Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the digital literacy skills possessed by the students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the extent to which they use these digital literacy skills in their academic works. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive survey was adopted for the study, and the population consists of registered students that use the mobile telephone network (MTN) digital library, out of which 10 per cent of the population (281) was sampled for the study. A structured questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was randomly administered on the respondents who come to use the MTN digital library with particular attention to the different levels of the students. The questionnaire distribution lasted for a week; 281 copies of questionnaire were distributed, out which 184 (65 per cent) responded. Findings The study showed that some of the students possess digital literacy skills; they use these digital literacy skills daily. Majority of the respondents indicated that digital literacy has affected their academic performance to a high extent. The major challenges of acquiring digital literacy skills include electricity failure, low internet bandwidth, ICT facilities, lack of development of digital literacy programme and standard. Practical implications Implication of this study is that the establishment by MTN has enhanced the development of digital literacy in UNN as many students utilize these facilities. Originality/value Librarians and library staff should be adequately equipped with digital literacy skills and competencies to empower them to train and educate users, as information and communication technology (ICT) is a major tool for teaching, learning and research. To achieve this goal, there is a need to engage in public private partnership collaboration to sponsor the provision of these ICT facilities in our institutions of higher learning to enhance literacy learning for national development.

Purpose Observing trends and issues plays a key role in the success of any industry. Since 2010, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) has been publishing papers on top trends and issues in academic libraries in the USA, allowing for reflection, tracking, lesson drawing, adaptation, planning and direction. Such a publication is absent in the Jamaican library industry. This paper aims to examine the extent to which these trends and issues, as reported by ACRL, are evident in Jamaican academic librarianship. Design/methodology/approach Through document and thematic analysis of publications written on Jamaican academic librarianship 2010-2016, this paper highlights trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship. Findings There are similarities in the trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship and American academic librarianship; the similarities sometimes vary, however, in focus. Additionally, there are trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship not mentioned in the literature reviewed on American academic librarianship and vice versa. Research limitations/implications A survey of the chief librarians’ perceptions regarding the trends and issues would be a useful follow-up. Practical implications This paper allows for reflection, comparison, benchmarking, lesson-drawing, planning and direction for academic libraries and other types of libraries in Jamaica and the rest of the developing world. Social implications The gaps highlighted, particularly those with the most potential, can be discussed with the objective of exploring how these can be translated into new or revised services for the community of users. Originality/value This paper is of value, as there is no publication with an explicit focus on trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries; this paper will be the first publication on trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship. In this regard, this paper makes an important contribution to the literature on academic librarianship generally, and to the literature on Caribbean and Jamaican academic librarianship, specifically.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate public library users’ perceptions of information professionals. Specifically, it focuses on exploring users’ perceptions regarding librarians’ status, work duties, performed work and educational background.Design/methodology/approachThe method of questionnaire was used to enquire on the users’ perceptions of six different public libraries in the wide area of Attica, Greece. Between November 2014 and February 2015, 320 questionnaires were distributed, and, in total, 291 users participated in the study with response rate 90.9 per cent.FindingsThis research revealed that public library users have a positive image of the librarians’ status, duties and work performed. Users acknowledge that it is important for librarians to obtain a bachelor’s degree in library and information science (LIS) education and specialized LIS knowledge, as well as general, pedagogical and new technologies knowledge to perform their tasks. Overall, “serving of people” predominates as a task and a series of collection-oriented tasks.Research limitations/implicationsPerceptions of non-users of public libraries and public librarians themselves were not examined in this study. In addition, some user groups based on level of education (e.g. doctoral degree) had a low level of participation.Originality/valueIt is one of the few studies that examined public library users’ perceptions of information professionals.

