UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Transcription

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TITLE PAGE
UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
(ICT) FOR REFERENCE SERVICES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY
LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA
A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA, IN
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD
OF DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D)
IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
BY
COMFORT UZUNMA UZOIGWE
(PG/Ph.D/03/35137)
DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
SUPERVISOR: PROF. V. W. DIKE
MAY, 2013
APPROVAL PAGE
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This work by Uzoigwe Comfort U. (Reg. No. PG/Ph.D/80/03/35137) has been approved for
the Department of Library and Information Science.
By
______________________
Prof. V.W. Dike,
Supervisor
_____________________
Internal Examiner
______________________
External Examiner
_____________________
Prof. V.W. Dike
Head of Department
___________________________
Prof. I.C.S. Ifelunni
Dean of Faculty
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CERTIFICATION
COMFORT UZUNMA UZOIGWE, a post–graduate student of the department of library and
information science with registration number: PG/Ph.D/03/35137 has satisfactorily
completed the requirements for research work for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The
work embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or in full for any
other diploma or degree of this or any other University.
______________________________
COMFORT .U. UZOIGWE
STUDENT
_____________________
PROF. V.W. DIKE
SUPERVISOR
DEDICATION
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This work is dedicated to God Almighty who has made all the things I thought was
impossible in my life possible.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The researcher hereby expresses her profound gratitude to the following who have in
several ways contributed to the successful completion of this study. Firstly, the researcher
wish to express my profound gratitude to my able supervisor Prof. (Mrs) V.W Dike who
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painstakingly read the work through the different stages of the study whose assistance and
recommendations guided her to the successful completion of this work.
The researcher is grateful to Prof. P. E. Eya, Centre Director National Open University of
Nigeria Enugu Study Centre, for his encouragement and support which cannot be quantified.
The researcher is also grateful to Dr. N.E.E. Achebe my mentor whose constructive
criticisms and corrections led to the completion of this work. Also worthy of mention are
these lecturers Dr. V.N. Nwachukwu, Dr. R.E Ozioko, Dr. F.C Ekere and Dr. J. Mole for their
encouragement and assistance. The researcher is very grateful to the university librarians of
the twelve Federal University libraries she studied for their immense contribution which
cannot be quantified. May God reward them abundantly. The researcher also recognizes the
contributions of my research assistants.
Finally, I am most grateful to my family, especially my husband for his
encouragement and financial support who stood by me during this period. My children are
also not forgotten, for their prayers for me to succeed.
The researcher is very grateful to her parents Late Elder and Mrs. J. K. Nwachukwu who
started this good work in me but Papa died before the harvest. Papa I will never forget your
efforts, may your gentle soul continue to rest in the bosom of the Lord, Amen.
To all who in one way or the other helped in the completion of this study. May God reward all
of you abundantly.
Uzoigwe Comfort U.
Department of Library and Information Science
UNN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Title Page
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Approval Page
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Acknowledgements -
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Table of Contents
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List of Figures
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List of Tables -
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List of Appendixes
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Abstract
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
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Background of the Study
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Statement of the Problem
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Purpose of the Study -
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Research Questions
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Hypotheses
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Significance of the Study
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Scope of the Study
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LITERATURE REVIEW -
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Overview of information and communication technology
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Concept of digital reference services -
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Application of ICT facilities for reference services -
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Current trends in the utilization of (ICT) for reference services in libraries -
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Problems of ICT use in reference services in university libraries
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Strategies for the effective utilization of ICT facilities in reference service -
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Certification Page
Dedication
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CHAPTER TWO:
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Conceptual Framework -
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Concept of reference services in libraries
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Theoretical Framework-
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Theories of reference services
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Theoretical model for the study
Review of Related Empirical Studies
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Summary of Literature Review -
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CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
Research Design
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Area of the Study
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Population of the Study
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Sample and Sampling Technique
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Instruments for Data Collection
Validation of Instrument
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Reliability of Instrument
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Method of Data Collection
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Method of Data Analysis
CHAPTERFOUR: RESULTS
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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS,
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
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Discussion of Findings
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Implications of Findings
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Recommendations
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Suggestion for Further Research
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Conclusion
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Limitations of the Study
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REFERENCES
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APPENDICES
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1. Adopted from General Process Reference Model -
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2. Bar Chart Showing the Ranking of Problems Militating Against the
Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services as Perceived by Librarians
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3. Bar Chart Showing the Ranking of Problems Militating Against the
Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services as Perceived by Library Users 93
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LIST OF TABLES
Tables
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1. Availability of ICT Facilities in the Reference Sections of the Federal
University Libraries
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2. Databases for the Subscription of E-Resources by the Federal University
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3. Mean Responses of Librarians on What Purposes ICT Facilities are Utilized
in Reference Services
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4. Mean Responses of Library Users on what Purposes ICT Facilities are
Utilized in Reference Services -
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5. Mean Responses of Librarians on Extent of ICT Facilities Utilization in
Reference Services in the Federal University Libraries -
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6. Mean Responses of Library Users on Extent of ICT Facilities Utilization
for their Reference Needs
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7. Mean Responses of Librarians on the Perceived Benefits of ICT
Facilities Use in Reference Services in the University Libraries under Study
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8. Mean Responses of Library Users on the Perceived Benefits of ICT
Facilities Use for their Reference Needs -
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9. Mean Responses of Librarians on Perceived Problems Militating Against the
Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services in the Federal
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10. Mean Responses of Library Users on Inhibitors to their Use of ICT
Facilities for their Reference Needs
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11. Mean Responses of Librarians on the Strategies for Enhancing the
Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services of the University Libraries
Under Study
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12. ANOVA Test Analysis of Significant Difference Between the Mean
Responses of Librarians in the Six Geo-Political Zones on the Extent of
Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services
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13. ANOVA Test Analysis of Significant Difference Between the Mean
Responses of Librarians in the Six Geo-Political Zones on the Problems
Militating Against Their Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services
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14. ANOVA Test Analysis of Significant Difference Between the Mean Responses
of Library Users in the Six Geo-Political Zones on the Benefits they Derive
from their Utilization of ICT Facilities for their Reference Needs.
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendices
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A. Questionnaires for Librarians and Users on the Utilization of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT), for Reference Services in Federal
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B. Availability of ICT Facilities in the Reference Sections of the Federal
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C. Validation of Research Instrument on Utilization of ICT Facilities for Reference
Services in Federal University Libraries - 138
D. Reliability of Instrument -
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E. List of Selected Federal Universities Studied from the Six Geo-Political Zones 151
F. Interview Guide for Reference Librarians
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G. Distribution and Collection of Questionnaire
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H. Formulas for Mean, Standard Deviation and ANOVA Test Statistics.
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I. List of Federal Universities in Nigeria
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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this work was to examine the extent of utilization of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) in reference services in Federal university libraries in
Nigeria. Six research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study.
Descriptive survey was the research design adopted for the study. The population of the
study comprised all the librarians and reference library users in all the federal university
libraries in Nigeria. Simple random sampling was used to select two Federal university
libraries from the six geo-political zones, making a total of twelve libraries that were used for
the study. Four hundred and sixty-five (465) librarians from the federal university libraries
and a total of twelve thousand six hundred and fifty two (12,652) users (Masters and
Doctoral students) of the reference sections of the Federal university libraries as stated by the
reference librarians made up the population. Stratified random sampling was used to sample
two hundred and eighty-five (285) librarians while accidental sampling was used to sample
one thousand, five hundred and sixty (1,560) library users for the study. Two structured
questionnaires were used to collect data from librarians and library users. Observation and
interview guides were also used to elicit information from reference librarians on utilization
of ICT in reference services. Frequency, Mean scores and Standard deviation were used to
analyze data from the questionnaire, while data from the observation and interview were
analyzed qualitatively and the hypotheses were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA)
test statistics. Major findings showed that ICT facilities were available in federal university
libraries, that the ICT facilities were utilized for reference services but that they were not
utilized reference operations like inter – library loans, resource sharing, networking and chat
services. The utilization of ICT facilities in reference services has made reference operations
faster, easier and interesting. The constraints facing the utilization of ICT in reference
services included poor funding, irregular power supply, lack of reference librarians and lack
of ICT information policy in the country. The researcher also found out strategies that could
be used to enhance the utilization of ICT in reference services: adequate funding, training
and retraining of librarians through seminars, workshops and conferences. The National
Universities Commission (NUC) should mandate all universities to automate their libraries
within a stipulated period. There should be regular supply of power and maintenance of the
ICT facilities.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Contemporary societies generally rely on universities for their development and their
sustainability. Universities have been recognized as critical centers for the development of
societies through the advancement and diffusion of knowledge. Universities are required to
generate and organize information for teaching, research and management decision making
(Yusuf and Onasanya in Agabi & Uche, 2006). It is for these reasons that research, teaching
and community service are considered the most central objectives of the university system.
According to Jega (2007), universities as institutions for knowledge generation and its
transfer to the society have been central to development, contributing ideas, skills,
technology and expertise in many spheres of human endeavour. Uzoigwe and Onwubiko
[2004] opined that university libraries are central to the functions of the universities and
contribute to the overall development of the society through its provision of relevant
information resources that are necessary for sustaining the teaching, learning, research and
public service.
The university library is an academic library that is located in a university to serve
primarily the students, workers and the community at large [Wikipedia 2012]. Oyedun
[2007] concisely defined academic libraries as those libraries that are mainly found in tertiary
institutions. In the same vein, Ubogu [2006] maintains that academic libraries continually
seek to identify their roles in contributing to institution outcomes and objectives in the areas
of teaching, learning and research. He reveals that priorities in most academic libraries
include active participation in furthering the institutional objectives of producing students
who are information literate and are prepared for lifelong learning.
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According to Oparah (2006), the university library through her reference services is
expected to provide the following:-
access to information resources :·
Through online catalogs, indexes and databases including full text e –
resources.
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Through connections to local, regional and global networks and
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By securing materials for students, academics and staff through interlibrary
loan and other resources sharing arrangements.
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ICT infrastructure: state-of-the-art hardware and software and sufficient bandwidth
and responsive network management at multiple levels, from the institutional level
upwards.
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Expert professional support to facilitate thorough and accurate use of all library
resources,
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Access to library materials and services to the community.
According to Ajidahun (2004), it is worth mentioning that university libraries in
Nigeria are now being gradually computerized, thus these libraries are expected to provide
ICT facilities for greater productivity and service in which case; users will no longer be
dependent on reference librarians as search intermediaries. According to Rockman [1999]
‘the role of reference librarians has changed from search intermediaries to information
competence teachers’. Wilson [2000] argues that with the emergence of electronic reference
and ask-a-librarian’ services, the information that was once provided at the reference desk is
now being offered on the library homepage.
The reference section is one of the most sensitive sections of the university library
due to the variety of services it offers to the users. The reference section, which provides
reference services, according to Ezeani (2005), plays very crucial and critical roles in
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presenting a good image of the library. This is because the reference staff is the ‘front line’
staff as the section is usually the first port of call for any researcher. It is because of this role,
reference librarians often determine the extent a library is successful in serving its clientele.
Reference Services as perceived by many is all about rendering assistance to users in pursuit
of their information needs. Reference Services, according to Gama [2008] means personal
assistance given by librarians to users in pursuit of information. The assistance could be in
form of referral to likely sources of information. Idris, Oji and Abana [2011] noted that the
central course of discourse in reference services is ‘personal assistance’. It is also the
formalized provision of information in diverse forms by a reference librarian who is
interposed between the questioner and the available information. Reference services involve
translating the queries of users into terms that can be met by a given reference source.
There are two types of reference services: direct and indirect services. The direct
reference services involve person- to- person relationship, usually one in which the librarian
answers the user’s question. Indirect reference services consist of behind-the-scene activities
which comprise the preparation and development of catalogues, bibliographies and all other
reference aids that help in providing access to the library collections for the provision of
reference services. The information glut and increased production of materials have made it
difficult for the reference librarian to render efficient services to users using traditional
means. Moreover, the traditional reference strategies of searching card catalogue, instruction
to users, helping the users to locate books on the shelves, inter-library loan, using indexes
and abstracts to answer users’ queries are characterized by increased inefficiency and
ineffectiveness.
The delays in manual reference services have frustrated library users to the extent
that many may have resolved not to come to the library again. Ehikhemonor, Rugh and
Dewoth in Achebe (1998) have shown that there could be reduction in patronage if library
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users’ interests are not met. As Onifade and Sowole (2011) put it, libraries are no longer
passive and archival institutions but are effective service institutions. The responsibilities of
libraries go beyond gathering and organizing books and journals to include an active role in
disseminating information. One way this can be achieved is through effective reference
service, which can be harnessed by the use of computers and ICT facilities.
According to Agbo (2011), information and communication technology (ICT) is an
umbrella term that includes all technologies for the manipulation and communication of
information. It encompasses any medium to recorded information (magnetic disk, tape,
optical disks (DVD/CD), flash and paper record), technologies for broadcasting information
(radio, television, and cinema), technologies for communicating through voice and sound or
images (microphone, camera, loudspeaker, telephone to cellular phones) and wide varieties
of computing hardwares (desktop computers, laptops, servers, mainframes, networked
storage. It can also be defined as the mechanism of capturing, processing, storing,
transmitting and communicating information. Along, with this rapid technological
advancement entered the “internet”, which has today created a borderless surge of
information which also boosted reference services in our libraries.
The emergence of computer technology and its related information and
communication technologies in library operations has come as a potential rescue to reference
librarians in their bid to cope with the above challenges. Since the problems of information
explosion in the 1970’s, libraries in the developed world have strived to adopt ICT in their
services to facilitate the flow of information to and from users (Okore, 2005). In fact, the
contemporary reference services that have indisputably made the application of ICT to
reference services mandatory include: on line searches of information, bibliographic searches
and easy retrieval of information. Other services like current awareness services (CAS)
provision of current statistics on the use of reference materials in the libraries and listing of
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current reports and selective dissemination of information (SDI). The main purpose of ICT in
reference services is to help users find an information source or the information itself to meet
their individual needs. It will also help users to outsource documents or information based on
available databases. It makes it possible for library users to access their catalogues and other
documents without pulling their drawers of three by-five cards.
The introduction of ICT in reference services has the potential of eliminating the
bottle-necks and cumbersomeness associated with manual reference services. According to
Martell (2003) rendering of reference services to users using ICT can be on-site or off-site.
The functions of the reference librarian have remained constant. The difference that exists
now is primarily in the tools that are used. In the past, the librarian used books, magazines,
encyclopedias, guides, newspapers and other print materials, with only the library catalogue
to answer reference queries. Today, reference librarians have incorporated a host of new
tools for digital reference services which include the telephone, photocopier, fax machine,
television, computer, printers, modem, disks, CD-ROMs, telecommunications, scanners, email, data bases, e-resources and the Internet to help their patrons. Libraries in the
developing world are currently attempting to take advantage of these new devices (Corral,
1995). With ICT, the On-line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), a networked universally
accessible entity, helps the reference librarian to access the holdings of a library anywhere
easily. Before the introduction of ICT, inter-library loan was a problem because of the
physical delivery of documents, but with the new technologies of scanning and digitizing,
delivery and retrieval of journal articles and other documents to off-site users has been made
easy.
With the availability of functional virtual libraries that have full internet connectivity
and linkages to massive databases and ICT systems, one can source information anywhere.
With ICT, reference services are apparently faster, easier and at the convenience of the user.
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All relevant information materials can virtually be accessed by the reference librarian using
ICT systems and made available to library users. With the application of ICT, reference
librarians are expected to answer queries by down-loading and manipulating files to assist
users with software application. Information and Communication Technology has led to the
establishment of databases which have enabled libraries to out-source content and disburden
themselves of the task of collection building (Wolf in Okore, 2005). Other areas where ICT
resources are used in digital reference services include: current awareness services, cooperative resource sharing, compilation of electronic bibliographies and user education for
library users.
The provision of reference services in an electronic environment is becoming very
complex. According to Roesch (2006), the current application of ICT to reference services
involves high-tech information resources and operations, including various media: e-mail,
web forms, chat, video, web customer call centre software, voice over internet protocol
(VOIP) and video conferencing. These media are divided into two categories, namely:
asynchronous and synchronous. Asynchronous forms involve communication between the
users and the librarians which is experienced with little time delay within 24 hours. They
include e-mail, web form, chatterbot and frequently asked questions (FAQs). On the other
hand, synchronous forms involve immediate communication with the users. They include
simple chat; instant messaging as a chat variant, extended chat, voice over internet protocol
(VOIP) and video conferencing. Other variants of digital reference services media, according
to (Roesch 2006), include the web contact centre, which combines several forms of digital
reference offered by a library and collaborative reference which is provided by several
libraries that have formed a consortium by pooling their resources and sharing work-load
together. The Question Point Software in addition to library Profile Modules are used to coordinate the collaboration amongst the participating libraries (Roesch, 2006). The author
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further explained that digital reference via e-mail is very easy and cheap to implement and
may be asked even when the library has closed; their only disadvantage is the time delay in
answering the queries.
