Investigating foreign students' perceptions of their information literacy competencies.

The article investigates foreign students' perceptions of their information literacy competencies at Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah Branch, and Razi University in Iran during 2022, aiming to identify strengths and weaknesses to better tailor library services. Using a questionnaire completed by 335 Iraqi graduate students, the study assessed competencies across six areas: understanding information needs, information seeking, evaluation, storage and retrieval, and communication and dissemination of information. Results indicated that students’ self-assessed skills in all these areas were significantly below the theoretical average, highlighting gaps particularly in information evaluation and communication. Significant differences in competencies were found based on gender, educational degree, university affiliation, and academic discipline, while age showed no effect. The study underscores the need for targeted information literacy education and enhanced collaboration between librarians and foreign students to support academic success and lifelong learning.