A Survey of Digital Literacy Skills among Library Professionals in Zambia
Date
2020
Authors
Chewe, Pilate
Zulu, Zachary
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Zambia Journal of Library & Information Science
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate digital literacy skills among library
professionals in Zambia and to examine the extent to which digital skills are
being used in libraries to enhance service delivery. A survey research design
was used. This study was therefore quantitative in nature in which purposive
sampling was employed to select a sample of 81 respondents out of a
population of 346 librarians. An online questionnaire was developed using
Survey Monkey for data collection and the collected data were analysed with the
help of a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The study
found that 24 (40.0%) considered their level of digital skills as basic, 19 (31.7%)
perceived their level as intermediate while 17 (28.3%) considered their level as
advanced. Therefore, digital literacy level among librarians is still low.
Consequently it was recommended that concerted efforts should be devoted to
incorporate digital literacy programmes in the institutions’ curricular, as well as
more training programmes for librarians. The paper provides insight into the
state of digital literacy levels of library professionals in Zambia. The results of
this study would inform policy direction with regard to the development of new or
expanded digital literacy skills programs and digital competencies essential for
developing and managing digital resources and protecting digital contents.
Description
Keywords
Digital literacy , digital literacy skills , ; library professionals , librarians;--Zambia