Sarah Nakaziba, Sarah Kaddu, Mary Namuguzi and Arnold Mwanzu
The study sought to assess and evaluate the information literacy experiences and competencies of nursing students at Aga Khan University, Uganda. A review of information literacy…
Abstract
Purpose
The study sought to assess and evaluate the information literacy experiences and competencies of nursing students at Aga Khan University, Uganda. A review of information literacy (IL) programs was done to establish the competencies students acquired from the library staff and examine the contribution of IL competencies to the effective utilization of library information resources.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative descriptive research design was used to describe the participants' experiences regarding IL competencies. The study population included 35 nursing students pursuing a diploma of science in nursing in the second year of study. Purposive sampling was utilized to identify only second-year diploma students who had undertaken the IL training. The study utilized individual interviews and open-ended questionnaires.
Findings
The study found that nursing students who attained some IL competencies could easily locate the required information; IL was not integrated into the curriculum as a stand-alone course unit, but rather a few elements were embedded in some of the nursing course units like research, nursing informatics and academic writing. Furthermore, there was no well-developed IL curriculum used for teaching the subject. The study also noted that there was a minimum collaboration between the faculty and librarians in teaching IL at AKU. Findings showed there was a gap in the IL program delivery.
Originality/value
This study extends the literature on the subject by bringing together current views and opinions of the three populations involved to present a more comprehensive view of the challenges academia faces regarding teaching and student acquisition of IL skills.
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Sarah Nakaziba and Patrick Ngulube
This study aims to assess the extent to which Uganda university libraries have implemented digital transformation technologies and to determine the facilitators and barriers…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the extent to which Uganda university libraries have implemented digital transformation technologies and to determine the facilitators and barriers affecting the implementation of digital transformation in selected university libraries in Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design. It was conducted in six selected university libraries in Uganda, which were in three private and three public universities. The study sample included 103 librarians with a minimum qualification of a bachelor’s degree and six library directors.
Findings
The findings indicated that there was an average (n = 37, 48.7%) implementation of digital transformation in the selected university libraries in Uganda. Some of the barriers hindering digital transformation included inadequate funding, lack of awareness of digital technologies, inadequate ICT skills, insufficient ICT infrastructure and limited staff among others. There is a need for library management to provide support in the form of funds, policies and human resources to implement such digital transformation.
Research limitations/implications
The criteria for choosing universities were those that have been around for at least 10 years. The reason for this was that it was assumed that these universities would have well-established staff development programmes and procedures as well as be likely to have incorporated technology into their services, including libraries. This study’s limitations stem from the fact that this criterion for selection might not apply to all Ugandan university libraries, particularly those that are less than 10 years old and may not have been well represented in this study.
Originality/value
The magnitude of the problem of digital transformation in university libraries in Uganda is unclear because of the limited research available in the Uganda library and information science field. This study presents the status of digital transformation in Uganda university libraries.
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Carolyn Caffrey, Katie Perry, Tessa Withorn, Hannah Lee, Thomas Philo, Maggie Clarke, Jillian Eslami, Elizabeth Galoozis, Katie Paris Kohn, Dana Ospina, Kimberly Chesebro, Hallie Clawson and Laura Dowell
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy (IL). It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy (IL). It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications organized thematically and detailing study populations, results and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for academic library practitioners, library science students and researchers wishing to learn about IL in other contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper annotates 374 English-language periodical articles, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and IL published in 2023. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Elsevier SCOPUS and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Sources selected were published in 2023 and included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction” or “information fluency” in the title, subject terms or author-supplied keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations were made summarizing the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was then thematically categorized and organized for academic librarians to be able to skim and use the annotated bibliography adeptly.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of 374 sources from 159 unique publications and highlights publications that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions. Further analysis of the sources and authorship are provided such as country affiliation and institutional Carnegie classification.
Originality/value
The information is primarily of use to academic librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a convenient and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and IL published within 2023.