Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
Summer 8-2013
Abstract
It is a fact that acquisition and application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) contribute positively to effectiveness of academic libraries’ delivery of information services. The extent to which this is the case in Nigeria was interrogated in this study in order to justify the huge investment in ICT. Survey research design was adopted. The study population comprises professional librarians in academic libraries in Nigerian universities. The instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire complemented with interviews. A Total of 150 copies of the questionnaire were administered out of which 120 copies were retrieved giving 80.0% response rate. Analysis of the data collected was done using descriptive statistics in form of frequency counts, percentages and tables. Results shown that it librarians are aware of ICT tools and the benefits of using them. Irrespective of this none of the academic libraries in Nigerian universities have been able to maximized the benefits as due to the plethora of limiting factors such as internal politics (100%), epileptic power supply (100%) and lack of skilled systems analysts/engineers (91.7%) and inadequate funding (83.3%). Also revealed as a critical inhibitor to ICT acquisition and application in academic libraries is poor predisposition of the university librarians ICT projects as strongly agreed to by 85 (70.8%) respondents. The study however concluded on the note that ICT acquisition and application in academic libraries have the potential to offer innumerable benefits to the professionalization of librarianship in Nigeria through enhanced library operations and the provision of information services to library users.