Impact of Information Literacy Skills on Academic Performance of Students of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria
Keywords:
library, information resources, information literacy skills, Academic performanceAbstract
The society is facing the challenge of navigating the ever rapidly increasing volume of information available via equally fast developing technology. In order to successfully deal with this information rich - environment, it has become very necessary for students in institutions of higher learning to develop information literacy skills in their current studies as well as their future lives to become independent lifelong learners. Information literacy skills empower students to develop abilities and skills to harness and use information resources efficiently and effectively. It is in the light of the above that this research attempts to assess the impact of information literacy skills on the academic performance of students in Federal Polytechnic, Ede. This work adopts a survey research method and utilizes questionnaire to generate data. Out of one hundred and fifty (150) copies of questionnaire distributed, 93.3% were returned with valid response. Data collected are analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics. It is revealed among others that most students do not have skills on how to use information resources; that information literacy skill forms the basis for independent lifelong learning. However, it is concluded that librarians should work hard to develop and integrate effective information literacy skill programmes to enhance students' research abilities, which include problem solving, creativity and presentation of ideas. The librarian should also provide assistance to the polytechnic students on how to get relevant resources and where to locate the resources using OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue).
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