Bhimani (2015) states that many students entering college do not know how to locate information due to the endless amount of information that is available mainly on the internet. There have been instances of low usage statistics of electronic resources in academic libraries although the number of enrolled students is increasing. This may have been caused by the rapidly changing information landscape and various ways of searching for information. Learners as a result, face challenges in locating and accessing relevant and appropriate information for academic purposes if they are not taught how to do it. Leong (2015) observed that skills and experience needed to navigate the virtual and physical space appear to be diminishing among novice and advanced researchers. The research was aimed at understanding how academic librarians are utilising the opportunities provided when offering information literacy and how they are dealing with the challenges that they are facing in Zimbabwe.
Leong (2005) and Debowski (2001) state that IL involves not only the development of digital skills but also higher level of analytical and evaluative skills that are needed to engage effectively with the formulations of complex ideas. Lampert (2006) adds that learners are taught IL so that they are able to identify, locate, retrieve, evaluate, and ethically use and document information. Learners would then improve their research skills that are needed in knowing the different types of information sources and understanding the appropriate ways of critically evaluating and managing information. Bhimani (2015) supports the idea by pointing out that IL and digital literacy allow users to utilise technology and learners are able to survive at college, at the work place and throughout life.