Many libraries, according to Davis (2000), have good virtual reference desks.
Reference via web forms allows users to provide further and more structured details of their
information needs. This notwithstanding, it is not suitable for more complex needs, such as
detailed research queries. Chatterbots is an interactive data-base that contains a range of prepaid information; the users do not communicate with the librarian but rather enter their
queries in the fields provided and receive replies immediately. They are available round the
clock and to several users concurrently (Roesch, 2006). It is doubtful that this advanced form
of digital reference services is obtainable in Nigerian university libraries.
The utilization of ICT in reference services in Nigeria has been very gradual. The
provision of ICT in Nigerian libraries started with special libraries and spread to academic
libraries (Ohaji, 2004). Ogunleye cited by Ajihadan, (2004) reported that attempts to apply
ICT in library operations and reference services in Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s failed. The
literature of these efforts is replete of tales of flop and unsuccessful implementation.
Nevertheless, a few stories of success have been recorded earlier, mainly in the foreignowned or sponsored libraries like the IITA library, the British Council Libraries in Enugu,
Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos, the United States Information Services (USIS) library and
a few others (Nwachukwu, 2006). The NUC (2002) and UNESCO (2003) planned virtual
libraries for Nigerian universities, but the plans were not actualized in many universities
(Gbaje, 2007). Furthermore, Gbaje laments that the failure of National Information
Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has led to poor implementation of the virtual
library initiatives in the universities and that this has continued to adversely affect the
application of ICT in library operations in university libraries in Nigeria. Olanlokun (2003)
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concluded that the application of ICT in library services in the universities in Nigeria is still
at its infant stages of development.
However, Nkanu [2007] reported rapid growth of computerization exercise in
libraries because of its immense benefits in breaking the barriers of time, distance and
location that used to impede the provision of library services. These benefits of utilization of
ICT for reference services were hindered in our libraries by the high costs of maintaining
ICT facilities, epileptic power supply, and lack of trained ICT staff and the menace of virus
in ICT systems (Uzoigwe, 2004). O’Connor (1998) sees the lukewarm attitude of Nigerian
government and some university authorities to the electronic library as a basic problem. All
these may hinder the effective functioning and utilization of ICT in reference services in the
federal university libraries.
The ICT use these days in federal university libraries according to Gama (2008) is
better than that of state-owned university libraries because the federal government sponsored
the computerization of federal university libraries, although the Education Tax Fund also
helped to computerize most of the state university libraries. Studies by Asamoah -Hassan
(2002) showed that many of the universities in West Africa, including Nigeria, have ICT
facilities in their libraries. A similar study conducted in Nigeria by Ajidahun (2004) on the
status of ICT in university libraries indicated that there were ICT facilities in all the 21
university libraries studied. Ibegbulam (2000) and Anunobi (2005) conducted research on the
use of ICT for reference services in federal university libraries in Nigeria while AsamoahHassan (2002) conducted a research on the state of information and communication
technology (ICT) availability in West Africa. These studies revealed that ICT was much used
for administration, serials, cataloguing and not much in reference services. Many university
libraries from different geo-political zones in Nigeria show evidence of utilization of ICT
facilities more than other zones. Studies by Anunobi [2005] support the above assertion that
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some zones have and utilize ICT facilities more than others. These studies did not dwell
extensively on reference services.
Statement of the Problem
The reference section of the university library gives face- to- face services and
provides materials for the users and also helps in accomplishing the institution’s objectives in
the production of citizens. Traditionally, reference functions were carried out manually, but
these methods are no longer sufficient due to such challenges as user expectations and high
cost of print materials. Reference services have become more complex and are unable to
provide the increasing variety and quantity of information needed by patrons with traditional
methods.
Federal universities have introduced ICT into reference services as a way of meeting
these challenges. However, in spite of the many benefits derived from the utilization of ICT
in library operations, including reference services, literature indicates that federal university
libraries are yet to benefit from its utilization. This could be as a result of logistic problems
connected with the cost of acquiring ICT facilities, dearth of ICT technology support
facilities in the country, lack of ICT policy in the country, lack of commitment on the part of
the stakeholders and lack of appropriate skills by librarians and its potential users. If these
problems are not addressed urgently, the goals of reference section of university library such
as satisfying users’ information needs and quality research work cannot be achieved.
A number of articles (Ibegbulam, 2000, Asamoah-Hassan, 2002, Ajidihun, 2004 and
Anunobi, 2005) on the availability and utilization of ICT in library services, did not find ICT
being much used in reference services in Nigerian libraries. The above studies failed to
indicate the extent to which the ICT facilities were functional and the influence of their
utilization on reference services. Moreover, the studies did not indicate whether the federal
university libraries that are utilizing ICT in their reference services have experienced positive
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influence of ICT in their reference operations as expected or whether the situation has
changed significantly over this last decade. There is therefore the need for an in-depth study
of this kind to ascertain the current situation regarding the use of ICT for reference services
and factors that may still be preventing its full utilization in federal university libraries in
Nigeria.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is on the utilization of information and communication
technology (ICT) in reference services in federal university libraries in Nigeria. Specifically,
the study seeks to:
1. Identify the ICT resources available for reference services of the federal university
libraries,
2. Examine the purposes for which ICT facilities are utilized in reference services.
3. Determine the extent of utilization of ICT in reference services in the federal
university libraries,
4. Ascertain the perceived benefits on ICT utilization in reference services,
5. Find out the problems relating to utilization of ICT in reference services in federal
university libraries, and
6. Ascertain strategies for enhancing the utilization of ICT in reference services in the
federal university libraries.
Research Questions
In line with the set purpose of this study, the following research questions were
formulated to guide the study:
1. What are the ICT resources available for reference services in the federal university
libraries?
22
2. For what purposes are ICT facilities utilized in reference services in he federal
university libraries.
3. To what extent are those ICT facilities utilized in reference services in the federal
university libraries?
4. What are the perceived benefits of the use of ICT on reference services in the
university libraries under study?
5. What are the perceived problems militating against the utilization of ICT facilities in
reference services in the federal university libraries?
6. What are the strategies for enhancing the utilization of ICT facilities in reference
services of the university libraries under study?
Hypotheses
The study was further guided by the following hypotheses.
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean responses of librarians of the federal
university libraries in the six geo-political zones on the extent of utilization of ICT in
reference services.
Ho2
There is no significant difference in the mean responses of librarians of the federal
university libraries in the six geo-political zones on the problems militating against the
utilization of ICT in reference services.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in the mean responses of library users of the federal
university libraries in the six geo-political zones on benefits of utilization of ICT in
reference services.
Significance of the Study
It is hoped that the findings of this study will be of benefit to a number of people –
university management, reference librarians, library users, university librarians, education
planners, researchers and stakeholders. The outcome of the study is expected to be useful to
23
university management in its efforts to improve the standard of reference services of the
Nigerian university libraries. The findings of the study are expected to help the university
management pay more attention to the funding of the libraries, provision of ICT facilities and
employment of qualified ICT staff, knowing fully well that the introduction of ICT into
reference services of the university libraries will enhance effective teaching, learning and
research. The results of this study will be useful to the reference librarians, because (apart
from consequent training on the job in line with the changes of the time) it will expose them
to the requirements and the need to use ICT in reference services as against the traditional
method. This will enhance their efficiency and effectiveness on their job especially in
rendering services to the outside users.
Library users will benefit from the findings of this study because the reference
librarians, having been exposed to new methods of reference services through ICT, will help
them more to know how to meet up the users’ information needs in the digital era promptly.
The library managers (university librarians) will from the results of this study become
aware of the problems inhibiting the utilization of ICT in reference services. This will
thereby sensitize them on the various ways of improving reference services through ICT. The
education planners will benefit from the results of this study because it will help them know
what should be included in the library students’ curriculum in this era of information
explosion. This will enable them to integrate courses that will help produce future ICT
literate librarians who are prepared for electronic library services.
The results of this study will also serve as a reference material to library users,
librarians, researchers, university managers, education planners and students who may want
to explore further into this area of study, since the improvement of reference services in the
university libraries should be a continuous process. The study will provide an addition to
knowledge and update in the literature of the library and information science.
24
Finally, the results of this study will be useful to all the stakeholders of the university
in that the attainment of the university goals and objectives is significantly dependent on the
quality of the university library and the collective action of the stakeholders.
Scope of the Study
This study covered the reference sections of the federal university libraries of Nigeria.
As at 2009, there were twenty-seven federal universities in Nigeria (NUC 2009). The federal
university libraries have been chosen for the study because studies have shown that many of
them have introduced ICT in their library services, (Asamoah – Hassan, 2002). The study
also covered the problems that impede the application of ICT in reference services and the
strategies to promote the utilization of ICT in reference services of the federal university
libraries under study. The ICT facilities used for the reference services that this study
covered included – computers, printers, scanners, internet, e-resources fax machines. The
twenty-seven university libraries as at that time included – University of Ibadan, Ibadan,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, University of Jos, Jos, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Univrsity, Bauchi, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, University of Lagos, Akoka, Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria, University of Benin, Benin City, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University
of Abuja, Gwagwalada, Bayero University Kano, Federal University of Technology, Akure,
Federal University of Technology, Yola, Federal University of Technology Minna, Federal
University of Technology, Owerri, University of Calabar, Calabar, University of Maiduguri,
Maiduguri, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture,
Umudike, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt,
Usmandanfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, National Open
University of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigerian Deference Academy, Kaduna, and Federal University
of Petroleum Resources, Effurun.
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The related literature to this study herein reviewed is organized under the following
sub-headings.
Conceptual Framework
Overview of information and communication technology
Concept of digital reference services
Application of ICT facilities for reference services
Current trends in the utilization of information and communication technology ICT
for reference services in libraries
Problems of ICT use in reference services in university libraries
Strategies for effective utilization of ICT facilities in reference services
Theoretical Framework
Availability and utilization of ICT facilities in Nigerian university libraries
Impact of utilization of ICT facilities on reference services in university libraries
Summary of Literature Review
Conceptual Framework
Reference and information services have always been the main component of library
services and also accorded great importance in libraries worldwide. This is because it
provides assistance to users in pursuit of their information needs. Information need is an
14
26
essential element in one’s life, which can either make or destroy the individuals, depending
on how they handle it. In defining reference service Gama (2008) in Idris, Oji and Abana
(2011) cited scholars such as Lynch, Bunge and Edoka means personal assistance given by
librarians to users in pursuit of information. They further stated that the assistance could be in
form of referral to likely sources of information or in the form of information itself or it
could be any library activity deliberately designed to facilitate easy retrieval of information.
Reference service is the act of bringing into contact the right reader and the right
book or the right information source at the right time in a personal way (Umunna in Mole,
2006). Provision of information successfully to information seekers is the ultimate goal and
all the efforts and funds expended and sustained in maintaining a library. Also, Massey –
Burzin in Mole (2006) emphasized that it was for this reason that reference services arose as
a distinct specialty in librarianship in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Reference services according to Retiz (2004) are all the functions performed by a
trained librarian employed in the reference section of a library to meet the information needs
of the patrons (in person, by telephone or electronically).However, reference services are not
limited to the activities, roles, functions and services rendered by the reference librarians, but
also behind-the-scene activities like documentation lists constitute the reference service.
Gama (2008) in Idris, Orji and Abana (2011) concurred that reference service was not just
about answering questions posed by users, it was also about the maintenance of the reference
sources from which answers to questions were provided and materials needed by users were
made available. He further stated that reference work encompasses series of processes, which
include:
·
The collection and acquisition of appropriate materials, books, pamphlets,
newspapers, periodicals, maps, atlases, charts, microform, standards, reports,
illustrations, records, videos, etc., in response to the needs of the clientele.
27
·
The organization, arrangement and maintenance of those materials so that they can be
used easily and effectively by both staff and users.
·
The compilation of union list of holdings and specialized indexes related to those
topics in which the service has a specialized interest.
·
General information files giving details of searches and strategies employed in the
answering of queries which are likely to be raised again.
·
In- service training of staff to ensure that optimum use is made of all facilities and
that a sense of teamwork is fully engendered.
·
Production of printed and other guides to the library and the service it can offer, i.e.
publicity and education.
·
Adequate signposting and guidance to the layout of the library.
·
Instructional guidance to users in the exploitation of the library and the use of
reference materials.
·
The search for, location and presentation of sought information on behalf of users.
Reference services involve a high degree of personal interaction between the
reference librarian and the library users. The service can be provided to individual users or
small groups of users when their information need is clearly known during the time of
interaction. Nwalo (2000) opined that reference services constitute one of the most
professional aspects of the librarian’s responsibilities which every prospective librarian must
properly grasp. Reference service of any library therefore involves giving professional
personal assistance to library users towards satisfying their quest for information of interest
to them. In fact, reference service provides a link between the reader and his needed
information or information materials in the library. Bopp (2001) noted that such personal
assistance is the essence of reference services and the fundamental role of reference
librarians. He emphasized that the goal of the reference librarian is to meet the information
28
needs of users. However, how and to what extent this is done varies from library to library
and also depends on the type of library. The reference services and sources to be provided by
a university depend upon the curriculum, research programmes, method of teaching and
objectives of the university.
Ibegbulam (2000) in Onifade and Sowole (2011) observed that reference service in
Nigerian university libraries use mostly print works, and also reference services no longer
centre on one-on-one service delivered face-to-face in the library but other formats are being
applied to reference services. Bunge (1999) categorized reference services into three broad
groups: 1. Informative services that involves either finding the required information on behalf of
the users or assisting users in finding such information,
2. Instruction in the use of the library resources and services (broadly defined as
information literacy skills), and
3. User guidance, in which users are guided in selecting the most appropriate
information sources and services for their varied information needs.
The above definitions refer mainly to manual reference services which involve the
reference librarian sitting on a desk and answering queries from patrons. It may take the form
of the librarian directing the user to the catalogue to use the index to locate materials needed.
Direct or simple queries may be answered immediately; some queries may however require
the reference librarian leaving his seat to get the material needed for the patrons. The
reference librarian in order to provide information may make use of the resources within and
outside the library. However, the type of reference services to be provided invariably depend
on the type of information the client wants. It may be ready or long range reference. The
ready reference deals with queries on factual information which the reference librarian
provides answers to in minutes. An example of ready reference question is: When did
29
Nigeria gain her independence? In ready reference, search is traditionally restricted to ready
reference source like the dictionaries, encyclopedias, yearbooks and directories.
The long range reference service is so called on the basis of the time involved.
Immediate answers cannot be provided in long range queries (Kumar, 2008). In traditional
long range reference a prolonged search for the needed information has to be made by the
reference librarian. In some cases the solution may not come immediately from their library,
in which case the information has to be provided from other sources outside the library. The
information sought may take hours, days or weeks as the case may be. These traditional
reference services are characterized by delays, errors and cumbersomeness, because of the
search techniques used (Ehikhemanor, 1990).
The concept of reference services developed in the developed countries like America
from the late 19th century and in a developing country like Nigeria in the 20th century with
the inception of the University College Ibadan in 1948 and the development of its library.
According to Janes (2003) in Adomi (2008), reference work arose to respond to
several forces and trends, including: an increase in the number and variety of information
resources available in libraries and outside.
·
An increase in the complexity of information resources.
·
Jointly, these combine to make it more difficult; in general, for people to find the
resource they are looking for and to find the information they need within that
resource.
·
An increase in the number and diversity of people using libraries, leading to a wider
range of the information needs and enquires and sophistication with the search for
information.
·
The needs and expectations of users of reference service to information are becoming
greater than before.
30
The global information revolution of the 20th century made manual systems of
delivering information services in the libraries, especially academic and research libraries,
mundane, clumsy and inefficient (Aguolu and Aguolu in Anunobi, Nwankwo, Oga and
Benard 2011). The result of this is that the reference services provided by most University
libraries especially in the developing countries, according to Devine in Mole (2006), are
characterized by inadequate and outdated sources as well as incompetence in the handling of
modern reference services. Librarians are faced with the challenge of tackling these and other
problems for enhance reference services for their clientele.
However, the introduction of ICT in reference service has helped reference librarians
contain the challenges of the information age. This flow of information is being facilitated
greatly by ICT, leading to the emergence of digital reference services as a rescue. Digital
reference service is that assistance the reference librarian offers using ICT facilities like the
internet, e-mail, web forms and CD-ROM in answering library users’ queries. According to
Franeour (2002) digital reference service is divided into two broad categories – asynchronous
and synchronous transactions. Asynchronous transactions occur where there is a delay
between the time the questions are posed and the time the answers are given. This may
happen in digital reference services involving the use of e-mail, web forms and similar ICT
resources. Synchronous transactions happen in real-time and the response to a query is
supplied almost immediately. This may take the form of chat reference and video
conferencing. Collaborative digital reference services exist where two or more libraries team
up to offer reference services using any of the above formats. Generally, ICT has added
comfort, convenience, ease, speed and multi-modal sources to the process of reference
services.
According to Adomi (2008) digital and traditional reference services share the same
general principles of reference services and have a common goal of satisfying library users.
