Digital Literacy Skills and Academic-Library Engagement among Generation Z Students in Malaysian Higher Education

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between digital-literacy competencies and academic-library engagement among Generation Z students in a Malaysian private university. Grounded in the Big6 Model, DigComp 2.2 Framework, and Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, the research adopts a quantitative descriptive-correlational design to examine how information literacy, critical thinking, digital communication, and problem-solving skills influence students’ use of digital-library resources. Data were collected through a validated questionnaire (N = 421) and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression in IBM SPSS Statistics 29. Findings indicate that while students exhibit moderate overall digital literacy (M = 3.47, SD = 0.61), their engagement with institutional e-resources remains limited (M = 2.96). All four literacy dimensions correlated positively with library engagement (p < .01); however, information literacy emerged as the strongest predictor (β = 0.48, p < .001), followed by problem solving (β = 0.24) and critical thinking (β = 0.19). The results highlight a perception–practice gap: students overestimate their abilities yet underuse scholarly databases. The study affirms that higher-order cognitive and evaluative skills are central to effective digital participation and recommends integrating structured literacy modules, gamified tutorials, and peer-mentoring initiatives to strengthen Malaysia’s digital-competency agenda.