Information Literacy Skills Among the Undergraduate Students at the University of Livingstonia, Malawi

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Flywel ◽  
Boemo N. Jorosi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Second Year ◽  
The University

The aim of the article was to assess Information Literacy (IL) skills among the undergraduate students at the University of Livingstonia in Malawi with special focus on second year students. A cross-section descriptive survey design was employed whose population included Second year undergraduate students. Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data. The sampled students showed high level of awareness of types of information sources but had problems in identifying diverse information resources and their usage. Besides, participants demonstrated lack of skills in information search and Web retrieval techniques. With respect to evaluation of information, the sampled students did not know the various methods of evaluating information sources. The article concludes that the majority of students at the University of Livingstonia did not demonstrate adequate information literacy skills. Therefore, among others, the study recommends advocacy and awareness campaigns for information search techniques and designing of a formal IL curriculum

An assessment of information literacy skills among first-year postgraduate students at Sokoine University of Agriculture Tanzania

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mugyabuso J. F. Lwehabura
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Concept Maps ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Literacy Knowledge ◽  
Information Literacy Skills

This study was set to examine and identify some aspects of information literacy skills among postgraduate students at Sokoine University of Agriculture and determine challenges and problems facing them in terms of searching and use of various information resources. Systematic probability sampling and questionnaires were used to collect data from175 students out of 314 first-year postgraduate students registered. The findings showed that although information literacy exists among students, a good number of students demonstrated significant deficiency in their information literacy knowledge and skills in key aspects including searching for information from electronic sources, application of various information search techniques such as Boolean operators, use of truncation, synonyms and concept maps. Based on the findings, the paper recommends addressing the shortcomings found by introducing a mandatory information literacy course for both postgraduate and undergraduate students to ensure effective independent learning among students.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Medical Librarians Towards the Importance of Information Literacy Skills

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 01-07
Author(s):  
Midrar Ullah ◽  
Kanwal Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Library Users ◽  
Information Competencies ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Public And Private Sector

The purpose of this study was to find out medical librarians' perceptions towards the importance of information literacy (IL) skills. A structured questionnaire, consisting of eight IL skills, was administered to the head librarians of all academic medical institutions in Pakistan. The respondents were asked to rate the importance of IL skills for their users on a 5-point Likert scale (1- Least important to 5-Most important). A total of 69 (60.5 %) usable questionnaires were returned out of 114 disseminated to the respondents. The IL skills about “accessing the needed information effectively and efficiently”, “identifying relevant, authoritative and reliable information sources”, “recognizing the need for information”, "verifying the relevance and quality of information sources” and “using information ethically and legally” got mean scores exceeding four from head librarians of both public and private sector medical institutions. However, IL skill "evaluating the information critically” received mean score less than four i.e., 3.94 from public sector medical librarians and IL skills "organizing information collected or generated in a logical way" and "using the selected information effectively to accomplish a specific task" although considered important but got lower mean scores (3.97 each) from private sector medical librarians. Respondents from both public and private sector medical institutions had considered all the eight IL skills important for their library users, meaning that library users must be adequately equipped with information competencies.

scholarly journals From Quest to Conquer: Traversing General Education at a Diverse Alaskan University to Integrate and Assess Transferable Information Literacy Skills in Foundational Courses

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Bjartmarsdóttir ◽  
Deborah L. Mole
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Faculty Teaching ◽  
University Of Alaska Anchorage ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
The University ◽  
Professional Degrees

The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is an open enrollment university that offers vocational, academic, and professional degrees in a northern region. UAA serves a culturally and demographically diverse population. Given this diversity, students display varying levels of information literacy (IL) competencies. Library Professors Anna Bjartmarsdóttir and Deborah Mole partner with faculty teaching composition and communication courses to create increasingly sophisticated and transferable IL learning opportunities. Strategies include: assessing students’ IL competencies; creating engaging activities; integrating IL throughout the semester; developing reflection opportunities to reinforce IL skills. UAA librarians, partnered with faculty, integrate and scaffold IL activities in foundational GE courses to develop increasingly sophisticated, transferable IL skills and knowledge practices. From team-based learning application exercises to workshops for teaching assistants, students learn how creativity partnered with initiative has helped to integrate transferable IL skill education at this diverse arctic university.

