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This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2020.

The paper provides a brief description of all 440 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested in a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

This paper aims to investigate the current state and influential factors in the development of digital literacy of the students in Thailand’s higher education institutions.

The quantitative research method was applied with a survey conducted to collect information from the target group that consisted of administrators, lecturers and students of 116 Thai universities. Respondents included 81 administrators, 500 lecturers and 1,000 students.

The findings revealed that 61.73 per cent of the universities set digital literacy as an undergraduate program policy, 30.86 per cent set it as a student development policy, while 12.35 per cent do not have any policy in this regard. In total, 40.74 per cent of the universities establish digital literacy as the required graduates’ trait, and 22.22 per cent establish it as a graduate’s identity. The study of factors related to digital literacy development showed that the respondents see that all of the factors affect students’ digital literacy development at a high level, including infrastructures, human resources, students’ awareness, external environments, development process, university’s policy and academic management.

In Thailand, universities have seen the importance of information literacy development for students at a certain level. However, the concepts of information literacy and digital literacy differ. While information literacy mainly comprises technical skill and information management skill, digital literacy is composed of technical skill, cognitive skill and emotional-social skills. This paper presents the first research on digital literacy development in Thai higher education.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2019.

The paper provides a brief description of all 370 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2016.

The paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Institutions seeking to develop or expand digital literacy programs face the challenge of navigating varied definitions for digital literacy itself. In answer to this challenge, this paper aims to share a process for developing a shared framework for digital literacy at one institution, including drawing on themes in existing frameworks, soliciting campus feedback and making revisions.

A draft digital literacy framework was created following the work of an initial library task force. Focus groups were conducted to gather feedback on the framework and to identify areas for future development.

Focus groups yielded 38 written responses. Feedback themes related to gaps in the framework, structural suggestions and common challenges for learners. Themes in focus group feedback led to several framework revisions, including the addition of Curation as a competency area, the removal of information communication technologies as its own competency area, and the inclusion of Learner rather than Student at the center of the framework.

The approaches described in this case study can be adapted by those looking to create a shared framework or definition for digital literacy on their campuses, as well as to create or revise definitions for other related literacies.

This case study presents an adaptable process for getting started with broad digital literacy initiatives, within the context of existing digital literacy frameworks worldwide.

The emergence of new digital technologies in the 21st century has propelled individuals to use technology in their daily lives. Individuals now require a specific set of skills, competencies and knowledge to use these devices efficiently, intelligently yet with responsibility. The purpose of this research was to design, develop and validate a digital literacy scale (DLS) using the exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

A quantitative research methodology was used for this study, whereby a unipolar 5 point Likert scale self-report questionnaire was designed to measure the digital skills of the participants. Digital literacy was divided into an exhaustive and broad list of six modules-media literacy, information literacy, communication literacy, technology literacy, visual literacy and computer literacy. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of the 2,755 Year 12 and Year 13 students of randomly selected 33 secondary school students in Fiji. Sample adequacy of the sample was tested using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test.

The EFA results prove the existence of the six modules of digital literacy that are being utilized in this research to design the DLS. The factor loadings or the correlation coefficients range from 0.3 to 0.8; therefore, all the 60 items were kept to design the DLS. The Cronbach Alpha value of 0.90 confirmed the internal consistency and reliability of the newly designed DLS.

The research limitation of the study was the sample size. A broader sample would have made the results better. Research implications are; there is no scale in the south Pacific to measure digital literacy. The newly designed and developed scale is the first one that can be used to measure the digital literacy of the south Pacific populace and bridge the gap of the digital divide.

The developed and validated scale can be used to measure the digital literacy of individuals both in the south Pacific and beyond. The scale covers important aspects of the much needed 21st century skills. Once digital literacy is measured, relevant stakeholders can develop instruments to improve the digital literacy of individuals.

The DLS can prove to be an important tool for society. In the 21st century people are required to have digital literacy to survive and thrive. Thus this tool can be used to measure digital literacy and further improve the digital literacy of the people.

The framework has been adopted from the work of Covello (2010) however, the definitions of digital literacy and other literacies are modified to meet the requirements of the 21st century. The tool is unique in its nature in the south Pacific and beyond. Looking at the digital literacy tools in literature, this tool covers all the aspects of digital literacy in the 21st century.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2021-0532.

As part of the EFOP-3.3.3-VEKOP-16–2016-00001 “Museum and Library Development for All” project, a national representative digital literacy survey was conducted in Hungary's public libraries at the end of 2019. The aim of the present study is to provide a deeper analysis of the data collected during the survey to answer the question of the role of gender and age in the development of digital skills amongst librarians working in public libraries. This study was designed to answer the following four research questions: Are there levels of proficiency defined by DigComp 2.1 that are more specific to men or more specific to women? Are there areas of competence and competences that are clearly perceived as stronger or weaker for men or women? Are there areas of competence that are clearly influenced by age and others that are not or only moderately influenced by age? Which competences are clearly age-related, and which are not or only slightly affected by age?