31
They are however different in their modes of operation. In traditional reference services,
indexes and abstracts are used for their search while traditional sources like encyclopedias
and dictionaries are used to provide answers to queries. Digital reference services on the
other hand use ICT facilities like the computers, internet, e-mail and CD-ROM as well as
search engines to locate e-resources in electronic formats and provide same to patrons. In
digital reference service, the patrons can be within or outside the library. Furthermore, in
digital reference, the problems of lack of space and unavailability of books and journals are
virtually eliminated. The use of ICT has brought flexibility and speed in reference services
which would have been impossible with traditional or manual means. The primary
advantages of digital reference over traditional reference according to Alasa and Kelechukwu
in Uzoigwe(2004) include the following:
-
increase resource sharing.
-
makes information to be more up to date.
-
increases convenience for the library user and others in general.
-
creates faster access to information than manual library services.
-
makes students in the remote areas to have access to information without visiting the
libraries’ shelves.
-
helps patrons who are ICT compliant to get information anytime of the day and night
without the assistance of the librarians.
-
produces access to so much information, that the choice becomes more difficult for the
users.
-
creates higher profile for the library.
-
breaks the barrier of geographical distance for the library users and other information
seekers.
Finally, reference service is the heart of library services whose roles in the attainment
of the institution’s objectives cannot be over emphasized. In view of this, Ifidion and Ifidion
32
(2008) suggested that detailed instruction and more assistance in the utilization of reference
materials should be a necessary service in the reference section of university libraries.
Generally, students should be encouraged to use the library on their own while it is the duty
of the reference librarian to direct the students to the right kind of sources for their
information needs. The emergence of the internet as the largest repository of information and
knowledge also changed the role of library and librarians from intermediary to facilitator,
using new tools for dissemination of information. Also, it brought shift from physical to
virtual services environment and extinction of some conventional information services and
emergence of new and innovational web based services.
Overview of information and communication technology (ICT)
The concept of ICT started with the term IT – Information technology and later
developed to ICT. Information Technology (IT), according to Achebe (2005), gave birth to
Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Blake (1992) was of the view that
advances in research and development in micro-electronics led to the development of
technologies in areas such as computer science, telemetric and informatics which eventually
gave birth to Information Technology. Information Technology refers to the various
technologies used in the library and information centres in the society from early civilization
to the modern world.
Information technology has been aptly defined by Harrod as a generic term covering
the technologies for acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of textual, numerical,
pictorial and vocal information. With the development of telecommunications and computer
technologies, information technology metamorphosed into what is known as Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). In the opinion of Nwali (2004) information and
Communication technology is the use of computers, CD-ROM, Internet and related
technologies in acquiring, processing, storing and disseminating information. Dacombe and
33
Heck, as cited by Anyakoha (2005; 2) defined ICT as “the electronic means of capturing,
processing, storing and disseminating information”.
The essential features of ICT have been categorized by Achebe (2005; 17) as follows:
-
Capturing technologies (e.g. keyboards, touch screens, voice recognition system,
image, scanner etc).
-
Storage technologies (e.g. floppy disks, smart cards, magnetic tapes, disk etc).
-
Processing technologies (e.g. the system and application software’s for data
processing).
-
Personal Computers (CP) (e.g. compact disk, reader contains software which provides
programming and operating system instruction). It is capable of providing special
automatic or graphic processing applications.
-
Communication technology (e.g. digital broadcasting, electronic bulletin board,
cellular phones etc).
-
Display technologies (e.g. digital video, disc, CD-ROM drives, audio CD, printers,
computer display screen etc).
The pervasive nature of (ICT) appears to be affecting every aspect of human endeavour.
According to Ukodie (2004; 10): It has been commonly accepted and proven that
information and communication technology is the engine of the 21st century and beyond. It
will chart the economic, educational, religious, cultural and social life of nations. It will open
doors of possibilities and opportunities for nations and their people, yet in the same breath
confine nations that are not effectively put in the matrix of global information order in
cocoons.
Ajayi (2000) further pointed out that the revolution taking place in information and
communication technologies have been the centre and driving force for the globalization
process. Transtinikor in Singh (2004) also opines that although traditional channels of
34
communication will still remain important, the new information and communication
technologies hold great potential for broadly disseminating knowledge at low cost and for
reducing knowledge gaps within countries and between industrial and developing countries.
In a broader sense, access to the right information at the right time gives people greater
control of their destinies.
Mahon (1987; 39) sees the technology as, “a window on the world, extending the
capacity of people to access information, enabling the sharing of resources and for most
information workers, bringing them into contact with the language and technology of
telecommunication”. Discussing ICT from the academic angle Iwe (2000) writes:
That ICT is about revolutionizing human communication,
providing voice to billions of individuals who have hitherto
been unheard, promoting and predicting innovation,
adaptation, tracking technological changes that have the
power to turn age old geographical boundaries with myth
and globalizing our education to the point where students
are just as likely to collaborate with someone half a mile
away as if in the next door room (p 17).
Furthermore, Stevens (2006) indicates that, a paradigm shift in delivering higher
education will emphasize cost effective applications of computer and information technology
in all aspects of the institution’s operations with a view to significantly reducing cost;
especially to students, while substantially improving their education. The application of ICT
in the daily lives of people has given rise to such concepts as electronic banking or ebanking, e-bulletin boards, e-journals, e-mail, e-education, e-commerce and in this case ereference service. Above all, the introduction of Global System of Mobile Communication
(GSM) has made communication and business operations to be carried out with ease.
Actually ICT has found its way into all aspects of human activities. It has also become useful
in the provision of library and information services.
35
Faboyinde (2006) summarizes the whole concept this way:
The emergence of ICT has greatly shrank the world into a
global village that anyone or any organization, the library in
particular, ignoring ICT is asking to be side-tracked and placed
in the periphery in the international arena, get unredeemable
out-dated and grossly limited in the acquisition as well as
dissemination of information (p 61).
This is because, according to Hawkins (2002), knowledge and information have
become the most important currency for productivity, competitiveness and increased wealth
and prosperity. On the whole therefore, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
has penetrated into every facet of human activity, turning the whole world into a global
village.
Concept of digital reference services
Digital reference is an offshoot of the digital library. Lankes (2004) defines digital
reference as the use of human intermediation to answer questions in a digital environment.
This definition is also corroborated by Gross and Meclure (2003) who described digital
reference “as human intermediated assistance offered to users through the internet,” noting
that today libraries are offering a range of human intermediated services over the internet at
an increasing rate. Other related definitions are those of Water (1998), Bustbridge (1999),
Oppenheim and Smithson (1999) who maintain that digital reference is the assistance offered
by librarians to users through the internet. This role agrees with the definition of Carter and
Memmott (1999) cited by Singh (2004; 4) which places digital reference service as “the
mechanism by which people can submit their questions and have them answered by library
staff member through some electronic means such as e-mail, chat and web forms”.
A more formal definition refers to digital reference as a network of expertise,
intermediation and resource placed at the disposal of someone seeking answer in an online
environment. To this end Berube (2003) stresses that digital reference can provide support
36
for users who find online tools and resources unfamiliar, difficult to learn or not sufficient to
answer their information need. According to him, it can also provide valuable users’
feedback to collection builders, so that they may better tailor their resources and maximize
their investment in content creation. Berube further highlights four basic elements that make
up digital reference service as:
v The user of the reference
v The interface, in the form of e-mail, web form, a video conference etc.
v A librarian or information professional and
v Information resource, print or electronic.
Tracing the emergence of digital reference, Wasik (1999) narrates that one of the first
services to go online was the Electronic Access to Reference Services (EARS) launched by
the University of Maryland Health Service Library in Baltimore in 1984. Although initial email based digital reference efforts received little attention from users, digital reference
services grew over time and became increasingly popular, eventually leading to such
internationally known service as ASK ERIC in 1992 and the Internet public library in 1995.
According to Lang in Ubogu (2006) the following are the key features of a digital reference
service.
Provision of variety of materials: The digital reference makes a collection of a wide variety
of materials in digital forms – books, journals, manuscripts, reference works, theses and
dissertations, government documents, maps, video, images, pictorial materials, music and
make same available to patrons.
Provision of information about library services: It makes provision of information about
library services and collections to remote users through their access tools – online catalogues,
subject gateways and portals.
37
Provision of reference services (on demand) like online tutorials, publishing, electronic
reserve, short loan electronic course packs and lecture notes.
Provision of networking and imaging technologies: The digital reference services provides
networking and imaging technologies to support and enhance all aspects of a library’s basic
operational activities such as various software like D-space, e-print and Open Archives
Initiatives (OAI) and also facilitate closer co-operation and communication with other
libraries and related bodies for resource sharing.
Chowdhury and Margariti (2003) quoting from Wasik (1999), briefly outlined the
following six-step process that organizations can follow to offer a successful digital reference
service:
1. Informing. Conduct preliminary research both in their area of expertise and in the
existing services within their area.
2. Planning. Develop procedures, methods and policies that reflect the overall
organizational goals.
3. Training. Prepare their staff accordingly with a special training plan.
4. Prototyping. Pilot-test the service before it is launched to identify problems.
5. Contributing. Ensure ongoing publicity and resource development to support the
service.
6. Evaluating. Ensure regular evaluation of the service to provide information in areas
that the service can be improved.
The six-step process reveals an overall methodology that many digital reference services do
not employ. Due to inadequate planning and perhaps inexperience with Internet-based
information delivery systems, many services experience question overloads and are often
forced to stop operations as a result (Wasik, 2003).
38
Digital reference service therefore cannot be treated in isolation of a digital or virtual
library. The concepts of digital or electronic library are not relatively new. This concept
started in the late 70s and early 80s when Lancaster (1978, 1982) wrote extensively on
paperless society and development of electronic library. Digital library is a term and concept
that serves as an umbrella for a great many of diverse activities- Virtual library, electronic
library, library without walls, paperless library and other terms have also been used to carry a
similar connotation, but the term ‘digital library’ seems to have come to stay. There is no
definite or accepted definition of the digital library, but there are two general themes that are
associated with its definition that are accepted and connote the characteristics of a digital
library – (1) organizing and accessing human knowledge records (2) digital and networked
environments.
According to Lesk (1997) “digital libraries are organized collections of digital
information. They combine the structure and gathering of information, which libraries and
archives have always done, with the digital representation that computers have made
possible”. Arms (2000) defines the digital library as a managed collection of information,
with associated services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible
over a network. In the US, the Digital Libraries Federation (DLF) (formed in 1995) an
organization of research libraries and various national institutions propounded a working
definition of digital library as: Digital libraries are organizations that provide the resources,
including the specialized staff, to select, structure, offer intellectual access to, interpret,
distribute, preserve the integrity of and ensure the persistence over time of collections of
digital works so that they are readily and economically available for use by a defined
community or set of communities.
39
Borgman (1999, 2000) provided a more complex definition and extensive discussion
of digital libraries as:
Digital libraries are a set of electronic resources and associated
technical capabilities for creating; searching, and using
information… they are an extension and enhancement of
information storage and retrieval systems that manipulate digital
data in any medium…The content of digital libraries includes data
and metadata …. Digital libraries are constructed, collected and
organized by and for a community of users and their functional
capabilities support the information needs and uses of that
community.
Borgman (1999) while still reviewing the definitions of digital libraries notes that in
general researchers (who primarily come from computer science or engineering
backgrounds) focus on digital libraries as content collected on behalf of communities, while
librarians focus on digital libraries as institutions of service. This view is in contrast to the
views of the two editors of the special issue of Information Processing and Management,
Macchionine and Fox (1999) who states that digital work occurs in the context of design,
space and shaped by four dimensions: community, technology, service and content. From all
the definitions the following is central–organization, accessing, storage and collection.
Magara (2002) opines that a digital library is an automated electronic library. This is known
as an information centre for end user accessible from anywhere since the information is held
from anywhere.
Several trends affected the explosion of digital libraries. According to Licklider
(1995) the advanced societies in the Western World kept evolving into a new form, variously
referred to as information, knowledge, or post-industrial society. This development led to the
vast expansion of publishing world and the need for knowledge organization, search,
retrieval and support activities as well as advance in technology aggravated the evolution of
digital libraries.
40
A Coalition of Network of Information (CNI) was formed in America in 1990 to
coordinate efforts of technologies, government agencies and commercial vendors in
digitization. One of the major objectives of CNI according to Saunders (1996) was to
develop virtual libraries for scholars. This was followed by the American Electronic Act of
1993 aimed at developing a system of state based electronic libraries to support the use of
publicly available electronic library databases and networks for search and retrieval (Fox,
1993).
According to Lesk (1997) similar initiatives on digital library development were
embarked upon in Europe. According to Fox and Sornil, (2000), thousands of digital libraries
started emerging around the world. Many countries have created their own projects such as
the Digital Libraries Initiative in the U.S.A, the ERCM programme for European community
enhanced by projects in countries such as UK, France, Germany and related initiative in
Singapore and Japan. Another factor that fuelled digital library was the networked
technology which had reached an advanced stage and spread like wild fire in developed
countries. Furthermore, substantial funds were also made available for research and practical
development of digital libraries by developed countries.
In Nigeria, the evolution of digital libraries had been very gradual. Nigerian
government launched the Virtual Library Project (VLP) in 2002 (Gojeh, 2004). According to
Onyekanmi cited by Gojeh in Aniebo (2004), the virtual library project was scheduled to take
place in phases. Phase one explained was to take care of the Nigerian University system
between 2002 and 2003, while phase two was targeted at polytechnics and colleges of
education between 2004 and 2006. The third phase was to take care of the Universal Basic
Education (UBE) between 2007 and 2010. These noble plans are yet to yield the desired
41
results (Ubogu, 2006). This was collaborated by Blakes (2006) who affirmed that the eight
Nigerian university libraries he studied had not the required facilities for digital library
services.
According to Gbaje (2007), the Federal Government of Nigeria has made positive
efforts to sponsor digital library in federal universities while the Education Tax Fund (ETF)
was used to sponsor digital library in some state-owned universities, but these positive efforts
have not yielded the desired results. Finally, the developments of digital reference services
have been gradual. It started with the development of libraries itself, from traditional, to
automated, to hybrid and eventually to where we are today - the virtual library.
Application of ICT facilities to reference services in libraries
The information and communication technology revolution is sweeping through the
world and the gale has even caught up with developing countries like Nigeria. With advances
in ICT, electronic information in the form of electronic books, journals and the internet have
launched the world into an information age. No institution or organization can still rely on
only traditional printed information resource to perform effectively and efficiently. To
librarians, ICT is a significant development that guides tools for managing the avalanche of
information generated by modern society.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) according to Ebijuwa in Etebu
(2010) has indeed become a basic ingredient for information availability, storage,
accessibility and dissemination. From the views of Madu (2010), the application of ICT in
library operations in general and reference services in particular has brought remarkable
positive changes in the way reference librarians render their services. It has been accepted as
the most effective means of providing timely, accurate and efficient information services.
Hence, Nwokedi in Krubu and Osawaru (2011) observed that there could be no doubting of
42
the immense impact of recent advances in electronic and computer technologies in the
librarian’s delivery of information services especially with the use of Internet. He also
affirmed that Internet has become an invaluable tool for learning, teaching and research in
academic institutions (including collaborative research) in Nigeria. Also, Oketunji (2001)
observed that “technology has forever changed the way that libraries and reference section
serve their patrons and all indications are that this change will continue”. According to Alabi
(2003), whenever technology intervenes in human activities, the essential feature is how to
bridge time, cost and space as well as to maximize quality, efficiency and effectiveness. With
ICT, the services of the reference librarian are no longer restricted by library opening hours
as information resources are provided in printed and electronic versions which can be
accessed any time and anywhere with a personal computer. Aina (2004) concurred that with
the advent of information and communication technology (ICT), reference services have
been made easier. This according to him is because most of the reference queries can be
answered easily and quickly by searching relevant databases or surfing the internet, since
many of the reference sources are in electronic format. The ICT and in particular the internet
and other online services provide opportunities for enhanced reference services. Many
reference sections of libraries are now offering or considering offering reference services via
the internet to their users. This view is also shared by Singh (2004) in his article titled
“Reference Service in the Digital Age”.
According him:
Libraries are organized collections of books, journals and
other sources of recorded information. They commonly
include reference works, such as encyclopedias that provide
factual information and indexes which help users find
materials in other sources. Over the last few years, libraries
have also started providing access to inform in electronic
formats such as CD-ROMS, the internet and online
databases (p 2).
43
Recently, there has been a shift in the role of the library, from a clearing house of
products and service centre for printed publications towards becoming an intermediary for
traditional material and networked services based on digital information resources. These
information resources come in various formats–printed, audio, video, multimedia and
electronic. The resources may or may not be owned by the library. Some of these resources
may be free and available through libraries that have acquired them.
Finally, Ehikhamenor in Nweze (2010) opined that ICTs are changing the ways in
which academics seek information, communicate with each other, conduct research and
distribute research results. As a result of the development of ICT in the last three decades of
the 20th century and the need for library users to be satisfied, many ICT resources have been
developed and applied to reference services (Abdulahi and Aliyu 2007).
