**1. Introduction**

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges, including those in the field of education, where most learning was switched to the online format almost overnight [1, 2]. Moreover, the COVID -19 information crisis was indicative of the more general problem of information overload in academic research. To improve information retrieval capabilities, students and researchers needed to improve their information retrieval skills and the systems they used [3].

The success of transition to online learning has been conditioned by multiple factors. Adequate access to *information and communication technology* (ICT) for both students and teachers was the first prerequisite to embark on online learning [4]. That could be hindered by slow/intermittent internet connections and incompatible or outdated devices and software.

The next requirement was related to proficiency of ICT use. A collective of skills, knowledge, and attitudes, labeled as *digital competence*, enabled students to effectively, efficiently, and ethically collaborate, solve problems, and manage information [5]. The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp 2.2) provides a common understanding of what digital competence is; gives examples of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help citizens engage confidently, critically, and safely with digital technologies; and proposes that the framework be modeled after the Digital Accessibility Guidelines [6]. Today's students, the generation of so-called digital natives due to being born in the digital age, are expected to be digitally competent and handle ICT tools and applications in a natural way [7, 8]. However, that is not always the case, as some studies show [9].

In addition to access to ICT and digital literacy, other skills are crucial to navigating the vast online information landscape: knowing how to find, evaluate, process, and use information. Those are some key characteristics of the *information literacy* (IL). While the ICT and digital literacies focus primarily on skills associated with various digital technologies, IL is defined as an intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and using information [10]. Different frameworks and sets of standards of IL are in use in various countries and at various education levels. Some of the most known standards and frameworks to be applied at the university level are shown in **Table 1**.

At the university level in Slovenia, the ACRL standards/framework were adopted and translated into Slovenian language. At the basic level, the standards define IL by describing five key characteristics of an information literate student, who should be able to:



• use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose; and

#### **Table 1.**

*List of IL standards and frameworks.*

• understand the economic, legal, and social issues associated with the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.

Studies have shown that during the COVID-19 pandemic, IL had a positive effect on students' intention to use digital technologies for learning, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, habit, and hedonic motivation [18]. IL was critical not only for students but also for educators. There was a recognized need for more IL instruction for students and teachers [19, 20]. Learning success also depends on the teaching methods. Active learning methods in teaching IL were previously developed both for an online setting [21] and for large enrolment courses [22]. The appropriate use of technology for a chosen method plays a crucial role, and the applicability goes beyond the COVID-19 era.

IL and related skills are important both for the students involved in the formal learning process as well as in the daily lives of informed and responsible citizens. Studies show that digital natives are not automatically information literate [23]. Individuals with a lower level of IL, who do not possess the ability to critically evaluate information, are more susceptible to misinformation and fake news, for example, on the topics of climate change and vaccine safety. A study [24] reported that information literacy, which emphasized users' ability to find verified and reliable information, was positively associated with fake news identification, while digital and media literacy showed no significant relationship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the harmful consequences of spreading misinformation due to insufficient levels of IL became even more evident than in the past [25, 26].

Not only was the ability to judge the veracity of information by its source vital but also was the ability to find reliable and verified scientific information, accomplished with suitable information searching skills and access to credible information sources [27]. Scientific databases, where most factual information can be found, are usually subject to copyright restrictions and are not freely available to citizens, and sometimes, this even holds true for mainstream media that are tasked with informing the public [28]. University students usually have licensed access to reliable scientific databases. However, many students view the process of searching for information as laborious [29]. It is therefore critical that students be supported in developing information literacy skills, including the use of reliable scientific databases with advanced search techniques. Research [3] has established that the search skills require dedicated education and training for all three main types of searches that researchers perform: lookup searches conducted with a clear goal in mind; exploratory searches to better understand the nature of a topic; and systematic searching with the goal to identify all relevant information sources in a transparent and reproducible manner. These three types must be performed with different search methods, using search systems with specific functionalities.

IL is not a closed set of abilities, but it is related to *other abilities and characteristics of students*. A close connection exists between IL and digital literacy, as represented in DigComp framework [6] with five competence areas, which combine elements of ICT literacy and IL. There are also parallels between scientific literacy and IL [30]. Some studies have investigated the factors that can influence students' IL. A study by [31] found that the student's IL was significantly influenced by both individual subjective factors, such as information processing learning style, and external objective factors, such as social media content consumption and content creation behaviors. While no significant difference in the level of IL was found between genders, IL differed significantly between fields of study and between students with different levels of academic

achievement. In contrast, when self-reporting, boys tend to overestimate their ICT literacies, whereas girls appear to underestimate their capabilities [32]. One study [33] examined the relationship between IL and social media competence. The results showed that university students' IL and ability to use information technology to solve problems, as well as their sense of responsible behavior in cyberspace, were the most important factors in predicting students' social media competence. The implication is that enhancing university students' IL will have a positive impact on university students' social media behavior. Other research [34] examined how two emotional constructs (emotional intelligence and dispositional affect) and two cognitive constructs (motivation and coping skills) were related to students' IL. The results of correlation and regression analyses showed that emotional intelligence and motivation significantly predicted students' IL outcomes. Another study [35] studied the predictors of medical students' IL self-efficacy skills. Results suggested that emotional intelligence subconstructs (appraising own emotions, appraising others' emotions, and using emotions) had a statistically significant positive impact on students' IL self-efficacy.