Information Literacy among Undergraduate Students in Nigeria

2016 ◽  
pp. 1314-1327
Author(s):  
Stella E. Igun ◽  
Jessa Precious Odafe
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
State University ◽  
Statistical Tool ◽  
Needed Information ◽  
Information Literacy Skills

This paper examined information literacy skills among undergraduate students in Nigeria. The scope of the study covered two departments in Delta State University, Abraka namely: Library and Information Science and Guidance and Counselling. The study was limited to final year students of the two departments. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and the population was 517. 103 or 20% of the population of 517 were sampled for the study. 97 questionnaires were retrieved and used for the study. Simple percentage and frequency count statistical tool was used to analyze the data. The study found out that ability to use information effectively to accomplish a task, ability to recognize the needed information, ability to access the needed information effectively and efficiently and ability to evaluate information critically are the information literacy skills possessed by some of the undergraduate students in Nigeria. The study recommended that information literacy education and electronic/digital information skills should be included in the curriculum of the undergraduate students in the universities.

Researcher Unbound and National University of Singapore (NUS) Libraries' Evolving Role in Supporting University Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 216-246
Author(s):  
Fang Chiong (Patrick) Pu ◽  
Su Yian Kho ◽  
Ke Khoon Low ◽  
Amy Chou
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
University Research ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Continual Improvement ◽  
National University ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
The University

As a discipline-neutral entity, knowledge exchange, and nexus of the university, the National University of Singapore (NUS) Libraries is the ideal conduit for bringing together faculties and departments to facilitate cross-disciplinary education and research. This case study gives a detailed walkthrough on the creation and design of the Research Skills Framework (RSF), which forms the backbone for all information literacy programmes (ILPs), specifically the flagship Researcher Unbound (RU) programme and RU Symposium, and shares challenges faced and future improvement plans. The exploration, design, and continual improvement of the programme ensured that NUS Libraries provides relevant and timely research support and enhances the digital information literacy skills of the NUS community. This programme continues to be a work in progress drawn from participants' feedback, attendance, experience, and insights from seven semestral runs and cumulative total of 172 workshop sessions.

scholarly journals Transfer of academic information literacy skills to workplace contexts

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Fourie ◽  
Heidi Julien
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Information Practices ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Academic Information ◽  
Transfer Of Information ◽  
The University

This paper reports preliminary results of a study analyzing transfer of information literacy skills learned in a compulsory undergraduate course at the University of Pretoria. Twenty-three alumni with a range of disciplinary backgrounds, and currently working in a diversity of workplaces, participated in critical incident interviews which explored transferability of the skills learned in the course, and information practices in the workplace.

scholarly journals A collaborative approach to the use of archives in information literacy teaching and learning in an arts university

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele Martin-Bowtell ◽  
Rebekah Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Creative Arts ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Literacy Teaching ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Skills Learning ◽  
The University

Why do significant parts of our art libraries collections remain undiscovered and unused? Seemingly invisible to students and staff, the university archive strong room creates a barrier, preventing our students and researchers from accessing and browsing materials, as they would with our open shelf collections. What happens when archive materials are freed from their confines, brought out into the studio and explored and used by arts students? Better still, what happens when librarian, archivist and academic collaborate to make this happen, enabling increased awareness of these resources and facilitating information literacy skills learning? Conclude this with an artistic response to this method of teaching and learning and you have the Animation Archive Day at the University for the Creative Arts. The day formed part of a longer term initiative put together by the archivist and librarian to raise awareness among students and staff of the opportunities to utilize archives in their subject specific creative arts learning and education. The project recognizes the importance of allowing students to steer and interact creatively with archive use in a library context.

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