A study on digital literacy skills of faculty of letters students: Use of university library

Abstract

The significance of the university libraries that directly support the universities’ most fundamental duty, education activities, and researchdevelopment activities, is apparent when these duties are considered. Aiming to fulfill their responsibilities for modern university education, the university libraries try to satisfy the need of information that the academic society requires in today’s world, in which the information and ways to obtain it is provided digitally, by attuning to the technological developments. This brings forth the necessity of those who wish to obtain information to possess a series of digital literacy skills. In university libraries where digital technology is used extensively, it is thought that users who do not have or have low digital literacy skills will not benefit from these libraries at the maximum level possible. Digital literacy skills are important, for university students, who are qualified human resources of countries, to have the digital literacy skills to meet the needs of the current age. It is therefore recognized that the determination of the digital literacy levels of the users, to whom services are provided, is important in diversifying the services and training provided to the users. This study is conducted to determine the current awareness and skills of students concerning digital literacy studying in the first grade of departments of Psychology, History, Turkish Language and Literature (TLL), and Contemporary Turkish Dialects and Literature (CTDL) at Bartın University. Using the quantitative research method, the data used in this study were obtained by using the survey technique. Within the framework of the responses of 226 participants to the survey questions, the study investigated whether there were any differences between students’ digital literacy skills and awareness based on departments and technology usage habits. The study shows that students’ skills and awareness about digital literacy vary according to the departments they study in and their technology usage habits. From this, it is suggested both to level the user educations prepared following the access to scientific information, and to provide the students with opportunities to improve their digital literacy skills, while keeping in mind that the students, to whom the university libraries serve, are of different digital literacy levels.