Re-Conceptualizing access: The new role of information literacy in post-secondary education

Abstract

In this paper, the authors propose a new conceptual model of access in which information literacy plays a vital role in understanding and utilizing information to its fullest potential. The traditional approach, for which access to information is equated to a static item (such as a computer lab or a list of links on a website), limits post-secondary students in their capacity to effectively navigate through the ever expanding plethora of information. This new model, in which technological and information literacies are equally combined to form a true access outcome, offers a simple framework for post-secondary institutions to re-conceptualize access.