Attitudes of Saudi Arabian Students Toward the Use of Digital Libraries in Higher Education

Abstract

Universities worldwide are transitioning to integrate technology to enhance and augment using E-learning. This study investigated attitudes of Saudi Arabian students toward the use of digital libraries in higher education at Taibah University in Madina. Data were collected to explore the relationship between Saudi students’ computer literacy skills, as well as their demographic background, and 1) their use of digital libraries, 2) their attitudes toward digital libraries, and 3) their perceived usability of digital libraries. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples , simple and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to address the research questions. Participants were 240 undergraduate students enrolled at Taibah University. Most of them were senior (about 52%), female (about 62%), and majored in Education Science (about 47%). Analyses of the self-report survey data show that students used digital libraries on a weekly basis (M = 3.52, SD = 1.45), using a 6-point Likert-scale (1 = Never and 6 = More than 4 times per day). Results also show that students’ computer literacy skills were pretty good (M = 3.82, SD = 0.88), based on a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = No experience and 5 = Very skilled). On average, students’ attitudes toward digital libraries were positive (M = 4.21, SD = .68), measured by a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = Strongly disagree and 5 = Strongly agree). In general, the level of students’ perceived usability of digital libraries was moderate (M = 3.34, SD = .49), according to a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = Strongly disagree and 5 = Strongly agree). Results of linear regression and independent-samples show that students’ computer literacy skills were a significant predictor of their use of digital libraries, attitudes toward digital libraries, and perceived usability of digital libraries. The more skilled students were in computer literacy, the more likely they would use digital libraries (β = .299, t(221) = 2.57, p = .01); the more skilled they were in computer literacy, the more positive their attitudes were toward digital libraries (β = .201, t(225) = 3.70, p <. 001); and the more skilled they were in computer literacy, the higher the level of the perceived usability of digital libraries was (β = .115, t(202) = 2.99, p = .003). Only the access to technology and the Internet at school was significantly and positively related to students’ attitudes toward digital libraries. No relationships were found between the access to technology and the Internet (either at school or at home) and students’ use of digital libraries or their perceived usability of digital libraries. Regarding the impact of students’ demographic background on the three dependent variables (i.e., students’ use of digital libraries, attitudes toward digital libraries, and perceived usability of digital libraries), only one significant relationship was found. That is, students’ perceived usability of digital libraries was significantly related to their gender. Female students had a higher level of perceived usability of digital libraries.