Learning to Learn: A Guide to Becoming Information Literate (Teens the Library Series)

Today's students and workers need everyday skills only dreamed of by their parents and grandparents. Knowing how to "use" a computer or the Internet is no longer enough.

This user-friendly, step-by-step guide is designed to help students from middle school through the beginning college level master the essential information literacy skills and become effective, efficient learners. Learning to Learn covers the entire process of the research experience from choosing a topic and learning how to explore it effectively, to using the library and its resources, evaluating sources, understanding copyright and plagiarism, and how to write the paper. From start to finish, the book and its companion web site allow the user to move through the research process proficiently. Along the way original exercises reinforce the discussion using the individual student's unique ideas and interests. Users will develop an understanding of what "information literacy" has come to mean. They will also learn how to locate the "right" information, use traditional and online libraries, evaluate and identify authoritative sources, cite them properly, and turn the research paper into something that displays their own ideas and ingenuity. A special chapter is devoted to intellectual property, copyright, and plagiarism.

Instructors can expand and modify any of the lessons using different web sites and a variety of teaching methods.

Ann Marlow Riedling is a graduate of Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in education; a graduate of the University of Georgia with a master's degree in library science and educational technology; and a graduate of the University of Louisville with a doctorate in educational administration and information technology.

She has worked in library science and educational technology since 1974, and she is currently serving as associate professor and departmental chair of the School of Library and Information Science at Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky.