Evaluation of information literacy skills of university students: Iran example

Information literacy skills are expected to continue throughout life, beginning with elementary education age. Although universities are not at the beginning of their education, they undertake important tasks for continuation of the information literacy skills for the lifetime. The question that constitutes the starting point of our research is that "What are the applications in universities in the context of information literacy in Iran?" The question that led us to further investigation is that "What are the models and recommendations to solve the problems in implementing information literacy programs in Iran in the light of contemporary developments?" Our study in the direction of the basic questions has been carried out by the help of our hypotheses that examine depending on "The reason why the information literacy curricula implemented at Tabriz University (TU) and Mashhad University (MU) in Iran are insufficient to provide information literacy skills to the students is that the lecturers, librarians, demographic characteristics; the inability to use libraries and information resources; applications and collaborations are necessary ". "When librarians and library managers' qualifications for the information literacy of the students are examined according to their point of view, there is a difference in the universities involved in the research. While there is qualification in terms of planning the research process in the TÜ students, there is a qualification in terms of evaluating and presenting the sources of information in the MÜ students. In both universities, the views of librarians and library managers on students' information literacy competences are more favorable than lecturers. But the reality is that the problems arise from the students' inadequacies of library use even if they receive academic training, the lack of use of information resources, and the lack of success in teaching information literacy." It is our basic recommendation that the conceptual model of "Information Literacy in Universities (ÜBO) " which we have developed in the context of the results obtained in our study within the scope of Tabriz University and Mashhad University in Iran, should be applied. Key Words: Information literacy, Information literacy skills in Iran universities, Information literacy standards, Information literacy models