Evaluation Of Ict-based Information Resources And Services Utilization In Private University Libraries In Enugu State, Nigeria

Evaluation Of Ict-based Information Resources And Services Utilization In Private University Libraries In Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Using Enugu State, Nigeria, as a case study, the study’s main goal is to explore how ICT-Based Information Resources and Services are used in private university libraries.A survey research design was chosen for the study, and the researcher chose one hundred fifty (150) participants from three (3) private universities in Enugu State to serve as the study’s respondents. The responder was given a well-structured questionnaire, and a total of 141 replies were obtained and verified for the study. Data was examined using simple percentage, mean, and standard deviation in frequencies and tables. The results showed that the federal university libraries under consideration had a variety of ICT facilities at varying levels of availability. In terms of bibliographic tools, it also demonstrates how extensively ICT tools like e-mails, subject gateways, e-journals, and e-books are employed to provide reference services. It also demonstrates that consumers believe that using ICT for research purposes is advantageous. ICT utilization is proven to be hampered by a number of issues, including a lack of funding for ICT facilities, poor infrastructure, users’ outdated ICT skill levels, a lack of skilled staff in libraries, and software and hardware issues. The study made the following recommendations for addressing the issues with ICT utilization in federal university libraries in South East Nigeria: adequate infrastructure, funding, training of library staff on ICT use for research, provision of adequate electricity with backup power plant, institutional subscription.

Chapiter 1

Introduction

the study’s history

The implementation of new technology has become vitally essential since libraries are rapidly expanding organizations and the traditional ways of managing them are no longer dynamic and efficient for exploration, retrieval and dissemination of information, and improved service for the students. A fully digitized library would provide speedy and efficient services to its pupils. A digital library is an automated or electronic one where operations like accessing, sharing, and storing resources are done with the aid of a computer. The university library is a special type of library that is located at a university or other higher education institution. University libraries are those that are “attached to an institution of higher learning of the status of a university and that they serve primarily students, staff, and other users who need their services,” according to Madu (2004). It is essential that the university library serve the undergraduate and postgraduate students, lecturers, and other members of the university community because it was formed to support the university’s aims, which are to encourage teaching, learning, and research. The library is designed to offer information resources and services tailored specifically for undergraduate students’ academic goals. The university library serves postgraduate students, faculty, and research associates in a strategic way by offering depth-quality information resources and services. Agboola (2005) asserts that university libraries are crucial parts of academic institutions because of this. He further maintained that without a strong library to support its responsibilities for teaching, research, and public service, no institution could assert its claim to academic superiority. Similar to this, a university’s excellence is largely determined by the caliber of its library. No university can properly function without a library because of the strategic position it holds within the academic system.

The collections of these digital libraries, which are important since libraries cannot exist as a single institution and rely on technology to link their resources, go beyond surrogate creation and include digital items that cannot be represented or distributed in printed versions. With the change to digital libraries, the administration of print information collections can now be managed by libraries using a wider spectrum of information technologies. The development of the World Wide Web, which includes all applications for scholarly communication, the advancement of computer research, and the new function of databases, is possibly the greatest sign of this transition. The phrase “e-library” describes resources that may be accessed online. E-library don’t have geographic or temporal boundaries like conventional libraries do. Libraries have transformed as a result of the development and use of IT. By instructing users on how to locate, assess, and make use of information in libraries and on electronic networks, they have taken on the role of educators. Users are expected to gain information literacy skills as e-library usage grows. According to Julien (2002), these abilities will allow users to use information sources effectively and efficiently. Information literacy is therefore becoming more and more crucial, especially among students.

In the meantime, despite the call for “virtual libraries,” the adoption of information and communications technology and its exploitation as an enabling tool was more slowly adopted into Nigerian university libraries because they were then considered as predominantly book stores. Nigeria is severely challenged by a lack of basic infrastructures that have hampered development in most places, therefore the development and use of information technology in university libraries there is still a work in progress.

