ICT Literacy among Library Professionals working in the University Libraries in Maharashtra, India : a Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the information communication technology (ICT) literacy of the library professionals working in university libraries in Maharashtra. The study gives an overview of the present level of ICT literacy among library professionals and it helps to know the need for training and orientation in the areas such as ICT-based resources, services and tools to the library professionals working in university libraries in Maharashtra. A structured questionnaire based survey was conducted to analyse the ICT literacy among library professionals. The findings of the study reveal that, the ICT literacy level of the library professionals working in university libraries in Maharashtra is satisfactory. Majority of library professionals have acquired the basic ICT literacy skills which is required to handle day to day library operations, but still few library professionals need to enhance their literacy level in the area of open source library automation software, digital library software and institutional repository software etc. The study suggests that, university libraries should organise in-house training and orientation programs on ICT-based resources and services or depute their library professionals to attend the training and orientation programs on regular intervals, in order to enhance the ICT Literacy level of library professionals.