According to Oparah (2006), the following ICT tools have been very useful in digital
reference services – Databases, computer, internet, the worldwide web (www), electronic
mail (E-mail) chat, Newsgroup, Usenet, white pages, fax, telephone and CD-ROM.
Database according to Matthew (1999) is “an electronic collection of information in a
structural format (file) created for searching of specific topics”. Imeremba (1996) sees it as a
collection of records or units of information, normally stored in a computer system. The
library database is very important because it is the holistic holdings of that library in an
electronic format stored in the computer without which such a library cannot function as an
electronic library and access to its contents cannot be made. This format allows the
information content of that library to be consulted by any client from any remote area. By
this means, the reference librarian, can answer its clients’ queries at any point in time without
much hindrance. The library client need only to know the website and in most cases be a
registered member in order to be assigned a login or pin which gives the client access to the
information in the database. It saves time, convenience, risk and also more economical, as
44
most of the information materials are in Published Data File (PDF) thus making it down
loadable.
The computer is an electronic device that is capable of accepting, storing, retrieving
and processing data based on predefined instructions (Owoyemi, 2001). Everything about the
electronic library revolves around the computer. The computer is the hub on which other ICT
facilities rotate and without which they cannot function effectively. Computers are used for
generating, storing, processing, retrieving data and information for reference services.
Examples of such information stored include information on registered users, borrowers, due
and overdue dates, daily statistics of users. Daily routines of the library are now
computerized and can be retrieved when needed in seconds for reference services. It is an
indispensable tool for reference services, without which the job of the reference librarian
becomes very cumbersome and uninteresting.
Another ICT facility for reference services is the internet. The internet has been
defined by Ugwuanyi (2003) and Grupta (2005) as a network of interconnected computers
scattered all over the world for global information transmission. This global network links
millions of computers at universities, research institutions, government agencies, homes and
business houses throughout the world providing information services to daily average of
twenty million people. The internet can interchangeably be called the information superhighway with information in the form of texts, audio, pictures and video that travel
worldwide through computer networks connecting several places. Explaining the modus
operandi of the internet, Grupta (2005) declares that the internet is the world’s largest
computer network, the network of networks, scattered all over the world. According to him,
it was created more than forty-five years ago as a project of the U.S Department of Defence.
He explained that its goal was to create a method of spreading information effectively
through the widely separated computers even in the event of a nuclear attack. From the
45
handful of computers which they started with and users in the 1960s, the internet has grown
to thousands of regional networks that can connect millions of users. With the internet, one
can access information on thousands of topics ranging from designing of toys to making
atomic bombs. In internet, computers communicate with each other through the Transmission
Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Grupta (2005) affirmed that the internet is
the cheapest and fastest means to get information, provide information and compute
information. Generally, the internet enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of reference
services. Queries from patrons are handled within the shortest possible time. It also makes
inter-library loans and document delivery easier. Reference services which used to be faceto-face encounter between the patron and the reference librarian have gone digital. Reference
librarians can now meet patron’s needs irrespective of locations. With internet, a poorly
funded library can have access to freely available online resources. Such open access
resources can be downloaded, copied, printed and bound with little cost for reference
services. The internet has dismantled national boundaries and broken down the walls of all
types of libraries that are connected to it, thereby making resource sharing unimaginably
easy. It has made the work of the reference librarian very easy.
The World Wide Web (www) is one of the facilities of the internet. It is a collection
of documents (texts, graphic and multimedia) stored in different computers around the world.
These materials are delivered to users on demand. The HTTP (hyper text transfer protocol) is
the common protocol used in delivering materials. The World Wide Web (www) is the brain
child of Tim Berners Lee who had the idea of creating an electronic web of research
information. He thus defines it as, the universe of information available via hypertext transfer
protocol (http), the www and http allow the individual to create, link one piece of
information to another, incorporate references to sound, graphics and movies and
communicate with other internet protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), gopher and
46
telnet. University libraries normally have websites used for reference services. Onwubiko
(2007) describes the www as the graphical internet service that provides a network of
interactive documents and the software to access them. He explains that it is based on
documents called pages that combine text, pictures, forms, sound, animation and hypertext
links called hyperlinks. Grupta (2005) noted that www is many things to its millions of users;
that it can be used as a market place, art gallery, library, community culture, school,
publishing house and whatever else it creates.
According to Ezeani and Eke (2010), a website is a space or domain for a specified
entity which divides the World Wide Web into categories based on the nature of the owner.
Domains form part of a site’s address or uniform resource locator (URL). Examples of
domains widely used are:
·
Com – for commercial enterprises
·
Org – for non profit organizations
·
Net – for networks
·
Edu – for educational institutions
·
Gov – for governmental institutions
It is essential to acquire an address (domain name) for a website before it can be
posted into the world wide web eg. www.esutlib.edu. The reference librarians need to know
the websites and how to get information from them, which will help him in answering
reference queries.
Electronic Mail (E-mail) is a common resource provided by the internet. It is a world
wide system for sending and receiving electronic mail, known as E-mail. According to
Grupta (2005) electronic mail is the most widely used feature of the internet. It has become a
vital tool of communication for people. He then defines it as “a file that is sent from one
computer to another through a network”. He explained that in the 1970s e-mail was about
47
sending text messages but today you can send different types of files such as scanned fixed
images, computer graphics or sound and video file along with your e-mail messages. In his
own contribution, Usman (2006) describes the e-mail as the most pervasive and successful
form of person to person resource sharing approach through which an e-mail address can
send electronic mails to another, with e-mail address on any computer in the world connected
to a computer network. According to Darries (2004), the majority of libraries provide
electronic reference via e-mail and the library website. Ojedokun and Owolabi in Nweze
(2010) reported that e-mail is the most used Internet resource by staff and students. They also
asserted that e-mail often reaches its destination, even another continent in minutes or less,
unless some part of the network is heavily congested or temporarily out of order. In fact, this
service has enabled millions of internet users all over the world to send and receive messages
in a few seconds. Advantages of the service highlighted by Grupta (2005), Madu and
Adeniran (2005) are:
· It saves paper and the chance of e-mail getting misplaced is almost nil
· Messages can be transmitted in a few seconds
· Messages can be sent at any time of the day as per sender’s convenience
· Copies of single e-mail can be sent to multiple users
· Both incoming and outgoing messages can be saved for future reference.
From the library and information service angle, Madu and Adeniran (2005) reveal that
e-mail is a very important information resource in the library and information centres.
Students and users generally use e-mail services in the library and information centres to send
messages urgently and expect replies fast too. The librarian can also use e-mail to order
materials electronically. This facilitates and ensures prompt response and quick delivery of
materials. It enhances the job of reference librarians, as they use this facility always in
rendering reference services.
48
Chatting, explains Grupta (2005), is a feature of the internet which allows one to
instantly communicate with people anywhere in the world by sending and receiving messages
in real time. In other words, chat allows a group of people, using aliases, to send messages to
another immediately. Once connected, the user is brought into contact with large number of
other users from all around the world. Using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) one can also converse
on the net with more than one individual simultaneously. IRC is a chat protocol that uses the
internet to exchange text messages among users. Chat room is the hub of internet chatting. A
chat room is actually a computer (chat server) that allows many persons to log on at the same
time. Once one joins a room; he or she can read other person’s messages and send messages
to one or all the chatters. Chat rooms or chat channels are created channels that feature a
particular theme, such as science fiction, movies, sports and romance. The librarians and
information professionals can also use the chat as a resource for answering reference queries.
Newsgroup is another reference tool of the internet. It is a directory of professional
bodies or groups that share and exchange information on the Net. Subscribers of Newsgroup
normally post their e-mail addresses and all messages and answers to their queries are
automatically posted to them. There are more than 50,000 newsgroups and more are added
everyday.
Usenet is a public access like the Newsgroup but discusses on specific topics. It is a
facility of the internet for information dissemination. Writing on Usenet as a reference tool
Klassan (1995) quoting Graino and Foster (1993) explains that Usenet is one of the most
widely used services of the internet and carries up to date information on specific topics. He
regrets that little attention has been focused on Usenet as a reference tool. This is unfortunate
he declares, since Usenet has potential to serve as a valuable reference source to answer
questions. With Usenet, library patrons are privileged to be up-to-date on regular basis. It is
on this ground that Klassan (1995) explained that the most obvious reason for using
49
USENET for reference is that it reaches larger number of people who are experts in the field
or who are interested in subjects being investigated. Using USENET gives one access to
subject experts that have the potential to be valuable as and more up-to-date than information
in catalogues, abstracts and indexes.
White pages is a directory of users, which contains information on e-mail addresses,
telephone numbers, postal addresses available on the internet. Reference librarians can use it
to get e-mail addresses or telephone numbers for answering reference queries.
Fax is an ICT medium which enables a document to be scanned and converted into
digital form and transmitted through a fax machine using the recipients fax number. The
original document is reassembled exactly at the recipient end as an exact copy. The reference
librarian can use it effectively for inter-library loan services.
Parson (2001) opines that with ICT, reference services provided appear limitless with
their elastic scope and crossing of institutional and national boundaries. In other words, in
digital libraries, focus is on the information provided as reference services are not bound by
location. Berube (2003) shares the same view with Oder and Weissman (2001) that digital
libraries can potentially operate and provide information round the clock for days, weeks,
months and even years, without regard to location or person. Digital reference services also
adds value to library services in that it supports social inclusion by extending reference
services to physically challenged users who cannot come to the library for one reason or
another. Also stressing the importance of utilization of ICT in Nigerian library systems
Ikpaahindi (1999) recounts how:
Many people experience a shiver when they remember library
research projects. The nightmare began with hours of fumbling
through card catalogue and readers guide to periodical
literature. Today’s students need not the same challenges of
finding information, thanks to the presence of these new
technologies in the library. Library automation software has
reduced the effort of such tasks as maintaining an accurate
catalogue, checking materials in and out and reporting (p 88).
50
The telephone is another ICT resource available for reference services. Quinn
(1995) opines that:
Although the telephone constitutes an important aspect of
reference service in many libraries, it is frequently taken for
granted or overlooked by both patrons and professional staff
alike. Often, it is seen by librarians as merely adjunct service or
even something of nuisance. In his view, telephone reference is
considered secondary and subordinate to serving on-site patron
(p 39).
On this misconception Scott (1988) argues that, the quality of telephone reference service is
of vital importance to the library, because it conveys an image of the libraries to patrons and
to the larger community. Telephone reference can be used as a form of outreach to non-users
and can help expand the visibility and value of the library to the community.
According to Rana (2009), ICT encourages co-operative efforts in libraries. Libraries
have the opportunity to invest in institutional and national communication networks which
stimulate resource sharing. It also strengthens communication and collaboration between and
among the research, business, government and educational communities, as no library can
acquire all resources needed for effective library services. ICT provides complete provision
of sets of journals. Access is provided to more complete sets of journals as opposed to many
instances where none exists on many library shelves. This is because the difficulties involved
in journal acquisition like technical services, cost of tracking the arrival of each journal issue,
clearing the periodical, binding will be eliminated, because the journals will be ordered
online. The need for added library space may decline as ICT facilities occupy little or no
space and the cost of retrieving and re-shelving will be reduced.
CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory) according to Anaeme (2004) is a
rainbow-coloured disc made from poly carbonate material with a capacity to store over 600
megabytes (MB) of data which is more than 330,000 typewritten pages of work or over 750
volumes of average sized books. The CD-ROM can only be read but not written on.
51
However, data content of CDs can be downloaded or copied to floppy disk, flash drives on
which changes could be made or parts printed out.
CD-ROM databases available are numerous and include MEDLINE and IDX
MEDICUS, CAN-HEALTH for medical practice and so on. According to Longley and Shain
(1985) the CD-ROM technology is important for these reasons.
·
The integrity of the stored data is assured against malicious modification.
·
Multifaceted search process is applicable
·
It holds texts, figures, pictures and graphics
·
It allows for logical accessing
·
Data is stored in digital form
·
It is very durable
·
The computer can directly access it without necessarily involving any other
equipment
·
It is relatively cheap
·
It conserves space.
Despite the tremendous impact of CD-ROM in reference services, Tenopic (1993)
argued that commercial databases will still remain an important source for electronic
information. This she explains is especially true when the database is not available on the
CD-ROM, is not networked on campus or is not available to campus users who are offsite.
For digital reference services to be effective and efficient in our university libraries, these
ICT facilities must be provided and applied to reference services.
Current trends in the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) for
reference services in libraries
From the inception of the library and information profession, reference service has
been one of the core services provided for library patrons. It started with the face-to-face
52
type of reference service but with the advent of the Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), the methods of providing the same services have improved tremendously.
Unfortunately, it is disheartening to note that libraries and information providers (LIPS) in
the developing countries have still not taken full advantage of ICT in the provision of the
reference services to their patrons. According to Silverstein (2003), before now, no reference
librarian was able to effectively serve a patron without conducting a satisfactory face-to-face
interview and ensuring that the queries were well understood. The patrons have to meet with
the librarian before their question is answered. But today, with the advent of information and
communication technology (ICT), library and information providers (LIPS) have been able to
serve not only patrons face-to face, but also virtually.
This development was summarized by Alessia Zanin-Yost (2004) this way.
“In the past ten years, libraries have become both more
sophisticated and more dependent on new technologies. For
example, libraries migrated from card catalogues to on line
catalogues. With so many changes in the profession, reference
service has also changed. Today, librarians not only help patrons at
the reference desk but also in cyberspace. This new type of service,
called digital or virtual reference, has emerged as a result of
various factors, including the advent and wide use of the internet
and the development of software capable of providing
synchronized and asynchronous service. Digital/virtual reference is
quite new, but has quickly become popular because of demands by
patrons to access information anytime, anywhere”.
There are a number of activities at various levels where LIPS are trying to use to
provide digital reference services. At the present time, apart from the electronic reference
services discussed above, the following forms of digital reference services according to
Madu (2008) exist.
·
E-mail Reference
·
Web Forms
·
Chat Reference
·
Web Contact Centre
53
·
Video Conferencing
·
VOIP – Voice over internet protocol
·
SMS – Shared Message Sense
E-mail reference services
Many libraries in developed countries have this type of service. An example is the
Global Reference Network (GRN) of the Library of Congress. Questions are sent based on
the profiles provided by participating institutions. In late 2004, the Library of Congress
announced a new collaborative effort with On-line cataloging Library Centre (OCLC) that is
called “Question Point” this combines e-mail and live on-line reference. E-mail Reference
Service encourages accessibility of librarians to their patrons, and knowledge databases of
queries and answers can be stored easily and effortlessly for future use. Some systems have
been developed to construct data bases for the matching answers to queries. According to
Roesch (2006), e-mail reference service is very easy and cheap to implement and can be sent
even when the library has closed. The problem however, is that patrons may ask questions in
an unstructured manner which may leave out important aspects of the query and take some
time for reply. The librarians can in turn, request for clarification, which might aid in the
search answers to the queries. The librarian must be given enough time to do his research on
any given question. This is usually preceded by instructions from the librarian stating the
number of hours it will take to work with the question. E-mail reference services does not
necessarily require the use of additional software except on very few occasions when
answers to queries are in the formats requiring additional software to view it. One major
disadvantage surrounding the use of e-mail reference service is the inability of the librarians
to interview the patrons thoroughly before doing the research. It takes a few back and forth
messages before some issues are clarified between them.
54
Web forms and web contact centre
Over time, libraries started reacting to find solution to the problems associated with
the use of pure e-mail reference. This they did by the introduction of web forms of reference
services. The web form is an interface provided on a web site whereby patrons can send
questions and expect the answers at a later date. The web form consists of some defined
fields that have to be filled in by the patrons. They are often times directed to provide details
about their questions in order to provide the necessary information within the context of the
question. To the patrons, the process of filling such forms is often perceived to be long and
cumbersome. However, for ready reference type of questions, some library patrons do not
have the patience to wait for the amount of time required for the e-mail/web form reference
services and thus chat reference was born to eliminate the time lag. Further, some libraries
are currently using Web contact software to establish Web Contact Centers which offers a
variety of features for digital reference services. They allow communication via e-mail, web
form and chat, and also enable more interactive collaborations through tools such as page
pushing, escorting and co-browsing. Further functionalities like electronic monitoring,
cooperative answering, administration and statistics are also provided. Librarians can utilize
the monitoring tool for supervision to know user navigation processes on the library server,
and can offer help via chat where required. Co-operative answering allows for digital
reference services offered in collaboration with other libraries. The administrative tools can
be used to direct particular queries to specific members of staff who are capable of answering
such queries via automated routines. Finally, web contact centre software include a wide
range of statistical measures that record all transactions and can be used for evaluating the
service.
55
Chat reference service
Chat reference, live reference or real time reference service began in the United States
of America at the end of the 1990s. This is another method of providing real time on-line
reference services. Such services may be provided 24/7 or not necessarily around the clock.
