DIGITAL SKILLS AND RESEARCH SKILLS AS INFORMATION USERS' CHARACTERISTICS FOR EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF DIGITAL LIBRARY BY LECTURERS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN ANAMBRA STATE

The study investigated digital skills and research skills as information users’ characteristics for effective utilization of digital library by lecturers in public universities in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 128 lecturers in the Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Education in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and Department of Educational Foundations in Faculty of Education in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus. The entire population of the study was used without sampling because the population of the study was manageable. Two structured validated questionnaires were used to collect data for the study. The reliability of the instrument was achieved through a trial test. To achieve this, copies of the instrument were administered on 20 lecturers in Delta State. The data were collated to determine the internal consistency of the items of the instrument. The reliability coefficient of 0.89 and 0.80 were obtained for clusters 1 and 2 respectively with an overall reliability co-efficient of 0.85 for IUCQ and reliability coefficient of 0.87 was attained for EUELQ. The data collected for the study was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and one sample t-test. Finding of the study revealed that users’ digital skills and research skills are information users’ characteristics for effective utilization of electronic library by lecturers in public universities in Anambra State. It was also revealed that users’ digital skills and research skills are significantly effective for the utilization of electronic library by lecturers in public universities in Anambra State. The researcher recommended that lecturers in public universities should proactively engage in continuous digital literacy and research skills development through workshops, seminars and self-directed learning.