A survey of information literacy education in library schools in Africa

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the state of information literacy (IL) education in library schools in Africa. Principally, to understand how prepared the library schools are to take the lead by integrating IL courses into their school curricula.Design/methodology/approachThe survey was carried out in two parts: first, the researcher conducted a survey of web sites maintained by library schools in Africa to identify the IL course offered and also to analyze the course contents. That was followed by sending an e‐mail message containing three research questions to library and information science (LIS) faculty members to ascertain the availability of IL courses in their curricula.FindingsResults from the study revealed that, presently, only a few library schools offer the course IL as a stand‐alone course in their curricula. Many library schools have not yet incorporated “IL” as a stand‐alone course in their LIS curricula, rather, it is briefly discussed as a topic in related courses. The reason being that the LIS departments lack the technological facilities and qualified personnel to teach the course “IL.” Although not all the library schools in Africa were examined due to language barrier, more than 60 library schools were investigated, among them 20 institutions were found offering IL courses or a related area.Research limitations/implicationsThe researcher could not examine all the library schools in Africa due to language barriers, as many of the African countries have French as their official language and others Portuguese.Originality/valueThe results from the study reported in this paper will provide important data and insight into the current state of IL education in African library schools, and generate suggestions for educators and policy makers developing and including “IL” as a stand‐alone course in the LIS curriculum.