Libraries use different chat software depending on their capabilities. These range from
simple to complex ones and from popular and general ones such as those in AOL’s. Instant
Messenger and Netmeeting, to those developed specifically for reference services. Among
the recently available software mostly used by the libraries are those that can perform extra
functions such as push capabilities and co-browsing, which not only allow the reference
librarians to deliver more than URLs but also push the actual pages to the user’s computer.
There is a comprehensive list of institutions using different types of chat reference
services
such
as
Livehelper
(http://www.livehelper.com/)
Liveperson
(http://www.liveperson.com/), 24/7 reference (http://www.24/7ref.org/index.efm), LSSI –
Virtual
Reference
Tool-kit
and
Question
Point,
AOL
instant
messenger
(http://www.aim.com/index.adp), DIGI Chat (http://www.digichat.com/). Many problems
hinder successful implementation of chat reference services to libraries. The first problem is
software capabilities. When the software for the chat is not capable, the chat can never hold
successfully. Secondly, librarians must be good in using keyboard to send messages across to
the patrons. Chat reference that is not controlled by some forms of authentication scheme
may waste the time of the librarian, who may be providing services for patrons outside the
usual work areas. Sears’ research on the use of chat reference services discovered that:
“Approximately one-half of the questions in this study
were of ready-reference type, about one-third were
policy/procedural questions. Only one research level
question was asked during this study, it’s possible that
patrons do not ask research questions in this type of
medium, suspecting somehow that chat technologies
represent quick question/answer communications”.
56
Additionally, Riva and Galimberti in Eyitayo (2005), found that university students
were the primary users of digital reference, and they tended to prefer chat reference over email because it involves a two-way conversation in real-time. In fact, it is very much like
talking to a reference librarian in person. Chat users can receive immediate feedback, thus
they can use written language in the same manner as used in a person-to-person conversation.
In spite of the usefulness of chat reference service with the young students, it is not
suitable to all kinds of reference questions. Research questions by chat are very difficult to
handle but very useful for quick reference queries. With chat reference it is very difficult to
pass on documents as attachments as in e-mail reference. Web pages can be browsed in the
course of chat referencing.
Video conferencing
In the middle of the 1990s some American libraries started to test software video
conferencing as another method of providing real live reference services. However, the
results have not been very encouraging, according to Morgan (1996), Pagell (1996) and
McGeachin (1999). This is because of the additional requirements of hard and software
packages in comparison to Voice Over Internet Protocol, as both parties need to own
webcams. In spite of the obvious disadvantages, some American libraries are still using
video conferencing techniques, especially in communication between outlying parts of the
campus and the central library.
VOIP (“Audio Chat or Internet Phoning”)
Voice over internet Protocol (VOIP) is a technology that enables simultaneous
transfer of voice and other data via standard internet Protocol. It only requires additional
hardware in order to function. With VOIP, library patrons are offered the speed of internet
communication in presenting their questions rather than typing them. However, libraries are
57
very slow in using this service because of the need for additional hardware requirements and
lack of user acceptance.
Collaborative reference or consortia approach to provision of on-line reference services
Apart from the individual institutional efforts in providing virtual reference services
to their catchment areas, a number of institutions are working together to provide cooperative reference services facilitated by digital media and the internet. In the United States
more than 50 libraries have already joined reference consortia. Many reasons are responsible
for offering digital reference services in collaboration. One reason is having access to the
knowledge that enables several librarians to broaden the range of subjects that can be covered
and thus raises the level of quality.
Secondly, sharing the workload and shifts enables libraries to offer this service during
longer hours. Costs of software and database are reduced due to negotiation powers of
consortia. The most significant and probably best acknowledged consortia project is Question
Point which is a joint venture of the Library of Congress and On-line Cataloging Library
Centre (OCLC). The consortia are responsible for the training, staffing, legal issues and
assessment of the digital reference. According to Singh (2004), several hundred libraries
worldwide participate in “Question Point”. Question Point offers a wide range of modules
and functionalities. The question point is able to answer and administer questions per e-mail
and chat. This service with the library profile module is used to co-ordinate the collaboration
among the participating libraries. This profile module stores information about each library’s
central subject areas and main competencies, and this will enable the software to forward
specific queries to the relevant libraries for answering the queries correctly.
Another module can be installed to build up and maintain an archive database
(“Knowledge Base”) in which all queries and answers can be classified and anonymously
stored for further reference. Another module administers the personal profile and settings for
58
each individual reference librarian, which can further help in the distribution of queries when
they come. However, the question point software can also be used for an individual library to
offer digital reference via e-mail or chat on a local level without participating in any
collaborative reference services.
Provision of digital reference services from non-library and commercial organizations
A number of reference and information services are now available on the web that are
provided by non-library and commercial organizations. Some of these services are free,
while others require the users to pay something. An author Mckiernan owns a website that
lists libraries that offer real-time reference services using chat software, live interactive
communication tools, call centre management software, bulletin board services and other
internet technologies.
Most of these services are designed for registered users of the
libraries. There are a number of organizations providing free access to on-line reference
sources; these allow users to either select a specific source or conduct a search on a range, or
all of the reference sources. Examples of such services include:
·
Internet Public library: Ready Reference (http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/
reoo.oo.oo)
·
High Beam Reference Research (http://www.highbeam.com/library/index.asp)
·
Reference Desk (http://www.referencedesk.org/)
·
Xrefer (http://www.xrefer.com/)
·
Refdesk.com (http://www.refdesk.com
Most of these web-based reference services are available for free while some charge
access fees. Google launched a question and answer (Q&A) service which acts as a form of
reference service. Reference librarians and experts in the subject fields answer questions for
a fee. The archives of questions as well as the answers are thereafter made available to the
59
public for use. Finally, digital reference service, especially in developed countries, has come
of age, although it is still evolving day-to-day and becoming more and more interesting.
Libraries in developed countries use a mix of the aforementioned types of digital
reference tools to provide reference services. Consortia are also formed for the provision of
reference services. In conclusion, a number of studies and research work by Chowdhury, and
Chowdhory, and Sudatta 1999, Chowdhury, 2006, Shiri, and Ali 2003, and Black, and Fiona
2006 in Omowanmi and Segun (2010) reveal that many libraries have developed into
hybrids, accessing or developing digital collections alongside print-based collections and as
such that reference services should be provided traditionally through face-to-face method or
digitally as the case demands.
Problems of ICT Use in reference services in university libraries
The provision of information and communication technology facilities (ICT) in
library operations and in particular reference services is faced with numerous problems
which hinder effective utilization. According to Krubu and Osawaru (2011), these problems
include funding, infrastructure, competencies, personnel issues, and system breakdown due
to low current. Funding, according to Odion and Adetona (2009), has been a perennial
problem facing library managers in their bid to carry out library operations, especially in this
information age. Daniel in Daramola (2004) revealed that research evidence has shown that
many developing countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda find it difficult to cope with the
challenges of the new information technology, due to scarce human, material and financial
resources. This has prevented many libraries from establishing and maintaining a digital
library.
Another problem hindering effective utilization of ICT for reference services in
Nigeria is inadequate infrastructure, which includes the epileptic power supply from the
Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). There is also the problem of system
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breakdown due to low current. The absence of standby generators in some libraries to replace
the electric power when it is off is still a problem for viable ICT environment. In libraries
that depend solely on generators, their providing funds for the constant fuelling and
maintenance when the generators breakdown is a problem. To Onyenekulu in Daramola
(2004) the main obstacle facing internet connectivity in Nigeria is the inadequacy of Power
Holding Company and inadequate communication infrastructure, coupled with the lack of
financial resources to acquire them.
Another problem identified hindering effective utilization of ICT for reference
services is staff competencies. It has been observed by Okore (2005) and Nkanu in Etebu
(2010) that if the reference librarians do not possess the required competencies and skills to
operate the digital internet facilities, libraries will not be helpful to their clientele. It is only
when they are skilled in the use of the internet that they can teach other library users how to
navigate the World Wide Web.
Other hindrances identified include poor equipment maintenance culture, high cost of
technology equipment, lack of spare parts, security of equipment, fluctuation cost of
consumables, inadequate number of workstations and lack of basic infrastructure (Mosuro,
Ogunleye, Idowu and Mabawonku, in Ajidahun (2004).
The right choice of system also constitutes a problem in the utilization of ICT
facilities for reference services. Many libraries lack adequate planning. The lack of planning
affects the type of software to be used in the library: if the appropriate software is not used, it
will lead to changing software, worsening their lean resources and creating lapses in ICT
utilization.’
Another problem facing effective utilization of ICT for reference services is that the
country generally lacks an information policy that will guarantee standardized database
formulation, compatible application software and hardware to ensure interconnectivity and
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accessibility. Absence of web access has been identified as a constraint hindering effective
reference services. Omekwu in Etebu (2010) observed that Nigerian libraries generally lack
functional Web access and do not have homepages. Some institutions have an institutional
website, but the library has no presence there. A library homepage should be a component of
an institution’s website where the library can upload their bibliographic records to become
part of global resources and download information for reference services. As none of the
institutions have a web presence, this means that such libraries do not exist in the virtual
environment. All these hinder effective utilization of ICT reference services.
Strategies for effective utilization of ICT facilities in reference services
Having seen the immense benefits of the utilization of ICT facilities and the problems
inhibiting their effective utilization in reference services, researchers have made some
suggestions for effective utilization.
The main hurdle in the utilization of ICT has been identified as funding. This is
evident because the other problems identified hinge on finance. Odion and Adetona in Krubu
and Osawara (2011) proffer the suggestion of more generous financial support to be made
available to libraries to provide the basic infrastructural facilities. The university
management should also increase the budget of the libraries, knowing fully well that the
provision of online services is capital intensive. The monthly imprest of the libraries should
be made regular. Library administrators should seek funds from the many foreign agencies
and foundations who give financial assistance and equipment to libraries.
The increasing quest for digital library services calls for aggressive staff training and
re-orientation in line with electronic or virtual concept, Okore (2005) views staff
competencies as a basic factor.
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She further opines that: The provision of ICT in libraries is generally expected to
provide services and tools that would support teaching,
learning and research. To provide ICT facilities for greater
productivity and services, staff should improve their level of
knowledge of technological devices as well as the
skills/competencies required in the technological
environment.
For instance, she explains that staff are required to acquire the skills in the use of
desktop, different softwares, internet (searching, navigating, downloading and uploading),
multimedia devices and networking. This according to her could be done through in–house
training, workshops, conferences and self–sponsored training. Such training, she noted,
would help remove the element of fear that exists in the handling of ICT facilities in our
libraries. Edem in Krubu and Osawan (2011) concurred with the above and suggest that short
term computer training and retraining programs should be organized from time–to–time to
assist librarians in updating their knowledge in computer skills. The researcher suggested that
libraries intending to automate need to employ experts in system designs and vendors so as to
avoid the problem of frequent replacement of software, considering their lean resources.
Collaboration and consortium linkage holds bright future for utilization of ICT in
reference services in Nigeria. According to Anaeme (2005), policy formation and
implementation in Nigeria is generally fraught with economic, socio-political and
infrastructure problems. As a result of limited human and material resources available to
libraries nationwide, the need for library collaboration and consortium is inevitable. This will
ensure maximization of scarce resources, reduce waste while giving opportunities to access
and draw from holdings of participating libraries in the consortium. University libraries can
improve their reference services within each of the six geo–political zones in the country by
conveniently embarking on consortium linkages within the zones. Government should give
special grants to universities for the installation and maintenance of ICT facilities.
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Professional associations like the NLA should encourage and sponsor research on ICT use in
Nigeria University libraries.
Finally, Ajayi (2000) suggested that a policy should be put in place by National
Universities Commission (NUC) mandating all universities to automate their libraries within
a specific period of time. This policy will have a significant impact on librarians’ acquisition
of computer skills and competencies. In conclusion, the emerging and rapidly growing
information and communication technologies and their application in library and information
services have continued to change the scope and patterns of library services especially in
reference services. Therefore libraries, librarians, reference librarians and information
managers must be dynamic with the new trend, train and retrain in computer use and internet
information navigation. This is the only way the librarian can effectively utilize the enormous
opportunities offered by ICT facilities in libraries and also ensure their relevance in the new
dispensation.
Theoretical Framework
A theory provides guiding principles or rules which assist in solving problems and in
the advancement of that field of study or subject. So far there is no adequate theory of
reference service as reference service has been developed as a subject of practical utility
without much attention to the theory (Utor, 2004). Consequently, reference librarians
generally provide reference services more or less on the dictates of their practical
experiences. However, some experts have propounded theories of reference services, though
none has been accepted as adequate by professionals in this discipline.
In 1930 James I. Wyner made an attempt towards developing a theory of reference
service based on the extent of assistance rendered to patrons. He propounded a theory of
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reference service which outlined the following three distinct approaches for providing
reference services to users.
i.
Conservative – According to Wyner in Utor (2004), conservative approach or
conservatism is based on the assumption that occasional personal assistance should be
given to users so that they can be self dependent. In this case, users should be allowed to
use library resources without any hindrance from the reference librarian. In other words,
attention to a library user is on request.
ii.
Liberal: In this approach, the reference librarian is expected to provide personal
assistance to library users to the maximum. The reference librarian should adopt the
system of “May I help you?”, which is opposed to the conservative approach. This
approach maintains that the information requested by a patron must be provided in full
no matter what it costs the library to do so.
iii. Moderate: As the name implies, everything the reference librarian does should be
moderate. This approach represents a middle path between two extremes.
However, it is very difficult to have a fixed demarcation between the approaches.
Kumar (1980) advices that librarians may prefer this moderate approach especially when the
number of users to be attended to is large. He considers reference services to be the ultimate
function of any library big or small. This approach was criticized by scholars, experts and
professionals like Thomsen because of its inadequacy in that it was confined to the subject of
inquiry work in the library only.
The continuous search for adequate reference theories has led to the emergence of
another theory of reference service by Samuel Rothstein (1961), similar to that of Wyner
(1930). He propounded a theory of reference service which has three approaches like that of
Wyner namely: Minimal, maximum and middling. This theory was based on the concepts of
fear, expediency and faith respectively.
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Minimal: This approach is based on the assumption that the reference librarian is not
competent enough, so he will try to keep himself/herself out of the way of users. A number
of factors are attributed to the reference librarian providing minimal service. The factors
include fear (because he does not know the job, therefore he provides minimum assistance);
pressure of work, which limits time for assistance; lack of materials and facilities in the
library, which limit the assistance he can render.
Maximum: This approach is based on the premise that the reference librarian is competent
and has faith and confidence in his ability to provide reference services. In this case, the
librarian goes all out to look for and help a confused user.
Middling: This approach is based on the concept of expediency. The basic principle is that
the reference librarian can provide minimum or maximum assistance as the occasion
demands. The middling approach can compare favourably with the moderate approach of
James I. Wyner’s theory of reference services. This is because both approaches advocate a
middle path between the extremes, conservatism/minimal and liberal/maximum.
The theoretical framework for this study is based on the maximum approach of
Samuel Rothstein’s theory of reference service. This is because this theory aims at rendering
maximum assistance to library users at all costs. The theory provides that the reference
librarian should help patrons make optimal use of the library. This implies provision of all
the information and materials needed by library users. Application of this theory advocates
the use of ICT facilities in the library which is a major prerequisite for the attainment of
maximum reference assistance to the library users. The various sources of information and
information materials can be accessed using ICT which should be at the disposal of the
patrons. This theory aims at maximum satisfaction of library users and also a sense of
accomplishment and job satisfaction for the reference librarians.
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With the astronomical increase in the amount of information in the globalized world
and the enormous increase in Internet-based communication services, the librarian’s explicit
choices amongst a known quantity of entities have been replaced by the user’s explicit
choices from a plethora of information and knowledge (Drotner, 2007). Consequently,
reference services in the new paradigm is user – centered instead of reference librarian –
centered, while the reference librarian assumes the role of a facilitator. The focus is therefore
on developing user friendly information searches in the context of dynamic user-oriented and
ICT empowered reference services aimed at maximum satisfaction of the library user. For a
reference librarian to remain relevant and continue to enjoy job satisfaction he/she must
necessarily embrace this new paradigm.
A number of researchers have proposed models for reference services. Prominent
among them are the following models cited by Agosto et al (2011).
a) The traditional face-to-face reference service model: This model anchors on the
interaction between the user and the librarian at some service point, typically a reference
desk. In this environment, the library user may approach a reference librarian with an
enquiry of any type or complexity. This model symbolizes some values which include:
ease of access, equity and high quality service. Disadvantages are inflexibility in the use
of library staff, duplication of effort, lack of accountability, high cost and reinforcement
of the image of librarian as clerk.
b) Tiered model: Another model of reference service is the tiered theoretical model which
has been described as an alternate to the traditional model, often dividing the reference
desk into two or more service points. The tiered reference model’s defining feature is
that para-professionals or trained student assistants answer a majority of simple
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reference questions, so that reference librarians may be reserved for handling more
demanding research questions.
c) Liberal or maximum model: Another influential reference model is the liberal or
maximum model which makes the librarian’s responsibility to centre on delivering
answers in response to user’s inquiry. The librarian does not attempt to educate the user
in the process; rather, he or she puts all effort into finding accurate and credible
information.
d) The conservative or minimal model: This model tries to train users to make use of the
library independently, as the process of finding the information is valued above the
information itself. Despite the conflicting objectives of the liberal and conservative
models, the approaches may co-exist in practice.
e) The call centre model: With the increase in availability and utilization of technologies
and the drive to increase library staff efficiency and reduce costs per reference
transaction, some libraries have introduced call centre model. In this model the library
staff operate as “agents”, taking calls at computer workstations where they have ready
access to databases, lists of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and answers, prewritten
scripts for particular situations and other tools needed to deliver such information.
f) The dynamic model: In academic libraries, the dynamic model of reference service has
been termed “information commons”. The information commons is an exclusively online environment in which the widest possible variety of digital services can be accessed
using a single interface. It denotes equally a new type of physical facility designed to
organize workspace and service delivery around the integrated digital environment.
