Professionals’ Digital Information Literacy Skills: A Case of Geoscientists in Namibia

Abstract

Digital information literacy plays a critical role in transforming how professionals navigate and interact with the ever-changing and evolving information technology landscape. The digital information landscape has significantly influenced and changed how individuals work and collaborate therefore necessitating professionals to continuously upskill and reskill to effectively function in their professions. This paper reports the findings from a study undertaken at the Geological Survey of Namibia. The objective of the study was to explore the digital information literacy skills of geoscientists. The Association of College and Research Libraries Framework of Information Literacy for Higher Education (2016) was used as a theoretical support for the study which used mixed methods. The study employed a questionnaire designed for this purpose. Fifty -three geoscientists were given copies of the questionnaire and 32 responded (60%). A semi-structured interview was used to collect information from seven managers and three librarians. The study findings reveal that geoscientists have basic information processing skills but have limited skills to appropriately evaluate and use digital information technology tools. Findings also highlight that there is a need to prioritise digital information literary training, collaborative spaces, professional support, funding and continuous training to ensure that professionals like geoscientists’ have adequate digital information literacy skills to effectively function in their roles. Therefore, the study recommends that key role players should collaborate to develop programmes to enhance digital information literacy skills of professionals like geoscientists, so they are equipped to navigate this rapidly changing digital era