Reading Report #5

Title:  Information Navigation 101

 Author: Andrea L. Foster

             The article “Information Navigation 101” is about the current increase in the number of sources that can be used for finding information and how little students actually use them.  The author is from Cal State Fullerton and tells how they have classes at the California State Universities that help teach students how to find scholarly material that is legitimate.  This was the beginning of the information literacy movement that has now fled all over the country.  Foster defines this movement as “a growing librarian-led movement to make students more adept at locating and evaluating electronic data.”  The article continues on telling about the history of information literacy and what other universities are doing to help inform students of electronic resources.  

            I think this movement is a great idea that is very necessary for many reasons.  I know that I have made it almost all the way through my undergraduate degree and have never used online resources unless it was required.  I do understand that electronic data is very valuable and it is a great idea to inform students early in their college life about these great resources.  I think classes and tests of this nature should be part of a basic studies curriculum so students are forced to take them.  When you consider how much money libraries spend on these databases it only makes sense that the students should use them.  Throughout this class I have learned the importance of good research and the information literacy movement has convinced me that electronic data is very useful.