Information Literacy for Undergraduate Business Students: Examining Value,Relevancy, and Implications for the New Century

This article examines the new-century business relevance of information literacy and why it is important for undergraduate business students. It then validates the relevance and value of the elements that make up the concept of information literacy with current business professionals (recruiters and employers). Business professionals were surveyed to reveal their (1) familiarity with the term information literacy, (2) feelings about the relevancy and value of information literacy in the business workplace, (3) perceived competency in information literacy of undergraduate business school graduates, (4) validation of cognitive difficulty elements of information literacy, and (5) reactions to other terms/phrases that more closely align with the concepts of information literacy in the business workplace. Although these business professionals were in general not familiar with the term, once they were informed of its components, they recognized and valued its processes.