The Development of Digital Literacy and Inclusion Skills of Public Librarians - Volume 10 - Issue 1

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

The paper investigates how effectively public librarians are prepared to help communities develop digital literacy and digital inclusion capabilities. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, it analyzes library policy documents, existing training programs, and conducts semi-structured interviews with librarians and library management, followed by review of relevant MLIS programs. Findings highlight the equal importance of IT and transferable skills, yet reveal gaps in applying learning to workplace contexts, especially in e-books, PC troubleshooting, and social media communication.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction and Background

Digital literacy and inclusion relationship

Digital Literacy Competencies of Public Librarians

Professional development through MLIS and continuing education

Identified Gaps and Recommendations

Ongoing technical training needs

Volume 10, Issue 1, 2016 [ARTICLE] THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL LITERACY AND INCLUSION SKILLS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIANS Konstantina Martzoukou Robert Gordon University Joanneke Elliott University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill This paper examines the extent to which public librarians are successfully prepared to engage the community in digital literacy and inclusion. A qualitative, multiple case study research design was chosen, using an analysis of policy documents and existing training programs offered by the libraries together with semistructured interviews with public librarians and library management. This was followed by an analysis of Masters in Library & Information Science programs. The majority of public librarians felt that information technology skills and transferable skills were perceived tobe equally important. However most of the public librarians identified quite a few gaps between what they learned in their library program and how it translated into their working environment. They also expressed a great interest and need for additional on-going technical training and development to promote digital literacy and to become proficient in understanding the needs of the community. Gaps in MLIS programs were identified around the areas of e-Books, basic PC troubleshooting, social media and communication skills. This study concludes with several recommendations for public libraries and for MLIS programs to foster digital literacy and inclusion. Martzoukou & Elliott, Development of Digital Literacy Communications in Information Literacy 10(1), 2016 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Public libraries play an important role in creating inclusive, digitally-literate communities via the provision of online health, employment and education information as well as digital literacy training programs (Information Policy & Access Center, 2013, p. 2, Manjarrez & Shoembs, 2011, p. 1, American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy, 2013, pp. 16-17, Becker, Grandall, Fisher, Blakewood, Kinney, Russell-Sauvé, 2011, p.18-19) . Digital literacy (DL) has been described as“a constellation of life skills that are necessary for full participation in our mediasaturated, information-rich society”(Hobbs, 2010, pp. vii), including “those capabilities that mean an individual is fit for living, learning and working in a digital society”: the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, analyze and present digital information, but also to appraise the impact of new technologies and manage digital identities (BCS The Chartered Institute for IT, 2013) . Therefore, DL “looks beyond the development of functional IT skills to describe a richer set of digital behaviors, practices and identities” involving critical thinking, reflection and life-long learning, communication, collaboration, and social engagement (JISC, 2014) . A necessary condition for enabling the development of DL and for empowering modern citizens to exploit new possibilities offered by technology is digital inclusion (DI) . DI has been mainly linked to Internet connectivity, and in the past five years within the United States significant progress has been made to expand Internet broadband access to the community via two major federal initiatives: the National Broadband Plan and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy, 2013) . However, DLand DI are interconnected issues, operating in a complementary fashion as “without access, people cannot develop digital literacy; without digital literacy, they cannot gain maximum benefit from online resources” (Information Policy and Access Center, 2013, para. 4) . As the use of Internet activities ([e.g. email](e.g. email), searching, online banking and shopping, social networking) is increasing and becoming more varied, the digital literacy skills gap is further widening between those who are online and those who are not. DIGITAL L

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study examines whether public librarians are prepared to engage communities in digital literacy and digital inclusion, and where their training translates (or fails to translate) into workplace practice.

What research methods are used in the paper?

It uses a qualitative multiple-case study design, combining analysis of policy documents and training programs with semi-structured interviews, and then analyzing MLIS programs.

Which training gaps are identified for public librarians?

The paper identifies gaps in MLIS programs related to e-books, basic PC troubleshooting, and social media and communication skills.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay