INVESTIGATING INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS, ACCESSIBILITY AND USE OF DIGITAL LIBRARY RESOURCES FOR LEARNING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITIES IN YOBE STATE

Abstract

The paper investigated Information Literacy Skills, Accessibility and use of digital library resources for learning among undergraduate students of Universities in Yobe State. The targeted population comprised of all undergraduate students of universities in Yobe state, which was 14,141. A sample of 384 was drawn by using stratified proportionate random sampling technique. A questionnaire and interview were employed as instrument for data collection, NVIVO version 12 (qualitative data analyzer) was used in analyzing the qualitative aspect of the study, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data of the investigation. The study hypothesis that there was no significant relationship between information literacy skills and utilization of digital libraries resources. The findings of the study revealed that there were Information Literacy Programs carried out by the University Libraries; these include orientation programs, library week and use of library and study skills. Additionally, the findings indicated that digital librarians were carrying out information literacy session on demands by individual students. Moreover, the study revealed that accessibility to digital library resources were limited to e-journal articles, e-books, e-newspapers and online dictionaries while other important digital library resources are not accessed by the students. The study further revealed that the undergraduate students utilized e-journal articles, e-books, e-newspapers, online dictionaries; however, other digital library resources were not being properly utilized by the majority of the respondents. The result of the hypothesis indicated that there was significant relationship between information literacy skills and utilization of digital libraries resources. Therefore, hypothesis formulated for the study are rejected. In summary, the study recorded that there was gross underutilization of the digital library resources by the undergraduate students. Consequently, the study recommended that the management of libraries should implement digital literacy workshops and seminars so as teach students about the effectiveness of utilizing a variety of digital resources found in libraries to support their learning objectives. In a similar vein, the managements ought to create awareness on the availability of the digital library resources that were grossly underutilized.