This model reflects the ways in which academic libraries are responding to the demands
for technology, combining information resources and reference assistance and creating
collaborative workspaces for acquiring and shaping knowledge. According to the above
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named authors, each of the models are useful for reference services in the current
information environment, but what is lacking in the literature is a model of the entire
reference process, including both librarians and user behaviours, that will take into
account the recent changes in the information environment.
Pomerontz et al (2004) presented a model of virtual reference process that highlighted
five key question handling functions: question acquisition, triage, answer formulation,
tracking and resource creation. Hence Pomerontz’s model of reference and information
services advocates a shift towards a more interactive and collaborative reference process in
which both the reference librarian and the reference user play the roles of information seeker,
information receiver and information creator.
Pomerontz’s general process model
The theoretical model that is more applicable to this study and indeed for academic libraries is
Pomerontz General Process model of reference service (2004). The general process model of
asynchronous digital reference is as follows:
Digital Ref. Desk
Reference librarian
E-resources
Figure 1: Adapted from General Process Reference Model
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This model consists of five steps:
1. Question acquisition is a means of taking a patron’s questions from E-mail, Web
forms, chat, or embedded applications.
2. Triage is the assignment and routing of a question to a digital reference service, or to
a reference or subject expert within a service. This step may be automated or
conducted via human decision support. Triage also includes the filtering of repeated
questions or out-of-scope questions.
3. Answer formulation includes factors for creating good answers such as age and
cultural appropriateness. Answers are also sent to the user at this point.
4. Tracking is the quantitative and qualitative monitoring of repeat questions for trends.
Tracking allows the identification of hot topics and may indicate where gaps exist in
the collection.
5. Resource creation concerns the use of tracking data to build or expand collections and
better meet users’ information needs.
The general process model is presumed to be applicable to all asynchronous digital reference
services, though different services employ variations of the processes at each step. Some
services may even skip steps; for example, not all services may archive questions or answers
to create resources. Additionally, some steps may be repeated, especially if this model is seen
to span more than one service, for example, a triage centre at one digital reference service
may receive a question and route it to a different service, which may then route it to an
expert.
With proper installation of ICT facilities, universities can adopt this model to receive
questions from patrons using e-mail communication system and library portals in university
website. Specific library staff can function as subject specialists (reference librarians),
thereby being able to filter repeated questions and in the process create a triage environment.
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Furthermore, subject specialists can take into consideration the demographic and socioeconomic attributes of users in order to formulate appropriate answers to users’ questions.
Librarians can use electronic systems to track on-line resources consulted and the frequency
of that consultation in order to identify hot topics that maybe critical to the information needs
of users of digital reference needs. Tracking data will enable digital reference librarians to
build an excellent collection that will meet their information needs in a more expansive
manner.
Availability and use of ICT facilities in Nigerian university libraries
Information and communication technology (ICT) as a resource that enhances library
operations including reference services is no longer debatable. Scholars like Adedeji (2001),
Oketunji (2001) and Eyitayo (1996) support the above assertion. The bone of contention is
not the advantages or otherwise of applying ICT to library operations but the extent of ICT
facilities and utilization of same in Nigerian university libraries.
Mamman, Muboraka and Jirgi conducted a research in (2013) on challenges and
prospects of using Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Nigerian
Polytechnic libraries reference services. The study adopted the descriptive survey design.
The objectives of their study was: to find out the exact ICT facilities that were being used in
the reference section of the library under study; to establish the working conditions of these
facilities; to identify the threats and challenges to the optimal utilization of these facilities by
the users and to make recommendations based on the findings of the study. The scope of the
study was all the polytechnic libraries in Nigeria. The Musa Abdullahi library in Hassan
Usman Katsina Polytechnic Katsina was used as a case study. The research instruments used
were questionnaires and observation of the information and communication technology
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facilities. The data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages, mean and
standard deviation. The findings of the study were as follows:
·
The study revealed that ICT facilities were available in the form of computers,
printers, internet facilities and CD-ROM search engines were being used in the
library under study.
·
The study revealed that these facilities were in good working condition.
·
The results revealed that quite a lot of factors stand as threats and challenges in the
optimal utilization of ICT facilities in the reference service delivery of academic
libraries. These include poor funding, irregular power supply and inadequate number
of the ICT facilities in the library under study. The librarians also identified lack of
adequate training on the part of the library personnel as a serious inhibitor to the
utilization of ICT facilities in reference services.
The study is related to this study in content and the extent of utilization of ICT
facilities in reference services in academic libraries.
Furthermore, Ibegbulam (2000) conducted a research on the use of ICT for reference
services in Nigerian university libraries. The objectives of her study were to assess the
current state of ICT in Nigerian university libraries in terms of availability of ICT facilities
and automation of various library activities, determine the advantages and disadvantages of
the use of ICT in reference services and the constraints it was facing and determine the effect
of the use of ICT in reference services on traditional reference services. The research design
for this study was the descriptive survey, which involved a sample of fourteen federal
university libraries in Nigeria located in the former three regions of Nigeria North, West and
East. The instrument used for the research was a questionnaire which contained close-ended
and open-ended items.
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In her findings the researcher reported that eight out of the twelve university libraries
studied had partial or full automation in circulation, cataloguing, serial and acquisition
departments. The study showed that eleven university libraries had computers, seven had
CD-ROM, four had Local Area Network (LAN), one had telephone, two had fax, two had email and one had internet. The findings of Ibegbulam was similar to the concern of this study
that ICT facilities were available in the institutions studied but were not used in reference
services; rather they were used in circulation, cataloguing, serial and acquisition departments.
It gives concern that those ICT facilities were not used in reference services.
Adeniran (1997) conducted a survey of nine academic and research libraries in
Botswana and reported that six of their libraries were computerized. The purpose of the study
was to examine the extent of computerization and ICT facilities use in their libraries in
Botswana. The six libraries surveyed had the following ICT facilities: computers, e-mail,
CD-ROM, internet facilities and all the departments of their libraries were fully
computerized. Adeniran also in (1998) conducted another survey of ICT facilities in use in
Southern African academic libraries. The survey involved the following countries; South
Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swizerland, and Mozambique. The
research revealed that 72% of the libraries investigated had ICT resources with internet
facilities. Mutula (1998) conducted a survey of fourteen institutions in Kenya. The aim was
to assess the ICT use in their libraries. The result showed that ICT facilities were in use in all
the Kenyan academic libraries studied.
It is instructive to note that as far back as 1998 studies by Adeniran (1998) and
Mutula (1998) show that academic libraries in Southern and East Africa they studied, already
had full computerization and ICT resources with internet facilities being used for reference
services. On the other hand, as late as 2005, 2006 and 2007, academic libraries in Nigeria
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studied had ICT resources including e-mail and internet that were used for other services like
cataloguing, administration but not for reference services. The summary of all that had been
revealed by various studies regarding the availability and use of ICT resources in Nigerian
university libraries was that as of 2005 and 2006, that ICT resources were not much used for
reference services. Similar surveys of the status of ICT in some other African countries
showed that the university libraries in those countries were ahead of Nigeria in the provision
and use of ICT resources in the reference sections of their university libraries.
Impact of utilization of ICT on reference services in university libraries
It is important that ICT facilities are put into effective use for reference services.
Studies carried out in Nigeria showed limited use of ICT for reference services and
consequently the impact of ICT on reference services was minimal. Researchers in both
developed and developing countries have investigated the influence of ICT on reference
services in academic libraries. In the developed countries like America and Canada, Tenopir
and Neufong (1992 and 1995) and Tenopir and Ennis (1998 and 2001) cited by Darries
(2004) conducted series of investigations on the development and use of the internet in
reference services of research libraries. The objectives of the repeated study were to find out
what electronic information products the institutions offered in their libraries and how these
products had impacted on the work of the reference librarians in the institutions. The design
for the studies was a survey carried out in 1992, 1994 and repeated in 1997 and 2000. The
instruments used were the questionnaire and interview while seventy libraries were involved
in the surveys. Mean and percentages were used to analyze the data collected in the series of
studies.
The researchers revealed that tape-loaded databases available via the OPAC, CDROM, end-user online and intermediary online had been expanded and their use had also
increased by 1995. Majority of the libraries studied also offered internet access to their users
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directly and later at all OPAC terminals; the electronic library resources listed above were the
first resort for patrons while librarians corresponded answered queries via e-mail. By 1998
the libraries had increased the number of workstations/terminals to approximately 10
terminals to 1000 students; as intermediary search services decreased, end-user online
searches increased beyond expectations. As end-user online searches and web version of
commercial databases increased and became the preferred format, intermediary search
services such as CD-ROM and locally loaded databases began to dwindle. By 2000 90% of
the libraries offered more than 100 workstations/terminals to 10,000 or more students with
both bibliographic and full text articles made available on the web. The libraries also
provided end-user instruction on how to use the internet and the multifaceted databases. The
series of studies reported above are very relevant to the availability, development and
effective utilization of ICT facilities for reference services which are part of the burden of
this current study in Nigeria. The thrust of their findings was that ICT facilities in their
libraries grew, from small beginning in 1992 to astronomical growth in 2000. The gap
between the status of ICT use for reference services in developed and developing countries as
at 2000 is reflected in the studies reported above.
Darries (2000) investigated the impact of internet usage on reference services in
South Africa. The objective of the study was to determine the current situation in South
African academic libraries with regard to internet access and usage. The research design and
the instrument used were the survey method and the questionnaire respectively. The sample
for the study was made up of 94 librarians, 73 of them from the country’s 21 universities and
21 from the 15 technikons. Mean and percentages were used to analyze the data collected.
The researchers found that all but one of the libraries provided internet access to their
users, but only about 50% of the libraries provided user terminals/workstations with internet
access. By 2000, one user terminals/workstation was provided for 414 students while one
internet terminal served 953 students. Librarians used their internet access for a longer period
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than their users, while training tended to be on a one on one basis at the point of use. The
electronic reference provided via e-mail and library websites were characterized by low
usage. The study reported above is relevant to this study in Nigeria in that they share
objectives and research design with reference to the internet, which is a key element in ICT.
It may also serve as a guide to instrument design for the new study and later for comparative
analysis.
The introduction of information and communication technology into library
operations dates back from the 19th century in the developed countries. The gale of ICT in
libraries was necessitated by the explosion of information and the need for its proper
management and retrieval from the industrialized countries like United State of America,
United Kingodm, France, Germany, Singapore and Japan.
In Canada many researches were carried out in the 1990s on print and online ready
reference searches. One of the significant studies in this area was the experiment by Horner
and Oyetryk (1995) comparing the efficiency and success rates of print versus online ready
reference searches in Canadian university libraries. The objective of their research was to
find out whether the format in which information was stored affected the outcomes of ready
reference transactions in terms of efficiency and accuracy. The design was an experimental
research involving 42 university librarians who searched the same set of 12 questions. The
study tested the hypothesis which stated that in answering both bibliographic and factual
questions, interactions between online and print treatments and types of questions would
result in significant differences in outcomes.
The results of the study revealed that bibliographic questions were more efficiently
answered with print sources. The study also revealed that neither online nor print was found
to be more accurate. The experiment is relevant to the current study in the area of
maximization of the impact of the use of ICT in reference services. The authors therefore
concluded that the decision on whether to use an online source or a comparable print source
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is crucial in meeting the needs of patrons and that it is necessary for the validity and
reliability of the online facilities to be maintained. In addition, the reference librarian requires
the relevant knowledge and skills for the online sources to be efficient, effective and
accurate.
Empirical studies on influence of the use of the few ICT facilities for reference
services in Nigerian university libraries are limited. Abdulsalami (2005), coordinator of the
activities of Electronic Information for Libraries Network (ELFL.Net) reported that ELFL
Net has supported free access to EBSCOHOST database which offers both online and CDROM access to participating institutions in Nigeria. Abdulsalami’s report contains statistics
on the on-line usage of EBSCOHOST by Nigerian university libraries generally, which
shows that only eight Nigeria universities use EBSCOHOST for on-line searches, mainly for
abstracts and full texts. It was also reported that some universities use NUC Network
(NUNET) for management and information services. It is therefore, necessary to carry out a
comprehensive investigation of the extent and impact of ICT utilization on reference services
in federal university libraries in Nigeria as was done in some developed countries reported
above.
Ukachi conducted a research in (2009) on impact of information and communication
technologies on reference services: case study of selected academic libraries in south west,
Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey design using simple stratified random
sampling technique. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were used as instruments
for data collection. The objectives of the study was: to examine the reference services
received with the aid of ICT facilities, to establish user’s perception on the noticeable
impacts of ICT on the services they receive and to make appropriate recommendations based
on the findings of the study. The results revealed that internet as an ICT facility was most
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commonly used in reference services. The result also revealed that library personnel assist
library users occasionally.
Finally, the researcher concluded that ICT facilities enhances reference services such
as internet services (e.g. E-mail, Internet Search, on-line search, which includes CD-ROM
search and printing services. The study is related to this present study in content and
objectives. The study revealed that ICT facilities provide numerous benefits and advantages
to library users especially in the area of provision of speedy and easy access to information,
remote access to users, access to unlimited information from different sources.
Summary of Literature Review
The related literature reviewed covers definitions, concept of reference services and
the status of ICT availability and utilization in reference services in university libraries in
Nigeria and some other parts of the world. From the related literature reviewed, the
theoretical framework for this study is based on Samuel Rothstein’s Maximum Theory of
reference service, and of several theoretical models reviewed, the general process model was
accepted to be the suitable model for this study.
Digital reference is defined “as human intermediated assistance offered to users
through the internet” in a digital environment. Also different authors gave different
definitions of digital reference but had one thing in common and that is that digital reference
service uses different electronic formats to serve the clientele better. The application of
information and communication technology and its immense benefits on library services
were reviewed. The benefits of digital libraries services include improved access, wider
access, improved information sharing, availability and reduction of time, cost and space. The
literature revealed that ICT facilities have revolutionized library operations in general and
reference services in particular. Current trends in the utilization of ICT in reference services
in libraries in developed and developing countries were reviewed. Modes that were used in
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delivering reference services using ICT facilities were mentioned. Many challenges hinder
successful implementation of ICT for reference services in academic libraries which included
poor funding, power failure, lack of trained personnel and lack of government or
stakeholders’ interest in the provision of ICT facilities in academic libraries. Also solutions
were proffered for the above challenges.
The empirical studies on the utilization of ICT resources in reference services
revealed that some African countries studied including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia,
Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Kenya and Mozambique were ahead of Nigeria in the provision and
utilization of ICT facilities in the reference sections of their university libraries as of 2006
(Blakes, 2006). The study carried out on impact of information and communication
technologies on reference services proved that ICT facilities enhances reference services in
our academic libraries through speedy, easy and faster retrieval of information.
Articles and papers in books, journals, mimeographs and also online resources were
reviewed in the literature. Most of those writers came from advanced countries where the
utilization of ICT facilities for library services was more extensive. Nigerian studies on ICT
from 2005 to 2006 reported that ICT was not used much for reference services. The ICT
utilization in Nigerian university libraries may have changed since 2006 considering that all
the universities were expected then to adopt and utilize ICT for library operations, including
reference services in addition to the required development of virtual libraries in the
institutions. It is therefore necessary to carry out an in depth study of this kind on the current
situation regarding the use of ICT for reference services and factors that are still preventing
its full utilization.
79
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter discusses the detailed procedures which were used in the study under the
following sub-headings:-design of the study, area of the study, population of the study,
sample and sampling technique, instrument for data collection, validation of instrument,
reliability of instrument, method of data collection and method of data analysis.
Design of the Study
The research design employed for this study is a descriptive survey. This design
according to Nworgu (2006) aims at collecting data on and describing it in a systematic
manner, the characteristics, features or facts about a given population. This type of design is
only interested in describing certain variables or events as they are in relation to the
population. That is why the design is suitable for this study, since it allows the collection of
data from a large number of people through the use of sample and that adequately represents
the population.
Area of the Study
This study was carried out in Nigeria. Nigeria is made up of six geo-political zones,
namely: South-south, South-west, South-East, North-Central North-West and North-East.
The area of study includes the federal university libraries in the six geo-political zones of
Nigeria.
