Information and digital literacies: a review of concepts

The concepts of 'information literacy' and 'digital literacy' are described, and reviewed, by way of a literature survey and analysis. Related concepts, including computer literacy, library literacy, network literacy, internet literacy and hyperliteracy are also discussed, and their relationships elucidated. After a general introduction, the paper begins with the basic concept of 'literacy', which is then expanded to include newer forms of literacy, more suitable for complex information environments. Some of these, for example library, media and computer literacies, are based largely on specific skills, but have some extension beyond them. They lead to general concepts, such as information literacy and digital literacy, which are based on knowledge, perceptions and attitudes, though reliant on the simpler skills-based literacies. Introduction While there have been several reviews of the concept of 'information literacy'-see, for example Snavely and-and some comparisons with the other 'literacies' discussed here (these are noted later), there has been no previous attempt to relate this concept in the full context of all the other relevant literacies. This paper attempts to do so, with a particular emphasis on the relation between the, relatively, long-standing idea of information literacy, and the newer topic of 'digital literacy'.