Purpose – This paper outlines a teaching and learning collaboration between information literacy (IL) professionals and a social work academic at The University of Auckland. The collaboration was developed for the purpose of introducing evidence-based practice (EBP) and related IL skills to a third-year social work cohort preparing for their first practicum. Embedding the research–practice connection in the minds of students at this level of study is essential, as using evidence in practice is considered to be a fundamental professional objective. Despite this perspective, it is not uncommon for research to be viewed as an ancillary, if not discretionary skill in social work, with the research–practice gap well recognised in the social work literature. EBP offers students a clearly defined, systematic research framework imminently suited to the novice learner which emphasises the importance of research for practice. Research skills, in particular IL and the ability to find, evaluate and apply information, are essential to the development of effective EBP. Apart from the practical skills of being able to find evidence, critical thinking and reflective skills are key skills also inherent to IL processes and practice, and mastery of the evidence-based approach is impossible without mastery of these key IL competencies. Taking a solution-focused frame, theoretically underpinned by a constructivist teaching philosophy, we detail specific EBP and IL teaching practices, challenges and the remedies applied. The paper concludes with key lessons learned and future directions for teaching EBP and IL skills to social work students at The University of Auckland. Design/methodology/approach – A solution-focused frame is theoretically underpinned by a constructivist teaching philosophy. Findings – This paper offers insights derived from seven years of teaching EBP and IL skills to social work students and investigates specific teaching challenges and details the remedies applied. Research limitations/implications – As a case study, this article deals with one instance of EBP and IL teaching. Focusing specifically on EBP in the social sciences, this may not be relevant for other disciplines. Practical implications – This paper offers insights into methods for merging EBP and IL skills teaching in the social sciences, providing practical examples of activities which can be used in teaching, underpinned by relevant theory. Social implications – To be effective practitioners, social workers must understand the importance of research to practice, in particular how this can improve their professional knowledge and practice. Forging the research–practice connection aids the development of competent practitioners and enhances the well-being of social work clients. Originality/value – The authors outline constructivist–connectivist learning activities that can be used to advance students’ IL skills, develop research capacity and enhance the importance of the research-practice connection in social work practice. While much research has been done on EBP and IL connections in the medical and nursing literature, there is limited literature discussing EBP and IL integration in social work.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) efforts at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) John D. MacArthur Campus Library (JDM) to share methodologies and ideas with other academic libraries. Recently, there has been an emphasis on and push for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in colleges and universities across the USA as a means for training future work forces and for remaining competitive in global job markets (Land, 2013). FAU in South Florida is a big proponent of STEM and STEAM education (Florida Atlantic University, 2012; Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, 2013).Design/methodology/approach– As many librarians and outreach staff strive to remain relevant to their faculty and students with changing technologies (Drewes and Hoffman, 2010), the FAU JDM outreach staff have developed several novel programs that are geared toward the STEAM initiative.Findings– The Library Outreach Committee at FAU was committed to investigating how they could advance student success through visual arts programming. How can the library help contribute to STEAM education for the students and learning community as a whole? How can the library engage art students? Can the library promote dialogue in arts to the faculty and staff, regardless of their disciplines? This article will describe and discuss the various art outreach programs that the JDM has tested and their outcomes addressing goals toward STEAM education and academic libraries.Originality/value– The objective in sharing the experiences at the JDM is to spark new and successful program ideas at other academic libraries across the country and abroad and create knowledge in this relatively new area.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to first review the implementation of automatic identification and data capture) technologies in library/information science, focusing on barcode technology, radio frequency identification (RFID) and near field communication (NFC). This paper then presents S-Library, a new android-based application, to enable users to perform a wide range of information science-related transactions, such as borrowing, searching, returning and viewing transaction records. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents the design process and the database and software components. For analysis, the authors used application testing, and also usability testing, with a questionnaire distributed to 343 users. Findings – The implementation of NFC technology means that S-Library has a number of technical advantages over other approaches. It was also shown with user acceptance testing that there was a high degree of user satisfaction with S-Library. Research limitations/implications – Although the findings combine technical assessment and usability testing and are extremely positive, further user evaluation could be performed. In addition, S-Library does not currently read existing RFID tags, which would improve the application further. Practical implications – The system proposed here shows that S-Library is a feasible approach taken to improve the library transaction experience and that it can replace and improve upon older technologies. Originality/value – This paper provides a first successful demonstration of a functioning and tested android and NFC-based library transaction system and shows that this approach generates a high degree of user reliability.

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to investigate whether/how youths’ pre-existing beliefs regarding health-related topics influence their online searching behaviors, such as their selection of keywords and search results, their credibility assessments and the conclusions they draw and the uses they make (or do not make) of the information they find. More specifically, we sought to determine whether positive hypothesis testing occurs when youth search for health information online and to ascertain the potential impacts this phenomenon can have on their search behaviors, their ability to accurately answer health-related questions and their confidence in their answers.Design/methodology/approach– An exploratory field experiment was conducted with participants in an after-school program (“HackHealth”), which aims to improve the health literacy skills and health-related self-efficacy of middle-school students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.Findings– Evidence of positive hypothesis testing among the participants was found and important impacts on their search outcomes were observed.Practical implications– The paper was concluded with suggestions for improving digital literacy instruction for youth so as to counteract the potentially negative influences of positive hypothesis testing.Originality/value– This study extends existing research about positive hypothesis testing to investigate the existence and impact of this phenomenon within the context of tweens (ages 11-14) searching for health information online.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a survey undertaken at Al Ain University of Science and Technology (AAU) to investigate and understand faculty awareness, use and perception of Open Access (OA) resources. Design/methodology/approach – Using a Web-based survey questionnaire, data were collected from full-time faculty members teaching at AAU, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Findings – The study found that faculty members possess a good knowledge and a positive perception of OA resources. They frequently use OA resources for teaching, learning and research activities. However, the findings indicate that female faculty members are more likely to use OA resources than male faculty members. Faculty members with a high level of awareness or use are found to have a highly positive perception of OA resources. Presenting research reports at conferences and seminars or publishing research papers is weakly associated with the level of awareness and use of OA resources. The study revealed no association between the faculty member and their use of OA resources. Research limitations/implications – It is essential for scientific communities to understand the importance of OA resources and how to use them effectively in teaching, learning and research activities. Originality/value – This kind of research is new to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in general and the UAE in particular. The findings of the study may help to improve the awareness and the use of OA resources among scientific communities not only in the Arab countries but also around the world.