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Digital Literacy Paper

Decent Essays

The twenty-first century is immersed in technology from social interactions, home, education, business, and transportation. Technology was once a luxury but now transforming to a requirement. With such a demand for new technologies, for some a required resource, it is only fair and necessary to provide training and education of new technologies and how to operate the technology. The American Library Association (ALA) has determined that library information centers should incorporate technology and digital literacy. Digital literacy encompasses a wide range of education and services for the public, academic, and school library professions to promote information that is essential for today’s digital society. There are many challenges in …show more content…

24). Digital literacy harnesses technology and knowledge no matter what the setting may be, however, it is important to understand the patron or the students comfort levels and/or abilities. McShane (2011) points out that some individuals learn best with one-on-one instruction while others in a group setting. The information center or library LIS professional shall support both methods of instruction for optimal …show more content…

In 2015 research was conducted over the rising concerns of public library budget cuts, declining patron statistics, desired programs, and services. The key question was if the library was still a needed public service due to technology takeover of electronic resources. The Pew study supports that the public library is still a much-needed service, however, the users desire more technology and digital literacy (Horrigan, 2015).
Research
The 2015 Pew Research Center report, Libraries at the crossroads, discovered that the public does not want to lose the community library as that would be a major impact on the community. In fact, public opinion is strongly in support of library programs that advance education and improve digital literacy. The sample size consisted of 2,004 American’s age 16 and older. The method used was a telephone survey conducted on both a landline and cellular service. Results indicated that;
• 78% of American’s would like the public library to have programs that teach children and seniors how to use digital tools such as computers, smartphones, and

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