Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explain the role of public libraries in the development of society's digital literacy skills based on the literature; to identify the studies carried out by the provincial public libraries in Turkey for this purpose and to raise awareness on this issue. Method: A survey was created as the data collection tool for this study. In the survey, 18 questions (some of them being multiple choice) were prompted to the public library managers of 81 provinces in Turkey. Then, the answers given to this survey were analysed using the SPSS software. Findings: As a result of the research, it was seen that out of the ninety-four digital literacy trainings of twenty different types organized by the provincial public libraries in the last twelve months (between 11.02.2022 and 05.03.2022), 31.9% of them were formal training, 17.06% were individual training, 47.8% (n=45) were informal trainings, and 3.1% were online individual trainings. When the distribution of the trainings given across the regions is examined, it has been revealed that the official digital literacy trainings given by the provincial public libraries in the Mediterranean Region are the highest, with 62.5%. In the same type of training, this region is followed by the provincial public libraries in the Aegean Region with 25%. Eastern Anatolia Region, Black Sea Region, and Southeast Anatolia Region answered this question as “not provided.” When whether there is a connection between the number of Information and Document Management (IDM) graduates and the number of digital literacy trainings is examined, it was found that 58.5% of the ninety-four trainings given by provincial public libraries were conducted with four or more IDM graduates. In the research, the multiple-choice question asked on who provides digital literacy education was answered as follows; 55.6% library staff, 18.8% library volunteers, 11.3% non-governmental organizations, 8.4% public volunteers, and 5.6% regional cooperation organizations’ (association and consortium trainers) personnel. Provincial public libraries did not specify any option as the “most important” issue regarding the restrictions they face in offering digital literacy education. This is an important indicator that provincial public libraries can easily provide digital literacy training and services. Conclusion: It has been discovered that the provincial public libraries in Turkey provide some digital literacy trainings; although they are not sufficient in number, they plan to increase the number of these trainings, and the libraries that cannot provide such trainings in digital literacy are already planning to offer them. As a result of the research, it has also been revealed that the technological infrastructure of the provincial public libraries is sufficient. Still, they will provide stronger services to society in digital literacy only in line with a planned policy. Finally, it is thought by the researcher that it would be beneficial to the literature to carry out a similar study in the future to cover all public libraries in Turkey. Originality: This study gains authenticity in revealing the evaluations and approaches of provincial public library administrators.

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