The main target group of the study were library professionals working in county libraries. The survey, based on the DigComp 2.1 (Gomez et al., 2017) framework, was conducted using an online questionnaire in the form of a self-assessment and explored four levels of digital literacy. A 30-question questionnaire was completed by 1,868 respondents. The sampling procedure was essentially stratified sampling. The large number of respondents and the sampling procedure combined with the representativeness of the sample meant that the results of the survey can be considered as generalisable to the whole Hungarian public library sector.

Of the five competency areas assessed by the DigComp framework, librarians were found to be most competent in information and data literacy, and least competent in content development, according to the proportion of those with basic skills. 32 percent of women and 22 percent of men working in libraries rated their digital skills as basic, and both groups were weak or less weak in the same skills, with a few exceptions. At the intermediate level, there is a predominance of women. In the information and communication competency areas and in the content development and integrating and re-elaborating digital content in the content creation area, a high proportion of women consider their digital skills to be medium. Relatively few men rate their own competence in these areas as average. They are most likely to have advanced and highly specialised skills. The advanced level in DigComp2.1 implies, in addition to strong digital skills, the willingness and ability to help others, while the highly specialised level requires innovative and creative use of digital technology and knowledge transfer. These top two skill levels are more common amongst men. 34 per cent of men and 27 per cent of women have advanced skills, while 13 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women have highly specialised’s level. The age of librarians has only a minimal influence in certain areas of competence and for certain competences. Skills in the information and data literacy competency area are less age sensitive. For the data management competency, which requires more technological skills, a stronger correlation between age and skill levels is observed, especially for basic and highly specialised skills. In the communication competence area, the youngest age group of librarians has the highest percentage of advanced and the lowest percentage of basic level. The proportion of advanced learners decreases steadily as age groups progress and the proportion of basic learners increases at a similar steady rate. The effect of age on the content creation is much more modest than expected. Age clearly has an impact on the safety competence area. As age increases, the proportion of those at advanced level decreases and the proportion at basic level increases. Age also has a significant effect on the problem-solving competence area. One in two librarians in the 50 and 60s have only basic level skills, compared to one in four in the youngest age group and one in three in the 40s.

Using the DigComp 2.1 framework, a digital competence survey of a whole professional group of library professionals working in public libraries in Hungary was carried out. The study provides new insights into the impact of gender and age as variables on digital competence.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

An increasing amount of research and debate has emerged over the last few years, emphasising the need for developing digitally competent, literate, able, skilled, capable people within a constantly changing technological and online environment. Existing definitions and perspectives in this area go beyond the use of technological tools or media for the creation of a digital literacy mindset, which develops throughout one's life. However, Higher Education strategies have not yet caught up with this agenda.

A student survey with Library and Information Science students from three higher education institutions in Scotland, Ireland and Greece was conducted as a basis of empirical data to support the theoretical propositions of the study. The survey centred on the technical and higher-level digital competences of students and drawing from students' self-perceived digital competences for learning and for the everyday life digital context, addressing e-leisure, e-learning, e-democracy, e-government and e-health activities. The survey critically enabled students to assess digital competences from their perspectives as digital participants.

Students' self-assessment of digital competences were lacking in a number of areas, which involved the development of information literacy, digital creation, digital research and digital identity management. In addition, students' digital competences were found to be linked to previous experiences within the everyday life digital environment. The higher the self-perceived digital competence levels of students were on the basis of dealing with everyday life digital tasks, the more likely they were to also develop high self-perceived digital competence in other digital areas related to their education.

Higher education has not fully embraced digital competences as a core, fundamental literacy which addresses both technology mastery and a digital citizenship mindset. As emerging models begin to challenge traditional teaching and learning paradigms, with global connectivity and personalised approaches, existing digital divides may be further accelerated. This requires revisiting digital competences with emphasis on the diversity of the contexts where it develops and of the learners involved, in the overall continuum of learning for life.

In today’s information and knowledge society, it is indispensable for citizens to acquire the requisite digital and information literacy (IL) skills to search information independently to meet their multiple and diverse information needs. As a result of digitalisation in the world, development and acquisition of digital and information skills is critical even for students and learners to retrieve digitised and online information to meet or achieve their curriculum-related accomplishments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of the digital and information literacies in South Africa from 2016 to 2022.

This qualitative study used a scoping review approach to collect data from research articles, conference articles and textbooks on digital literacy and IL – published in the years ranging between 2016 and 2022 from Google Scholar.

The major findings revealed that majority of the citizens especially students and learners lack digital and IL skills to recognise when information is needed, to find, locate, evaluate and use the retrieved information to meet an information need in a particular situation or context. Practical implications of this study include the alignment of curricula towards information and communication technologies to face the everchanging digital information technologies.

The study used scoping literature review research where empirical studies were retrieved and selected to address the objectives. This study provided significant approaches regarding promoting information and digital literacies in developing countries such as South Africa.