Information literacy skills among degree students of Mahajana’s first grade college, Mysore: A study

The researchers have made an attempt to identify the information literacy skills of degree students of Mahajana’s First Grade College, Mysore. To fulfil the objectives of the study, the researchers have used structured questionnaire to collect required data from the users. All together, 120 questionnaires were distributed to the users of the library and 80 filled up questionnaires were received back with 66.66 percent response rate. The findings of the study show that, more than 77 percent of the respondents visit the library to browse internet, books and news papers are the most frequently used sources of the library and still more than 51 percent of the students consult librarian to find required information in the library. Further, 60 percent of the users of the library search table of contents of a book to find related sources on same topics in the book and 70 percent of the students stated that they consult books to find information already familiar with a subject. Nearly 42 percent to 47 percent of the respondents answered that they are comfortable with the information literacy skills such as, ‘formulate questions based on information needs’ and ‘identifies potential sources of information’. The study also finds that more than 61 percent of the users replied that they have awareness about copyright laws. It also suggests that the librarians and faculty must take initiatives to improve the information literacy skills of the students in the present era