for neurodivergent people, for example, for autistic librarians in the workplace.

Original

May 13, 2026 John Budd

Information Literacy and Fulfillment: From Past to Present

It was more than fifty years ago that Paul Zurkowski (1974) coined the term “information literacy.” To be sure, education preceded that date in the form of bibliographic instruction, library instruction, and other names. That earlier instruction tended to be concentrated on assisting students and others with the rudiments of searching, locating physical items, and citing the found items properly. Zurkowski signaled a break with the past by his recognition of the complexity of ever-increasing amounts and kinds of information.

Translation

May 7, 2026 Tim Zijlstra

Opposite ends of the Tay: Collaboration between the NHS and Public Libraries in Tayside (Scotland)

Opposite Ends of the Tay explores a growing collaboration between NHS Tayside and public libraries to strengthen information literacy and support preventative, person‑centred healthcare. Set against stark health inequalities in Scotland, it argues that libraries are vital community infrastructure for enabling people to find, judge and use health information safely.