Library Usage, Resource Utilization, Information Literacy, and Librarian Interactions: A Structural Model of Students’ Academic Success

Scholars of academic success in higher education in South Africa struggle to find an integrated framework that can explain the interplay between heterogeneous elements that combine in dynamic ways to influence the academic success of students. Language of teaching and learning is indicated as an important element in academic success in higher education. In South Africa, students are multilingual and this is often ignored or perceived as a hindrance to academic success. Conversely, there are studies that have found a positive relationship between bi- and multilingualism and cognitive development during the past 40 years. The aim of this article is to view multilingualism and academic success in higher education in South Africa from a complex systems approach. It is argued that a complex systems approach provides an integrated framework for studies of multilingualism and academic success in higher education in South Africa.

Students can encounter significant challenges when transitioning from high school to university. Students must possess the necessary skills to adjust to the self-directed learning atmosphere of the university, however frequently lack the ability to take responsibility for their own learning. This study employs path-modeling techniques to investigate and analyze the multifaceted relationships between various factors, that can predict self-regulated learning as they impact learners' academic achievements in higher education settings, as informed by an extensive review of existing literature. The population for this study were university undergraduates using a researcher-designed questionnaire for data collection. The data collected was modelled reflectively using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that the measurement model assessment showed strong reliability and convergent validity of the latent constructs. However, only technology significantly predicted self-regulated learning as contributing to students' academic success in higher education. The findings from this study contribute significantly to understanding the nuanced pathways through which various learning indicators interact to predict students' self-regulation as influencing students' academic performance in the higher education space. Insights gained from the analysis offer valuable implications for relevant stakeholders aimed at fostering properly tailored conduct that enhances students' academic success in higher education.

The J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University is engaged in a number of information literacy efforts. The library's new information literacy coordinators had many questions about the library's current activities and how to further develop its information literacy program. In the 2006–2007 academic year, the Library Education Committee obtained a more accurate understanding of the library's information literacy efforts through a self-study process. A survey instrument was created and distributed to all teaching librarians. The results of this study were contrasted with the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy That Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline in order to facilitate program assessment and long-term planning.

One of the most important measures used for evaluating the service quality of a library is a user satisfaction survey. The objectives of the study were to find out the purposes of using a library and to evaluate user satisfaction towards the library facilities, library staff, library services, library resources and library website of the Open University of Sri Lanka. The population of the study was the university staff and the students who registered in the library of the Colombo regional centre of the Open University of Sri Lanka. Total sample size was 357 inclusive of both university staff members and students. Purposive sampling technique was utilized to get a representative sample. Primary data were collected with the help of a survey using a structured questionnaire, designed specifically for the purpose. Analysis of primary data was done using frequency tables and basic descriptive statistics such as mean, median etc. To measure the validity and reliability of the statements that are used to measure the user satisfaction, Cronbach Alpha testing was used. User satisfaction was evaluated under 05 parameters, such as (a) Library facilities; (b) Library staff; (c) Library services; (d) Library resources and (e) Library Website and Information access. It was identified that the respondents used the library for different purposes. Study results indicated reading, searching library resources, using computers to access information, and borrowing and returning books as the major purposes of using the library. The results of the study also revealed that on average, the respondents were relatively most satisfied with the library staff and their performance and helpfulness, moderately satisfied with the available library services, satisfied with the library website and its facilities and generally satisfied with the library facilities and library resources as a whole. The results also indicated that overall library users are satisfied with the available library resources, services and facilities. But, the study could also identify that there were some areas that users were not much satisfied with, particularly, providing user awareness programs, training on information searching, dissemination of services or providing information through social network media like face book, twitter etc., improving Wi-Fi facilities, improving access to audio visual materials, increasing the availability of electronic databases and providing more online library services. Therefore it is important to conduct information literacy programmes and user awareness progammes in order to make library users aware about new library resources and services and to enhance their information literacy skills. Further, it is recommended that understanding the user information needs, fulfilling those needs and measuring their level of satisfaction on regular basis is essential in order to provide a better service and to establish the sustainability of libraries.

PurposeThis paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for busy practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis article annotates 424 English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2021. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science, and Technology s (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and WorldCat, published in 2021 that included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, abstract or keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations summarize the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was categorized into one of seven pre-determined categories: K-12 Education, Children and Adolescents; Academic and Professional Programs; Everyday Life, Community, and the Workplace; Libraries and Health Information Literacy; Multiple Library Types; and Other Information Literacy Research and Theory.FindingsThe paper provides a brief description of 424 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.Originality/valueThe information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy within 2021.

