Meta-Literacy For Librarians And Users in An Era of Metaverse Technology: Librarians Point of View

Abstract

Background: Metaverse which is one the contemporary technologies that is shaping the way information is acquired and managed in the digital ecosystem entails the acquisition of special skill for both the librarians and the library user to be able to harness the gain of digital togetherness and the associated experience.

Purpose: This study is an enquiry into ascertaining the views of librarians as it concerns the need for metaverse in libraries and meta-literacy for librarians and library users in this era of metaverse.

Methods: The study used descriptive survey research design approach. The sampled population for this study was 850 selected through purposive sampling technique. The primary instrument used in this study for data collection is a questionnaire structured according to the modified Likert scale on four point rating while data collected were analyzed using frequencies, simple percentiles and presented in tables.

Result: It was discovered that the librarians were aware of the potentials of metaverse towards effective library services and that the potentials of the technology requires that both librarians and library users need to be meta-literate for them to gain the prowess to adeptly interact with digital information within the digital world of metaverse.

Conclusion: The optimal utilization of the metaverse technology in libraries of any sort depends on the meta-literacy skills acquired or possessed by both the librarians and library users. This is because without such skills, both librarians and library users cannot navigate and understand what happens within the digital ecosystem.