Population of the Study
The population of the study comprised all librarians in all the federal universities in
Nigeria as well as the postgraduate students (users) of the reference sections of the
universities as at 2009. According to the National Universities Commission (NUC) 2009,
there were twenty-seven federal universities in Nigeria. The population size of librarians in
68
80
the federal universities was 465. The universities were grouped in geo-political zones. The
population of masters and doctoral student users of the federal university libraries was
12,652, as supplied by the reference librarians of the various universities.
Table 1: Population Distribution of Masters and Doctoral Student users of the Federal
S/No
University
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
University of Ibadan, Ibadan
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife
University of Jos,Jos
Abubakar Tafawa Balewauniv, Bauchi
University of Ilorin,Ilorin
University of Lagos, Akoka
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
University of Benin, Benin City
Librarians Postgraduate
Students
28
810
25
724
22
715
19
363
18
363
18
650
48
701
20
650
9
10
11
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
University of Abuja, Gwagwalada
Bayero University Kano
51
14
14
685
305
550
12
13
14
15
16
Federal of Technology, Akure
Federal University of Technology, Yola
Federal University of Technology, Minna
Federal University of Technology, Owerri
University of Uyo, Uyo
12
15
12
17
16
293
222
220
739
724
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
University of Calabar, Calabar
University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
University of Agriculture, Makurdi
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike
University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt
Usmandanfodiyo University, Sokoto
Nnamdiazikiwe University, Awka
National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna
Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun
Total
15
21
10
8
8
20
12
10
5
4
3
465
674
664
318
312
431
460
369
385
150
115
60
12,652
81
Sample and Sampling Techniques
There were twenty-seven federal universities in Nigeria as at 2009 (NUC, 2009). All
the twenty-seven federal universities made up of the population size and they had 465
librarians. The stratified random sampling technique, with the geo-political zones as the
strata, was used for the study. Stratified random sampling according to Ofo (1994) and
Nwana (2005) is that sampling technique where the population is large and divided into
subgroups with each group containing subjects with similar characteristics. This technique
was suitable for this study because samples were drawn from the sub-groups that represent
the population. The stratified sampling procedure was used to obtain a sample of two federal
university libraries from each of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, giving a total sample
of twelve federal university libraries for the study. The total number of librarians in the
twelve university libraries was 285 librarians which was the sample size. There was no
further sampling because the size was small.
The population size for the library users in all the twenty-seven federal universities
was 12,652 as supplied by the reference librarians of those universities. The accidental
sampling technique was used to sample users on the spot. The sample size for the library
users of the twelve federal university libraries was 1,560 which represents 12.33% of the
population size of library users. This was in line with the views of Nwana (2005) and
Nworgu (2006) that when the population size is large (in thousands) 10% or above of the
population size can be used as the sample size. When distributing the questionnaire to the
selected universities, the researcher used the number of the selected university which was
twelve to divide the sample size of 1,560 which gave 130. During the distribution of the
questionnaire, it was 130 copies of the questionnaire that was distributed to all the
universities studied. The research assistants gave a copy of the questionnaire to every student
that came to make use of the reference section of the libraries to complete. This was done for
82
a period of six days. Then after the six days, the completed copies of the questionnaire were
collected for analysis.
According to Meredith and Gall (2007) accidental sampling can be used when the
population you are studying is not intact. This sampling technique was suitable for this study,
because the library users’ population is fluid or not intact as the library users come and go
out of the library at will.
Table 2: The 12 University Libraries Selected and their Librarians and Postgraduate
Students (Masters and Doctoral)
S/No Institution
No. of Librarians
No. of Students
1
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Universty, Bauchi
19
363
2
Ahmadu Bello Universty, Zaria
48
701
3
14
550
4
Nnamdi Aziikiwe University
10
385
5
University of Abuja
14
305
6
University of Benin
20
650
7
University of Ibadan
28
810
8
University of Jos
22
715
9
University of Lagos
18
650
10
University of Maiduguri
21
664
11
51
685
12
University of Port Harcourt
20
460
Total
285
6,938
Instrument for Data Collection
The instruments used for data collection were questionnaire, observation and
interview.
·
The title of the Questionnaire for librarians is utilization of ICT in reference service
questionnaire for librarians. (QLUIRS).
83
·
The title of the Questionnaire for library users is utilization of ICT in reference
service questionnaire for users. (QUUIRS).
·
The title of the Observation schedule is ICT facilities availability in the reference
sections of the federal university libraries
·
The title of the Interview guide is designed interview for the reference librarians of
the federal university libraries under study.
This enhanced in-depth collection and analysis of the needed data.
The questionnaire was developed based on the research questions and hypotheses.
The questionnaire for the librarians titled (QLUIRS) had two sections; section A and B.
Section A was designed to elicit information on the personal data of the respondents while
section B was designed to elicit information on the research questions of the study. The
questionnaire for the users titled (QUUIRS) was also divided into two sections; section A and
B. Section A of the questionnaire was designed to elicit information on the personal data of
the library users. Section B was designed to elicit information raised by the research
questions of the study. The questionnaires had structured questions and a four-point rating
scale. Numerical values were assigned to the four point rating scale as follows:(a) Very High Extent(VHE)/ Strongly Agree(SA) – 4 points
(b) High Extent(HE)/ Agree(A) – 3 points
(c) Low Extent(LE)/ Disagree(D) – 2 points
(d) Very Low Extent/ Strongly Disagree(SD) – 1 point
The librarians responded to their questionnaire as requested in the instrument. Similarly, the
library users responded to their own questionnaire which was different from that of the
librarians, as was requested in the instrument. Based on these response ratings, the
respondents were required to make responses to the items in the questionnaire.
84
The observation guide contained a total of twenty (20) information and
communication technology (ICT) items designed to provide information on the resources
available in the libraries for reference services (See Appendix B, pg. 137). The interview was
structured questions based on the research questions that were asked the reference librarians.
This was also designed to elicit information on the extent of ICT utilization in reference
services in the Federal University libraries under study (See Appendix I, pg.155).
Validation of the Instrument
The instruments were subjected to a face validation test by the research supervisor
and also three senior lecturers from the Department of Library and Information Science and
Department of Educational foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. This was done to
find out how effective and appropriate the instruments were in data collection for this study.
They were requested to validate the instrument in terms of coverage, relevance, language
used, clarity and framing of the statements, adequacy and comprehensiveness of the
questionnaire items. Their expert observations, comments, corrections and suggestions were
integrated in the modification of the librarians’ questionnaire of 73 items and the users’
questionnaire of 33 items before producing the final version of the instrument for use in data
collection (See Appendix C, 138).
Reliability of the Instrument
A trial testing was carried out in Federal University of Technology, Owerri which
was not part of the universities sampled for the study. In order to ensure the reliability of the
research instruments (questionnaires), internal consistency reliability using the Cronbach’s
Alpha method was computed for each of the sections (clusters) of the two sets of
questionnaire. Internal consistency was considered appropriate so as to ensure the
homogeneity of the items in each of the sections. Cronbach Alpha method was seen to be
suitable because items were not scored dichotomously.
85
The internal consistency reliability co-efficient obtained for each of the clusters
(sections) of the librarian’s questionnaire A, B, C, D and E were 0.82, 0.71, 0.95, 0.91 and
0.88 respectively. The internal consistency reliability co-efficient obtained for each of the
sections (clusters) for the user’s questionnaire A, B, C and D were 0.86, 0.87, 0.79 and 0.80
respectively. These are indications that the various sections of the instruments were related
and the items reliable (Appendix D. pg 139).
Method of Data Collection
Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the librarians (285) and library users
(1560) in the sampled federal university libraries with the help of six research assistants. The
research assistants were guided appropriately on what was required to enhance data
collection. These assistants were adequately trained on the modalities of administering the
questionnaire by guiding them through the sections to clarify the meanings of the items and
the expected data to be elicited. Explanations were also used when necessary to clarify
certain issues to both the research assistants and the respondents. Interviews were also
conducted by the researcher with reference librarians, which elicited information that further
enhanced the study. The observation schedule was used to check the extent of ICT
availability for reference services. The respondents were given six days to return the
completed copies of the questionnaire through the research assistants. The returned
questionnaire copies were organized and analyzed accordingly. Out of the 285 copies of the
questionnaire distributed to librarians, 242 completed copies were returned giving a return
rate of 85%. Similarly, out of the 1560 copies of users’ questionnaire administered to users,
1218 completed copies were returned giving a return rate of 78%.
86
Method of Data Analysis
The data collected in the course of the study were organized in tables according to the
research questions. The data on research questions were analyzed using mean, standard
deviation and percentages. For the analysis of the data, research questions, the researcher
computed the mean and standard deviation for each item using the four-point rating scale
with its corresponding upper and lower limits of real numbers as follows:(a) Very High Extent (VHE)/Strongly Agree (SA): (3.50 – 4.00 points)
(b) High Extent (HE)/Agree (A): (2.50 - 3.49 points)
(c) Low Extent (LE)/Disagree (D): (1.50– 2.49points)
(d) Very Low Extent (VLE)/Strongly Disagree (SD): (1 – 1.49 points)
Thereafter, the decision rule was applied based on the mean for the research questions
(For the upper and the lower limits scale). A mean of 3.50 and above was regarded as
showing “Very High Extent/Strongly Agree” while a mean of 2.50 – 3.49 was regarded as
showing “High Extent/Agree. A mean of 1.50 – 2.49 showed low extent/disagree and a mean
of 1 – 1.49 showed Very Low Extent/strongly disagree”. The data generated from the
observation schedule and interview questions were analyzed quantitatively. The statistical
mode using the manual calculator was used to calculate both the mean scores and the
standard deviation of the responses to each item in the questionnaire.
Three null hypotheses were formulated and tested for the study. ANOVA statistical
analysis was used to test the hypotheses using p-value of 0.05 to calculate the level of
significance. Where p-value is less than 0.05, the hypothesis is rejected and where the pvalue is greater or equal to 0.05, the hypothesis is accepted.
87
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
In this chapter the data collected for this study were analyzed and presented based on
the research questions that guided the study. There were twenty-seven federal universities in
Nigeria as at 2009 (NUC, 2009) and each university had a university library. For this study,
two university libraries were sampled in each of the six geo-political zones of the country for
purposes of equal representation, making a total of twelve university libraries studied. The
different ranks of the librarians namely: university librarians, deputy university librarians,
principal librarians/senior librarians, librarians I, librarians II and assistant librarians were
grouped as librarians participating as reference librarians for this study.
The library users that were used for the study were the postgraduate students (Masters
and Doctoral students) who consulted the reference sections of those libraries. Two sets of
questionnaire were developed-one for the librarians and the other for the library users.
Observation checklist and interview were used to obtain the availability and functionality of
those ICT facilities. The reference librarians interviewed provided further insight to the
study. The views of the librarians and library users on the purposes, extent and benefits of
utilization of ICT in reference services as well as the inhibitors to and strategies for effective
utilization of ICT were obtained from their responses to the items in the questionnaire.
The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and the
hypotheses were tested using ANOVA statistic at 0.05 level of significance.
Research Question One
What are the ICT facilities available for reference services in the federal university
libraries?
Observation schedule was used to obtain the availability of ICT facilities in the
reference sections of the federal university libraries.
76
88
Key for Tables 1 & 2
√
Available
X
Not available
UNN
ABU
Ahmadu Bellow University, Zaria
UIB
NAU
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
BUK
LAG
University of Lagos
ABJ
Abuja University, Abuja
UNIP
University of Port Harcourt
UNIBEN
University of Benin
ATBUNI
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Bauchi
JOS
University of Jos
MAID
Table 1: Availability of ICT Facilities in the Reference Sections of the Federal
FACILITIES
S/N ITEMS
U NIVERSITY LIBRARIES
UNN ABU UIB
NAU BUK
LAG
ABJ
UNI.P
UNI.
BEN
ATB
UNI
JOS
MAID
1
2
Computers
Work stations
200
50
10
10
2
2
500
120
3
10
4
30
74
68
30
26
30
2
40
15
20
15
15
10
3
Internet
connectivity
Printers
Scanners
CD-Roms
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
1
200
2
2
x
4
2
X
3
3
X
1
x
x
1
X
X
10
5
300
4
2
x
2
3
100
1
2
150
2
2
x
2
2
x
4
5
6
Data from the table above showed that all the universities had a number of computers.
While some universities like NAU and UNN had quite a good number, with NAU ranking
highest with 500 computers and UNN up to 200, others had much less. Abuja had 74
computers; ATBU had 40 while others had 30 and less. UIB ranked least with 2 computers in
their reference section. All the university libraries also have workstations, with NAU ranking
highest (120 workstations) and UNIBEN and UIB ranking lowest and having only two
89
workstations. All the libraries had internet connectivity. Printers were also available in the
libraries but few. It was only Abuja that had up to ten printers followed by UNN with five
printers. The rest had fewer than five, while NAU, BUK and ATBU had only one each.
Scanners were also available in the libraries though in small quantities. Abuja here again
ranked highest with up to five scanners while BUK and LAG did not have any scanner. CDROMs were available in reasonable quantities in UNN, Abuja, UNIBEN and ATBU while
the rest of the libraries had CD-ROMs.
Table 2: Databases for the Subscription of E- Resources by the Federal University
Libraries
FACULTIES
UNVERSITY LIBRARIES
S/N
ITEMS
UNN
ABU
UIB
NAU
BUK
LAG
ABJ
UNI.
P
UNI.
BEN
ATB.
UNI
JOS
MAID
TOTAL
1
Database Agora
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
12
2
3
Ebscohost
National virtual
Lib
Bibliomania
Dictionary of
Open Access
Journals
Scholarly
Journals
Distributed via
the www
Ingenta
Online Access
Research in the
Environment
(OARE)
Hinari
√
√
√
√
√
√
X
√
√
X
√
√
10
X
X
√
X
√
X
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
X
√
X
√
X
X
√
√
X
√
X
10
4
√
√
X
√
√
√
√
X
√
√
√
√
10
√
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
√
√
√
X
√
X
X
X
X
X
√
√
√
X
√
X
7
2
√
X
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
X
√
X
12
9
World e-library
Bioline
international
Electronic
Journal Library
Social Science
Online
Periodicals
World bank
Documents
√
√
X
√
√
√
√
X
X
X
√
√
8
X
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
12
X
√
√
X
√
√
√
X
X
√
√
√
8
X
√
X
X
√
√
X
X
X
√
X
X
4
X
6
X
10
X
7
√
10
√
14
√
13
X
9
X
6
X
7
√
11
X
9
X
9
4
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
The table showed that all the libraries subscribed to the databases that had the
following e- resources AGORA and OARE. It could also be seen that most of the libraries
90
subscribed to the other databases that had the following e-resources: EBSCOHOST, national
virtual library, dictionary of open access journals, hinari, world e- library, Bioline
international and electronic journal library. The data from the table also showed that while
few of the library subscribed to such e- resources as bibliomania and scholarly journals
distributed via the WWW. Very few of the library subscribe to Ingenta (BUK and ATBU),
social science online periodicals were subscribed by (ABU, BUK, LAG and UNIBEN).
World Bank documents were subscribed by (NAU, BUK, LAG and UNIBEN). The reference
librarians interviewed reported that they subscribed to e-resources based on the subjects they
offered in their institutions.
Research Question Two
For what purposes are ICT facilities utilized in reference services in the federal
university libraries?
For this research question, the data collected were analyzed using frequency counts,
mean scores and standard deviation to determine the purposes for which the ICT facilities
were used in reference services by librarians and users. A summary of the analysis of data
was presented in table 3.
91
Table 3:
S/N
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Mean Responses of Librarians on the Purposes for which ICT Facilities were
Utilized in Reference Services
N = 242
Item Description
The purposes for which ICT facilities are utilized
in reference services
Assisting patrons to obtain information they need
using the internet
Provision of current awareness services
Provision of current e-books and e-journals for users
Providing selective dissemination of information
(SDI) services
On-line searching using workstations in the library.
Co-operative online resources sharing and inter
library loan with other libraries
Provision of on-line public access catalogue (OPAC)
services
User education including instruction to users using
ICT systems
Keeping statistics of users of the reference section
Compilation of e-reference collections for ready
reference services
Compilation of bibliographies
Compilation of electronic documents like e-Theses
and Dissertations (ETD)
Making information in CD-ROM and other
electronic databases available to patrons
Provision of e-mail and chat services to users
GRAND MEAN AND SD
´
SD
Dec.
