Information Literacy

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives wants to help you gain a better understanding of information literacy and further your skills in this crucial area. In an age where there are myriad sources of information, unending news coverage, and a vast, often unregulated digital world, how can you tell which sources to trust to give you reliable information? Our interactive, online collections are dedicated to helping users think critically about how they identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively. These can be helpful to learners of all ages but are geared toward grades 6-12 and highlight the following learning standards: understanding primary sources, author point of view or bias, fact versus opinion, summarizing/synthesizing/analyzing text, citing textual evidence, paraphrasing versus plagiarizing, researching with various media/sources, and assessing credibility and accuracy of text. Please explore our ever-growing collections on information literacy!

The Smithsonian: A Trusted Source

 A Trusted Source of Information for 175 Years

Increasing Knowledge

 Increasing Knowledge

Diffusing Knowledge

 Diffusing Knowledge

Vetted Media Resources

Vetted Media Sources

Research Case Study

Research Case Study

Primary Sources

Primary Sources