Description of the issue

Utilizing information and communication technology (ICT) has evolved into a crucial component of numerous university libraries all around the world. It is utilized for journal article searches, reference material access, research, and email sending (Aina, 2010). When used successfully, it leads to effective user service delivery, which improves information access, educational development, the position of Nigerian libraries, the digitization of indigenous content, and space preservation for libraries. It will also affect the role of university libraries as sources of knowledge, education, innovation, and research for societal progress, as well as a means of communication. On the other hand, when ICT is not used or used inefficiently, it will result in inefficient and bad user service delivery. On the other side, users will experience ongoing frustrations due to a lack of ICT usage, even when it is used; students who are unfamiliar with the routine of its usage will experience anxiety and avoidance behavior in addition to being dissatisfied and nervous (Okiy, 2010). Users of the university library will be even less likely to use the library for academic needs. It is implied that students and other researchers would fail to make use of crucial knowledge that could have improved their academic performance. While some people might forego using the library altogether and go to a cyber café to acquire information online through other accessible websites for current academic materials.

To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, university libraries in Nigeria, specifically Private university libraries in Enugu State Nigeria, appear to be still at a minimal level of utilizing ICT in providing user services, despite these advantages and the risks of poor ICT utilization for user services in university libraries. Although several academics have written about the use of ICT in university library services, none have focused their research on federal university libraries in Nigeria’s South Eastern region. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to ascertain how ICT is used in the users services of federal university libraries in South Eastern Nigeria, with a focus on the examination of the availability of ICT facilities, the extent of ICT use, the users’ perception of benefits derived, problems associated with ICT use, and strategies in containing those problems.

Goals of the Study

This study’s main goal is to look at how private university libraries in Enugu State, Nigeria, use ICT-based information resources and services. The study specifically intends to:

Examine the ICT resources offered by private university libraries in Enugu State to provide patron services.

Analyze the degree to which private university libraries in Enugu State employ ICT to provide user services.

Find out how the users of private university libraries in Enugu State feel about the advantages of using ICT.

Analyze the issues with ICT use in user services provided by private university libraries in Enugu State.

1.4 Research Problem

The study will be directed by the following research questions.

What ICT resources are accessible to private university libraries in Enugu State to provide user services?

What percentage of Enugu State’s private university libraries employ ICT for user services?

What do users in Enugu State think about the advantages of private university libraries using ICT for user services?

What issues are there with private university libraries in Enugu State using ICT for user services?

1.5 Importance of the research

The university administration, university librarians, other library personnel, students, faculty members, educational research institutions, information technology researchers, etc. could all benefit from this study’s findings. These findings will enable university librarians to pinpoint specific elements of library services that require improvement. They can use ICT to provide services to customers while saving money, time, and resources. This study will help academic librarians understand the value of using ICT to offer users services in university libraries. The practical functional knowledge and understanding of the significance of ICT in attaining access to information will be available to other library workers (Para-professionals). This conclusion will provide students and faculty members more assurance that the library can meet their research and academic demands. Finally, the study will add to the body of knowledge and be used as a resource for academics and students who wish to pursue additional research in the area.

1.6 Study’s purview

The subject is limited to the study of ICT utilization in user services, excluding other areas of the university library, such as the cataloguing and classification sections, acquisition, etc., with a particular focus on the examination of the availability of ICT facilities; extent of ICT utilization; users’ perceptions of benefits derived; problems associated with ICT. The scope of this study only includes private university libraries in Enugu State.

1.7 Study’s limitations

Every human activity has experienced constraints at some point, and at the time of this study, the same was true. The researcher encountered some limitations when conducting this study, including time limitations, budgetary limitations, and respondents’ attitudes. There was also the factor of researcher bias. Here, the researcher had some biases that might have been evident in the manner in which the data was gathered, the kinds of people who were interviewed or sampled, and the subsequent interpretation of the data gathered. It is impossible to understate the possibility that all of this will have an impact on the results and conclusions. Furthermore, because the study’s results were restricted to the sample population (librarians, library staff, and students) in the study’s study area (private universities in Enugu State), they might not be applicable to other institutions of higher learning, local governments, States, or other nations in the world.