Knowledge Sharing Practices and Digital Literacy Skills Among Academic Librarians of University Libraries in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Academic libraries serve as lifelong learning hubs, and digital literacy is a core component of this mission the digital era has brought forth a multitude of online platforms that facilitate knowledge-sharing practices. This study investigates the knowledge-sharing practices and digital literacy skills among academic librarians of university libraries in Kwara State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for this study, the population comprised 85 academic librarians in all university libraries in Kwara State. A total enumeration technique was adopted, and a questionnaire was employed to collect data. The data collected were analyzed and presented with frequency, percentages and mean scores. Findings revealed that knowledge-sharing practices among the respondents were high and the majority of them engaged themselves in sharing knowledge with other colleagues. The respondents shared knowledge through seminars/workshops, verbal discussions, and mentoring during staff meetings as revealed by the findings of this study. The study further revealed that the level of digital literacy skills of the respondents was high. It also revealed that the respondents possessed digital literacy skills such as downloading files from databases among others. This study concluded that the academic librarians in university libraries in Kwara State engaged in knowledge-sharing practices and they adopted some knowledge-sharing platforms. It further concluded that the level of digital literacy skills of the academic librarians was high and they possessed digital literacy skills. Lastly, the study recommends that academic libraries can enhance the practice of knowledge sharing by utilizing all available media and opportunities to maintain the culture of knowledge sharing.