A New Literacy: Addressing the Barriers to Digital Literacy Through Public Libraries and Peer-To-Peer Learning

In an increasingly digital world, spurred forward even faster by the COVID-19 global pandemic, people are being left behind. Social connection and learning have all been pushed online. Governments of all levels are asking for citizen input and engaging with citizens through digital means. However, the digital divide is growing and valuable perspectives are being left out of the decisions shaping communities. Society is developing in the digital sphere and that requires that people within that society are digitally literate. Public libraries could be the key to addressing the barriers leading to digital inequality. This study worked to understand digital literacy, the role public libraries are currently playing in the development of digital literacy skills, as well as the barriers libraries face in this endeavour and found that while there are many digital resources available for individual learners to increase their literacy, efforts could be improved by using a connectivist approach to learning and focusing on peer to peer level support.