Listening to the unheard and unseen: Information literacy perspectives of the rural bi/multilinguals in Nigeria

Abstract

This article aims to investigate information literacy perspectives of bi/multilinguals in Nigeria. The study aims to identify bilingual and multilingual definitions of information literacy, determine factors that influence their information literacy needs and at what point bi/multilinguals need it. This implies that individuals who can speak up to two or three native languages would be used as the population of the study. Despite being a multicultural country, some languages are more recognised in Nigeria and as such, those groups of people are recognised. This research aims to listen to the unheard and unseen individuals who are the rural indigenes while considering a major influencing factor in the study which is language. A focus group interview was used and a transcript-based analysis was used for the study. The results indicate that information literacy is being able to communicate with their environment but more so involves giving back to the society through languages. These findings can provide a solid ground on which inclusion of rural indigenes can be formed. It provides a platform on which library advocacy for the inclusion of the rural community indigenes to enable them to express their form of information literacy and produce intellectual works in indigenous languages can be formed.