Information Literacy Instructional Practices: Survey of University Libraries in Zambia

Abstract

Information literacy (IL) instruction is a fundamental professional practice in which university libraries are the primary pioneers.   Information literacy is designed to teach library patrons how they can quickly and effectively locate the needed information from the library. This was a descriptive study that collected quantitative and qualitative data from 60 respondents to assess the IL practices in Zambian university libraries. Majority 81.7% respondents indicated that they conducted informal instruction while 18.3% conducted formal instruction, mainly focusing on general library use, search strategies, online catalog and databases. The picture of existing IL instructional practices in university libraries that emerge from the study is one in which undergraduate students are the target population, who are mainly reached through informal instruction.