Information Literacy in Distance Education Universities in Iran: a Case Study of Payame Noor University

Teaching information literacy needs to become a core activity at academic libraries in distance education universities. Innovative programs have been developed to promote information literacy to ensure students success as lifelong learners. This study has been done to evaluate information literacy of students of humanities in Payame Noor University of Mashhad. The research population subjects are M.A. students in the humanities departments of Payame Noor University of Mashhad, from whom 188 were selected randomly based on Krejcie and Morgan table. Data collecting tool is a questionnaire, which has been provided according to Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. The results revealed that there is a significant difference between the female students’ information literacy with average score (t= -10.45, df= 159, p< 0.0005), the male students’ information literacy with average score (t= 4.71, df= 27, p< 0.0005), and all students’ information literacy with average score (t= -11.42, df= 187, p< 0.0005). The questionnaire average score (26) is more than students’ score, although the information literacy level in female and male students had no significant difference (t= -0.520, df=186, p=0.604). There is a significant difference in information literacy of students with different majors (f (12, 175) = 2.803, p= 0.002).Developing information literacy skills is essential for academic members and other educational staff to be able to fully engage and exploit library resources in distance education system. Distance education programs are complex and costly to implement, which suggests that they are a valuable asset for universities and therefore should be adequately managed and protected. Libraries must sufficiently promote services available to distance students and provide adequate service hours. In order to provide effective support to distance learners, librarians and educators need to be creative and find unique solutions.