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

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Title: Status of information literacy skills offered by secondary school libraries to students in urban and rural environments in Kenya.
Authors: Ireri, John1 Jmwaura@chuka.ac.ke, Ocholla, Dennis2 Ochollad@unizulu.ac.za
Source: South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science. 2025, Vol. 91 Issue 1, p1-12. 12p.
Subject Terms: *Secondary school students, *Library school students, *Library orientation, *Library research, *Rural schools
Geographic Terms: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science is the property of Library & Information Association of South Africa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Status of information literacy skills offered by secondary school libraries to students in urban and rural environments in Kenya.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ireri%2C+John%22">Ireri, John</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> Jmwaura@chuka.ac.ke</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ocholla%2C+Dennis%22">Ocholla, Dennis</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><i> Ochollad@unizulu.ac.za</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22South+African+Journal+of+Libraries+%26+Information+Science%22">South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science</searchLink>. 2025, Vol. 91 Issue 1, p1-12. 12p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+school+students%22">Secondary school students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+school+students%22">Library school students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+orientation%22">Library orientation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+research%22">Library research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rural+schools%22">Rural schools</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kenya%22">Kenya</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science is the property of Library & Information Association of South Africa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.7553/91-1-2484
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Secondary school students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library school students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library orientation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library research
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      – SubjectFull: Rural schools
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      – SubjectFull: Kenya
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      – TitleFull: Status of information literacy skills offered by secondary school libraries to students in urban and rural environments in Kenya.
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            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Text: 2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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