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Date: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 12:32 PM

Student Information Literacy Survey Results Now Freely Available

Survey Developed by Librarians and Sponsored by Credo  Finds Students Lack
Basic Skills Critical to Lifelong Success

April 8, 2013, Boston, Oxford – Credo, the industry leader for
information skills solutions, today announced that the results of an
information literacy survey of over 1,500 students from more than 400
institutions worldwide are now freely available. Anyone may register for a
free copy, along with a paper authored by Dr. Allen McKiel, Dean of Library
Services at Western Oregon University at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Survey_Results. Additionally, Credo will be
unveiling results at ACRL during a breakfast discussion on 11 April 2013.

“The students’ answers were quite revealing,” said Mike Sweet, Credo’s CEO.
“All of the questions were submitted by librarians and many addressed
themes that other information skills studies have attempted to address. By
layering librarian-suggested questions with pedagogical theories related to
assessment, we were able to see exactly where students fall short in the
application of information skills. We hope that these results empower
librarians to help students in this key area of need.”

“Information literacy skills are essential for successfully articulating
college assignments and even more critical to effective civic and
workforce participation,” commented Dr. McKiel. “The survey provides a
window into student values, perceptions and uses of information resources,
which includes how they find out about resources, and where they go for
help. The survey results are particularly relevant to the provision of
instruction to improve student understanding of and skill in accessing and
using information resources.”

Among other key findings, the survey found:

*  74% of students gave “reliability” of sources the highest importance,
but 24% did not value a peer-reviewed journal over a memoir as an
authoritative source.

*  Just over 80% of students feel prepared to conduct research, but only
16% feel very prepared to do research.

*  Though many students are aware of the wealth of resources available
through the library, 69% of students use open web source regularly or
almost always while conducting research.

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About Credo

A 2013 SIIA CODiE award winner, Credo believes that everyone deserves
the ability to learn and the opportunity to succeed.

To help people achieve their academic, professional and personal goals,
Credo partners with libraries, educators, publishers and technology
providers to deliver solutions for developing information skills. Founded
in 1999, Credo has offices in Boston and the UK. For additional information
about Credo and its Literati solutions please visit
http://corp.credoreference.com.

Media Contact:

Mary Kay Jezzini, 212.352.1401
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References

1. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Survey_Results
2. http://corp.credoreference.com/