IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON PROMOTING DIGITAL LITERACY AMONG LIBRARY USERS IN FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, KABO, KANO STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the impact of smartphones on promoting digital literacy among library users in Federal Polytechnic, Kabo, Kano State. The study was guided by two objectives and two corresponding research questions. The total population for the study was 122. This consisted of students and other library users in Federal Polytechnic Library, Kabo, Kano State. Questionnaire was used as research instrument for data collection. Descriptive statistical tools, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. The findings of the study revealed that digital literacy level among library users is high. The most current level of digital literacy among library users was possessing the skills to retrieve information from the Internet or the World Wide Web. The study revealed further that the major challenge faced by library users in using smartphones to develop digital literacy skills is financial constraints to acquire and maintain smartphones. The study concluded that the role of smart phones in promoting digital literacy among library users cannot be underestimated because smart phones solves many challenges in the educational institutions especially polytechnics. The respondents know how to access and use scholarly resources online for their academic research work, have knowledge on how to filter relevant data and apply it effectively for academic tasks, can download documents from online platforms, and possess the skills to retrieve information from the Internet or the World Wide Web. The study recommended among others that the management of federal polytechnic, Kabo where the polytechnic library is established should organise training through workshops, conferences and symposia to educate students and other library users on how to use their smartphones to access digital resources in the library and also how to interact using online learning communities and engage with digital research tools.