Literacy skills and utilization of information resources in school libraries in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to investigate the influence of literacy skills on utilization of resources in school libraries in Uyo Local Government Area. Two objectives and two corresponding research questions were formulated to guide the study. Design of the Study Descriptive survey design was also adopted for the study. Area of the Study The area of study consisted of 3 private secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area which comprised SS1-SS3 students. Population of the Study The population of the study was 705. Sample and Sampling Technique Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 38 percent of each school's population amounting to 268 respondents. Instrumentation The instrument for data collection was a researcher developed questionnaire titled “Literacy Skills and Utilization of Resources Questionnaire” (LSURPSLQ). Method of Data Analysis Mean and Standard deviation, were used for data analysis, while dependent t-test was used to test the hypotheses. Discussion The findings of the study revealed no significant influence of critical thinking, and information literacy on the utilization of resources in private school libraries in Uyo Local Government Area. Conclusion In conclusion, the findings of the study suggested that literacy skills do not have a significant influence on the utilization of resources in private school libraries in Uyo Local Government Area. Despite the common assumption that vital literacy skills are essential for effective resource utilization in libraries, the results indicated otherwise. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among other things that private secondary school administrators should develop and implement targeted literacy enhancement programmes within schools to address varying levels of literacy skills among students, with such programmes focusing on improving critical thinking and information processing abilities.