Information-Literacy Quotes

On the information-literacy and instruction listserv, several librarians shared the following quotes about the need for information literacy in today's world.

"We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely."

by E. O. Wilson from Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge

It is not the finding of a thing, but the making of something out of it after it is found that is of consequence.

by James Russell Lowell in My Study Windows

"My guess is about 300 years until computers are as good as, say, your local reference library in doing search," says Craig Silverstein. "But we can make slow and steady progress, and maybe one day we'll get there."

by Craig Silverstein, Google's Director of Technology and Google Employee #1

How important do think information-literacy competency skills are in today's society?