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"We live in a blizzard of information without wisdom, content without context, and are being pulled a million ways by tech toys and a zillion cable channels and the multitudinous blogs. A white noise of data is the ambient soundtrack of our lives."

 

-John Schwartz, "Weapons of Mass Distraction" The New York Times

 

 

 

 

"The Greatest problem facing us today is how to organize information into structured knowledge. We must rise above the obsession with quantity of information and speed of transmission, and focus on the fact that the key issue for us is our ability to organize the information once it has been amassed, to assimilate it, to find meaning in it, and to assure its survival. And that can not be done without reading and literacy."

 

-Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of  New  York, Keynote Address at the White House Conference on School Libraries, 2002.

 

 

 

 

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."

 

-Samuel Johnson

 

 

 

What is Information Fluency?

 

Information Fluency is a term used to describe and understand a range of skills dealing with an individual's ability to:

 

1.  Determine the nature and extent of an information need;

2.  Locate and access information from print, electronic, and audio-visual systems;

3.  Accurately evaluate information in any format;

4.  Effectively organize and use information to complete a predefined task;

5.  Understand the ethical, legal and social issues that influence the way in which human society makes use the information available.

 

Some educators refer to this area of instruction as "Information Literacy" or "Information Competency."  Whatever terminology is used, these core skills are critical to student success during undergraduate education and beyond. In fact, Information Fluency skills are recognized as fundamental in the guiding documents of most major academic accreditation bodies.

 

 

Maritime Academy Students:

 

All students require the core information fluency skills above in order to navigate the world of information. However, Maritime students have a unique set of Information Fluency Needs.  For example:

 

¯Shipping-industry statistics, cargo data and routes

 

¯Finding and interpreting marine accident reports

 

¯Locating and reading nautical maps and charts

 

¯Navigating U.S. government and legal documents related to shipping & navigation regulations, such as the United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register

 

¯Accessing maritime treaties and conventions

 

¯Utilizing tidal tables, light lists, nautical charts & almanacs.

 

The Information Fluency Program aims to offer orientation to all maritime students in these general areas, while simultaneously working address the specific needs of students pursuing degrees in all 6 disciplines offered at the Academy:

 

Marine Transportation | Mechanical Engineering | Facilities Engineering Technology | Marine Engineering Technology | Business Administration | and Global Studies & Maritime Affairs.

 

 

CSU Information Competency Initiatives:

 

Cal Maritime Academy is part of the California State University System (CSU), which has been cultivating a strong network of Information Fluency programs and resources since the early 1990s. Information concerning other CSU campus libraries, programs, and information fluency practices can be found online @ http://www.calstate.edu/LS/infocomp.shtml

 

Programs at other Maritime Academies:

 

SUNY Maritime Academy

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

U.S. Naval Academy

 

 
     
© 2009 California Maritime Academy