Status of information literacy skills offered by secondary school libraries to students in urban and rural environments in Kenya

Abstract

Information literacy skills for lifelong learning are essential to secondary school students. However, many secondary schools’ students have little or no basic knowledge about how to access and succeed in obtaining information. This study investigated the status of school libraries’ information literacy (IL) skills for secondary school students in Nairobi (urban) and Tharaka Nithi (rural) counties of Kenya. The study population consisted of Nairobi (urban) and Tharaka Nithi (rural) counties’ secondary schools of Kenya. Principals, librarians, and students were targeted in the sampled secondary schools. Both quantitative and qualitative sampling techniques were applied. The sample size consisted of 382 students, 30 secondary schools: 20 in Nairobi and 10 in Tharaka Nithi. Findings revealed insignificant IL disparities between urban and rural schools. There was lack of awareness of whether the libraries were on par. Library orientation user education and IL were the most available library programmes. The most common user interface was the human interface/librarians. More computers, internet connectivity, current information resources, unrestricted library access time/hours, more space, professional librarians, improved reading culture, and improved security of library materials are needed. The study has implications for school library IL development in Kenya and elsewhere with similar school library environment.