Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
This paper investigates the effects of virtual library on the academic performance of undergraduate students in the Department of Medicine and Surgery, Benue State University, Makurdi. A case study design is used for the study. The population of the study comprises 392 undergraduate medical students of the department, and the sample size of 198 undergraduate medical students is used based on Taro Yamane’s model. The instrument adopts for data collection is questionnaire. The data collected are analyzed using simple percentages and presented in tables. The findings of the study reveal that majority of the undergraduate medical students are not properly conversant with the facilities in the virtual library, the extent of their use of virtual library is very low because they are choked with series of lectures and clinical engagements, and the utilization of virtual library resources has position effects on their academic performance without any negative impact. In addition, the study finds out that the challenges hampering the effective use of virtual library by the medical undergraduate students are unstable power supply, poor or fluctuating internet connectivity, and lack of free space to consult the virtual library resources. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the administrators of the Department of Medicine and Surgery in collaboration with the College of Health Sciences should organize series of seminars to sensitize the undergraduate medical students on the importance of the facilities housed in the virtual library. Equally, there should be provision of adequate power supply, adequate and sufficient internet connectivity in the virtual library, and sufficient break time from lectures and clinical engagements should be allocated to encourage the effective use of virtual library.