How important are learning strategies or personal attributes for learning outside of domain-specific knowledge or twenty-first-century transversal skills when predicting academic success in higher education? To address this question, we conducted a longitudinal study among 1,681 students at one of the leading universities in Hungary. Students took four tests and questionnaires when they entered the university. They measured knowledge from their previous studies (reading and mathematics), twenty-first-century skills like problem-solving and non-cognitive variables in learning strategies, motivation and attitudes. In the next five years, we followed their academic progress with the aim of detecting cognitive and non-cognitive predictors of academic success toward obtaining a degree and developing training programmes for the most important predictors to boost the probability of academic success. The overarching model, which was controlled for students’ socio-economic background, determined 18.4% of the variance in later academic success. Domain-specific knowledge from previous studies and learning motivation emerged as the strongest predictor, learning strategies proved to be the most stable of the other mediating factors as an independent predictor, and twenty-first-century transversal skills proved to be unimportant in earning a university degree. Results highlight the importance of transforming higher education so that it is consistent with the expectations of the twenty-first-century labour market, a future-fit education in Hungary.

Librarians are charged with providing effective library instruction (i.e., how to utilize the library, how to conduct research, etc.) while also effectively teaching library users information literacy skills (how to interpret and evaluate the information they are accessing). Challenges that librarians face when trying to accomplish these tasks may include time constraints in the classroom, students who are not tech savvy, students who don’t understand library terminology, and students who don’t understand information literacy as a whole. The purpose of this article is to briefly describe scenarios that librarians could encounter when both teaching library instruction as well as teaching information literacy—scenarios that could hinder the learning processes for students and library users. Tips and suggestions are provided that can help librarians assess the diverse makeup of the class attendees to tailor their instruction session. Tips and suggestions are also provided to help librarians better engage students and users during library instruction and information literacy instruction.

PurposeThis paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications organized thematically and detailing, study populations, results and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for academic library practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis article annotates 340 English-language periodical articles, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2022. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science and Technology s (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Elsevier SCOPUS and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Sources selected were published in 2022 and included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, subject terms, or author supplied keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations were made summarizing the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was then thematically categorized and organized for academic librarians to be able to skim and use the annotated bibliography efficiently.FindingsThe paper provides a brief description of 340 sources from 144 unique publications, and highlights publications that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions. Further analysis of the sources and authorship are provided.Originality/valueThe information is primarily of use to academic librarians, researchers, and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy published within 2022.

Purpose– This paper aims to provide an introductory overview and selected annotated bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy across all library types.Design/methodology/approach– It introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2014.Findings– It provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.Originality/value– The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

PurposeThis paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2019.FindingsThe paper provides a brief description of all 370 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.Originality/valueThe information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

PurposeThis paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2020.FindingsThe paper provides a brief description of all 440 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.Originality/valueThe information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested in a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.Design/methodology/approach– Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.Findings– Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.Originality/value– The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy. Design/methodology/approach – Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013. Findings – Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions. Originality/value – The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Purpose This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types. Design/methodology/approach This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2018. Findings The paper provides a brief description of all 422 sources, and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions. Originality/value The information may be used by librarians and anyone interested as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

This qualitative study explored and described South African students’ experiences and perceptions regarding academic success. Focus group participants related academic success not only to achievement, but also to goal attainment, feelings of satisfaction, and the application of new skills. Academically successful students were associated with strong academic self-concepts, motivation, balance, and effective study behaviours. The role of significant others were also highlighted. In contrast to the notion that adversity hamper academic success, the participants in this study emphasised resilience when faced with challenges and difficulties. They regarded being the first in their family to attend higher education and financial stressors as motivators for success. This study highlights the complexity of students’ academic success and the importance of recognising the nuanced nature of individuals’ reactions to academic challenges. These findings are of particular value in countries such as South Africa where a large proportion of students enrolled in HE are faced with many challenges of which the impact on their success may not be truly understood yet. This study confirmed the importance of understanding and accurately addressing the student success challenge, especially since higher education institutions are under increased pressure to guarantee the success of their growing and diversifying student body.