Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
6-2022
Abstract
Information and communication technology (ICT) has become vital in twenty-first-century classrooms. In a similar vein, the pandemic of coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) has prompted most countries to emphasize the use of ICT resources to build an online teaching platform. This development has prompted questions about Nigeria's educational system, as it is unknown how well-prepared instructors are to use ICT in the classroom. In this regard, there is a scarcity of research on how preschool librarians in Nigeria use ICT in their instruction. Thus, this research explored preschool librarians’ utilisation of information and communication technology for virtual library services. A descriptive survey research design was adopted using 157 preschool librarians sampled from primary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. The researchers developed and validated an information and communication technology usage questionnaire for this study. Using the Cronbach alpha approach, the internal consistency reliability index of the instrument's items was estimated to be 0.76. The data was gathered during the researchers' visits to the study's schools. The data were quantitatively analyzed using a mean and bar chart. It was discovered that preschool librarians use ICT for virtual library services in a very limited way. This means that unless immediate effort is made to encourage preschool librarians to use ICT to provide virtual library services, effective virtual library deployment would be impossible. As a result, it was suggested that preschool librarians be encouraged to use ICT to provide virtual library services through in-service training.