Pursuing Information Literacy

Preface

There is a Seinfeld episode in which Cosmo Kramer writes a book about coffee tables. Not only was it about coffee tables, it also served as one (it had two foldable cardboard legs on the back cover). Kramer evidently believed coffee tables were so important that, in addition to providing information on them, his book must also be able to serve as one in the event the reader did not have one.

This is similar to the way I feel about information literacy: a book about it should not only help the reader understand what it is, but also enable them to pursue it. Unlike Kramer’s book, though, which literally stands on its own, this book is dependent upon the reader; whereas a table is a stand-alone object, information literacy is an approach ...