This study investigates how students at the College of Basic Education use digital libraries for information seeking and how this usage is influenced by their digital competence and AI literacy. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing three validated questionnaires. These questionnaires were first administered in a pilot study (n = 176) to assess their psychometric properties and subsequently administered to the final sample (N = 334) of students, distributed across the first three academic years of the College of Basic Education, to test the research hypotheses. The three instruments included a questionnaire on students’ use of digital libraries, a digital competence scale, and an AI literacy scale. The results revealed statistically significant differences in digital library use based on varying levels of digital competence and AI literacy, as well as a strong positive correlation between these variables and the use of digital libraries. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses showed that both digital competence and AI literacy significantly predicted the extent to which students used digital libraries for information seeking. The study recommends integrating digital skills, AI literacy, and metacognitive strategies into teacher preparation programs at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait.
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