Books have been written about what literacy is. This brief article has a limited, but complicated, answer to "What is literacy?" Because the meaning of "literacy" now has so many variations, when using it, it's a good idea to define the meaning and explain the context. You may have noticed over the past several years that "literacy" is used in some surprising ways, often as a metaphor for "beginning level" or "introduction to" something. I have been tracking the range of these uses of the word. Not including traditional definitions that mean reading, or reading and writing of hard copy text, or that refer to highly-literate contexts ("literati literacy"?), I have seen 44 different uses of "literacy". Most are metaphors or types of literacy.
For your edification or amusement here they are in alphabetical order and when possible they are followed by a link to an article in which I saw the term used; those that are not followed by a link had one that, in the ephemeral world of the Web, has disappeared.
Agricultural Literacy
https://www.agliteracy.org/research/defining/
AI Literacy
http://www.dailyuw.com/science/article_f5eac95a-5ffa-11ea-9ae2-fbc1f7840c87.html and
https://bluntrochester.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20231215aibill.pdf
Algorithm Literacy
Artificial Intelligence Literacy
Balanced Literacy (found under Developmental literacy)
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Cancer Literacy
Civic Literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining and
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Climate Literacy
https://www.sierraclub.org/san-francisco-bay/climate-literacy
Coding and computational literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Consumer Literacy
https://ocgnews.com/teens-rockdale-extension4-h-club-place-national-consumer-literacy-competition/
Content Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Critical Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Cultural Literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Data Literacy
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2020/1/data-literacy-how-create and
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining and
https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/12/data-literacy-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/
Death literacy
https://www.montclairlocal.news/2020/01/17/death-literacy-film-bevival-montclair-nj/
Developmental Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Digital Health Literacy
Digital literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Disciplinary Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Early Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Electoral Literacy
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1988846
Emotional Literacy
Financial literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Food literacy
“We define food literacy as understanding the impact of your food choices on your health, the environment and the economy.” http://www.sactownmag.com/December-January-2020/Food-Literacy-Center-CEO-Amber-Stott/ and https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-12740-w and
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09-adult-food-literacy-nutrition-habits.html
Functional Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Geo-literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Health Literacy
https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html
Health Insurance Literacy
Historical literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Information Literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining and
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Integrity Literacy
Longevity Literacy
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/long-live-most-people-dont-112000237.html
Media Literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining and
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Multicultural Literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining and
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
News Literacy
Physical Literacy
https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=2926
Racial Literacy
https://theblackcurriculum.com/blog/blog-post-title-three-dxgps
Recreational Literacy
https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-are-the-13-types-of-literacy/
Sexual Health Literacy
https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-022-02112-2
Scientific Literacy / science literacy
https://www.dailycal.org/2020/02/19/becoming-a-citizen-scientist-how-to-develop-scientific-literacy/ and
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Sustainability Literacy
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240801155408965
Technology Literacy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/literacy-declining
Trauma Literacy
https://www.thebalochnews.com/2022/01/09/how-trauma-literacy-can-transform-our-lives/
Visual Literacy
https://www.latech.edu/2020/01/21/tech-to-host-visual-communication-and-visual-literacy-symposium/ and