A
D
Ranks
3.21
3.18
3.09
0.89
0.88
0.94
A
A
A
1st
2nd
3rd
3.07
3.04
0.93
0.97
A
A
4th
5th
3.03
0.92
A
6th
3.02
0.97
A
7th
2.99
2.98
0.94
0.96
A
A
8th
9th
2.97
2.94
0.96
0.99
A
A
10th
11th
2.91
0.92
A
12th
2.91
2.83
3.01
0.95
0.97
0.94
A
A
12th
14th
It was evident from table 3 above that the highest use of ICT in reference services by
librarians was in assisting patrons to obtain information they needed using the internet which
had a mean score of 3.21. This was followed by the provision of current awareness services
which had a mean score of 3.18. Other purposes for the use of ICT in reference services by
librarians included: provision of current e-books and e-journals for users with a mean score
of 3.09, providing selective dissemination of information services (SDI) with a mean rating
of 3.07, on-line searching using workstations in the library with a mean rating of 3.04, cooperative online resource sharing and inter-library loans with a mean rating of 3.03 and
provision of online public access catalogue (OPAC) services with a mean rating of 3.02. The
mean scores for the other purposes were from 2.83 to 2.98 while the responses to all the
items had their mean ratings above the minimum positive score of 2.50. Furthermore, the
92
response to all the items had a grand mean and standard deviation of 3.01 and 0.94
respectively which indicated that the ICT facilities were being used for reference purposes.
Table 4: Mean Responses of Library Users on the Purposes for the Utilization of ICT
Facilities in the Reference Section of their Libraries
N = 1218
S/N Item Description
Dec
For what purposes do you use the ICT facilities
A
in your reference section for?
SD D
Ranks
1
To access and download information materials.
2.64 1.12 A
1st
2
To help me in my internet search to locate the
information resources I need for my assignments
and projects.
2.62 1.11 A
2nd
3
I use it to access current e-books and e-journals.
2.58 1.11 A
3rd
4
I use it for accessing user education and 2.57 1.09 A
4th
instructional services of the library.
5
To help me to contact the Newsgroup and Usenet
5th
for specific information I need.
2.56 1.09 A
6
To provide me access to global information
5th
resources in other libraries.
2.56 1.12 A
7
I use ICT facilities for my e-mail services.
2.55 1.11 A
7th
8
I use the ICT facilities for chat services.
2.48 1.11 D
8th
2.57 1.10
Grand Mean and SD
´
In table 4, the results presented also indicated that library users agreed that they used
ICT facilities for their reference needs. The highest use of the facilities was in accessing and
downloading information materials followed by search of information from the internet with
mean ratings of 2.64 and 2.62 respectively. Other reference needs for which they used the
ICT facilities included: access to current e-books and e-journals with mean rating of 2.58,
user education with mean score of 2.57, access to global information in other libraries with
mean rating of 2.56, contacting news groups for information with mean rating of 2.56 and
use of ICT for e-mail services with mean rating of 2.55.
The grand mean and standard deviation of the responses by library users of 2.57 and
1.10 respectively supported their use of ICT facilities for their various reference needs.
93
The results presented showed that the librarians and users agreed that they used ICT
facilities in the reference section for their various needs listed above except for chat services
which had a mean score of 2.48.
In the same vein, the reference librarians interviewed affirmed that they used ICT
facilities for the following reference operations: assisting patrons to obtain information they
needed using the internet, keeping statistics of users, information dissemination, current
awareness services, provision of current e-books and e-journals.
There was no significant difference in the responses by the librarians of the various
universities studied in all the geo-political zones on the purposes for utilization of ICT in
reference services. The range of mean for the 14 items in Table 3 was only 0.38. This meant
that there was no significant difference in the responses of the librarians of the various
universities in the zones studied on the purposes for utilizing ICT in reference services.
Besides the SD for all the items was small and the Grand SD for librarians and users
were 0.94 and 1.10 respectively which meant that majority of the responses were tightly
clustered around the mean. In other words, greater number of respondents (librarians and
users) in all the universities studied agreed to the items stated.
Research Question Three
To what extent are the ICT facilities utilized in reference services in the federal
university libraries? Both the questionnaire for the librarians and users were used to generate
data to answer this research question. In analyzing the data, frequency counts, mean scores
and standard deviation were computed. A summary of their analyzed data was presented in
table 5 below.
94
Table 5: Mean Responses of Librarians on the Extent of Utilization of ICT Facilities for
the Provision of Reference Services
N = 242
Dec.
To what extent do you use ICT facilities for the
HE
following reference operations?
SD
LE Rank
1
Providing access to current e-book and e-journals
2.88 1.02 H E
1st
2
Use of a variety of database for references services
2.78 1.03 H E
2nd
3
Providing on-line public access catalogue (OPAC)
services
2.76 1.10 H E
3rd
4
Providing workstations for online searching
2.74 1.11 H E
4th
5
Use of your internet facilities for e-mail services
2.73 1.11 H E
5th
6
Assisting patrons conduct complex literature searches
electronically.
2.71 1.04 H E
6th
7
Providing e-reference collections for ready references
services
2.69 1.05 H E
7th
8
Making information available in CD-ROM to patrons 2.65 1.08 H E
8th
9
Providing on-line user – education and instructional
services
2.64 1.09 H E
9th
10
Providing on-line network for resources sharing with
other libraries
2.64 1.10 H E
9th
11
Compiling of electronic documents such as electronic
abstracts, thesis and dissertation (ETD) to be used by
patrons
2.54 1.11 H E
11th
12
Use of ICT systems for chat services
2.45 1.08 L E
12th
13
Providing on-line inter-library loans and exchange
services
2.41 1.10 L E
13th
2.66 1.07
GRAND MEAN AND SD
´
The result presented in table 5 indicated that the librarians agreed that ICT facilities
were utilized to a high extent in the provision of most of their reference services. This was
evident in the mean ratings of their responses to the questionnaire, which were all above the
minimum score of 2.50 for the agreed category. Out of the thirteen items in the questionnaire
on the extent of utilization of ICT in reference services, responses to eleven items were rated
above the minimum positive mean score of 2.50. The table showed that the librarians used
ICT for providing access to current e-books and e-journals to a high extent with a mean
rating of 2.88. This was followed by the use of a variety of databases for reference services
which had a mean rating of 2.78.
95
Other areas where the librarians used ICT in reference services to a high extent as
shown in table 5 included: providing online public access catalogue services (OPAC) with a
mean rating of 2.76, assisting patrons to conduct complex literature searches electronically
with a mean rating of 2.71. All other responses of the librarians showed a high extent usage
of ICT in the reference services except in the provision of online inter-library loans and
exchange services and the use of ICT systems for chat services which had mean ratings of
2.41 and 2.45 respectively. The grand mean and standard deviation of 2.66 and 1.07
respectively of the responses by librarians supported the use of ICT to a high extent for
reference services by librarians.
Table 6: Mean Responses of Library Users on the Extent of Utilization of ICT Facilities
for their Reference Needs
N = 1218
Dec
To what extent are you using the following ICT
HE
facilities for your reference needs?
SD
LE
Rank
1.
Access to current e-books and e-journals.
2.55 1.11 HE
1st
2.
Use of internet facilities for e-mail services.
2.53 1.11 HE
2nd
3.
Use of workstations for on-line searching.
2.53 1.11 HE
2nd
4.
Use of variety of databases for reference needs
2.53 1.11 HE
2nd
5.
Use of on-line public access catalogue (OPAC)
services which is easier than the cumbersome
manual form.
2.52 1.10 HE
4th
6.
Use of on-line network for resource sharing with
other library which is not easy with traditional
practice.
2.52 1.10 HE
4th
7.
Use of ICT systems for chat services.
2.47 1.11 LE
6th
8.
Use of on-line inter-library loan and exchange
services.
2.45 1.12 LE
7th
2.51 1.10
Grand Mean/SD
´
In table 6, the result presented indicated that the library users also agreed that the ICT
facilities were used to a high extent in reference services. The library users also ranked the
use of ICT for accessing current e-book and e-journals high with a mean score of 2.55. They
also ranked the use of online inter-library loan and exchange services and the use of ICT
system for chat services with mean rating of 2.45 and 2.47 respectively low like the
96
librarians. The grand mean and standard deviation of 2.51 and 1.10 respectively of the users’
responses supported the above statements. The results revealed that both the librarians and
library users made minimal use of ICT facilities for inter-library loan, exchange services and
chat services. This was evident in their mean scores of 2.41, 2.45…..and 2.45, 2.47
respectively. The reference librarians interviewed reported that ICT facilities were
extensively utilized in the reference sections of their libraries. One of the reference librarians
interviewed, affirmed that one cannot remove ICT from reference services. The reference
librarian also explained that reference services were so dependent on ICT for maximum
services.
The mean responses and standard deviations in table 5 indicated that there was no
significant difference in the mean responses by the librarians of the various universities on
the extent of utilization of ICT facilities they had. This was very visible in the hypothesis that
tested the extent of the utilization of ICT facilities in the various universities from the six
geo-political zones. On the part of the library users, they also showed the same high extent of
utilization. All these were evident in the scores of their responses to the items. For example
the University of Jos in the North Central zone and the university of Port Harcourt, in the
South South zone had in item number one - access to current e-books and e-journals, the
same scores of 2.53 as mean and 1.11 as standard deviation respectively. This goes to
buttress the hypothesis that said that there was no significant difference in the extent of
utilization by library users of ICT facilities in the universities from all the geo-political
zones.
Although, the hypothesis on the extent of utilization was not tested on the users but
the close clusters of responses as shown by the standard deviation indicated that, if it was
tested it would still show no significant difference.
97
Research Question Four
What are the perceived benefits of the use of ICT facilities on reference services in the
university libraries under study? To provide an answer to the above question, the responses
collected from the librarians and users were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The
agreed categories of mean scores were used to determine the extent of benefit of the use of
ICT in reference services. A summary of the analyzed data was presented in table 7.
Table 7: Mean Responses of Librarians on the Perceived Benefits of the Use of ICT
Facilities on Reference Services in the University Libraries under Study
N = 242
To what extent has the utilization of ICT
positively affected reference services?
SD
Dec Rank
1.
Easy retrieval and dissemination of information
3.33
0.92 A
1st
2.
Creates faster access to information
3.28
0.93 A
2nd
3.
Provision of a variety of materials in digital forms 3.16
0.95 A
3rd
4.
Breaks barriers of geographical distance for users 3.15
0.97 A
4th
5.
Providing timely current awareness services
(CAS)
3.12
0.96 A
5th
6.
Provision of access tools e.g online catalogues,
subject gateways and portals
3.11
0.97 A
6th
7.
Providing access to global library and
information resources
3.09
0.98 A
7th
8.
Easy provisions of electronic resources – e-books
and e-journals needed by patrons
3.08
1.00 A
8th
9.
Makes conduct of complex literature searches
easier
3.05
0.93 A
9th
10.
Ability of the reference librarians to serve a
number of patrons simultaneously
3.04
0.98 A
10th
11.
Increases resource sharing among libraries
3.03
0.97 A
10th
12.
Provision of e-reference collections for ready
reference services
3.02
0.94 A
11th
13.
Improved efficiency of reference services
provided by your library in terms of providing
most of the needs of your patrons
3.02
0.95 A
11th
14.
Makes inter-library loans and exchange services
2.99
0.93 A
13th
faster
15.
Making information available in CD-ROM to
patrons
2.95
1.00 A
14th
16.
Functional co-operative resource sharing network
provided by your library
2.94
0.94 A
15th
3.08
0.95
Grand Mean and SD
´
98
It was evident from table 7 that reference librarians’ use of ICT facilities for reference
services has positive benefits in the following services: easy retrieval and dissemination of
information to patrons with mean rating of 3.33 which ranked highest, faster access to
information with a mean rating of 3.28 and provision of a variety of materials in digital
forms- with a mean rating of 3.16 and functional co-operative resource sharing with a mean
score of 2.94
The results presented in table 7 also showed that all the items had a mean score of
2.50 and above which indicated benefit to a high extent. The grand mean and standard
deviation of 3.08 and 0.95 respectively of all the items also support the benefit to a high
extent.
Table 8: Mean Responses of Library Users on the Benefits They Derive from the Use of
ICT Facilities for their Reference Needs
N = 1218
Dec
What Benefits do you derive from the use of ICT
A
SD
D
Rank
1.
Quick access to information resources I need.
2.61 1.11 A
1st
2.
My ability to consult the reference section without
coming to the library with my Personal Computer
(PC).
2.57 1.10 A
2nd
3.
Easy access to electronic materials, like e-books and
e-journals I need.
2.57 1.10 A
2nd
4.
Resource sharing was made easy and faster
2.57 1.11 A
2nd
5.
Success in the provision of answers to most of my
queries by librarians
2.56 1.10 A
5th
6.
Access to consistent electronic file contents.
2.56 1.10 A
5th
7.
Prompt answering of queries by librarians.
2.56 1.11 A
5th
8.
Easy transaction of interlibrary loans.
2.49 1.11 D
8th
2.56 1.10
Grand Mean and SD
´
The results presented in table 8 indicated that library users derived high benefits from
the use of ICT for their reference needs. This was attested in the benefits they derived from
the use of ICT for their reference needs including: quick access to information resources,
easy access to e-books and e-journals, consultation of reference materials with their personal
99
computers and easy resource sharing with mean ratings of 2.61, 2.57, 2.57 and 2.57
respectively.
The responses of library users agreed with those of the librarians except that users
reported that they derived minimal benefits from their use of ICT for easy transaction of
inter-library loans. This was evident in their responses to that item which had a mean rating
of 2.49. This was within the lowest category of mean scores of 1 to 1.49. The reference
librarians interviewed claimed that ICT facilities had revolutionized reference services for
good. They opined that it had made their work faster and easier and had also enabled them to
attend to many patrons at the same time. They also affirmed that ICT helped them in speedy
retrieval of information, introduction to more robust databases, access to international
resources and open access to international resources and in open access to online resources.
From the grand mean and SD in table 7 and table 14, it was clear that there was no
significant difference in the mean responses of the librarians and users on the benefits they
derived from the utilization of ICT facilities for reference services in their different libraries.
The mean responses of the librarians to each of the items in table 7 (from the various
universities located in the zones studied) were very close to each other and their standarddeviations were quite small and almost the same. This meant that the responses to Research
Question Four by the librarians and even the users from the various universities and zones
compared favourably. The study also upheld the hypothesis, that there was no significant
difference in the mean responses of the librarians in the six geo-political zones on the
benefits they derived from their utilization of ICT facilities for reference services.
Research Question Five
What are the inhibitors to utilization of ICT facilities for reference services?
100
Copies of the two sets questionnaires were distributed to librarians and users
respectively to elicit from them, the problematic factors that hindered their effective
utilization of ICT for their reference needs. Their responses were presented in table 9 below
Table 9: Mean Responses of Librarians on the Perceived Inhibitors to the Utilization of
ICT Facilities in Reference Services in the Federal University Libraries
N = 242
S/N
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Item Description
Indicate your level of agreement or disagreement to the
following problems militating against effective utilization
of ICT facilities in the reference section of your library.
Irregular power/electricity supply.
Low level of computer literacy among patrons.
High cost of setting up ICT equipment, facilities and systems.
High cost of maintaining ICT facilities.
Poor funding of ICT projects in your university library.
Low level of computer literacy among reference librarians
Absence of ICT policy for libraries in Nigerian universities.
Poor attitude of university management to the development of
ICT in your library.
Difficulties in assessing information/ materials from the
internet
Inadequate provision of telephone services.
Poor attitude of librarians to the use of ICT for reference
services.
Inadequate accommodation for users.
Unco-operative attitude of some reference librarians to users.
Unconducive environment in the reference section of your
library in terms of light and adequate ventilation - Air
conditioners
Inadequate seats and tables for users in your library.
Librarians’ ignorance of the benefit of ICT use in reference
section.
3.22
3.06
3.00
2.92
2.92
2.86
2.85
SD
1.01
1.00
1.00
0.97
0.99
0.97
0.99
Dec
A
D
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
2.78
1.05
A
8th
2.75
2.72
0.99
0.98
A
A
9th
10th
2.64
2.60
2.48
1.01
0.99
1.01
A
A
D
11th
12th
13th
2.53
2.52
1.05
0.99
A
A
13th
14th
2.49
1.01
D
15th
´
Rank
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
4th
6th
7th
Table 9 and fig 2 showed the nature and ranking of inhibitors to the utilization of ICT
facilities in reference services by librarians. Irregular electricity supply to the facilities with a
mean score of 3.22 was shown to be the greatest problem facing the utilization of ICT in
reference services. This was followed by patron’s low level of computer literacy which had a
mean score of 3.06. The table also showed that the high cost of setting up computer facilities
with a mean score of 3.00 constituted the third major inhibitor to the use of ICT in reference
services. A closer look at the above table showed that ten problems had mean scores of over
2.70 while only two out of the sixteen problems identified namely; librarians ignorance of the
101
benefit of ICT use in reference services and uncooperative attitude of some librarians to
users, had mean scores of less than 2.49. In addition, the grand mean score and standard
deviation of 2.77 and 1.00 respectively indicated that most of the respondents accepted the
item statement as inhibitors to the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services.
Table 10: Mean Responses of Library Users on the Inhibitors to their Use of ICT
Facilities in their Reference Sections
N = 1218
S/N
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
8.
Item Description
What problems do you encounter in your use of ICT
Low level of computer literacy among users affects their
use of ICT facilities.
Difficulties in accessing information materials from the
internet.
High cost of accessing and downloading information
resource?
Inadequate seats and tables for users in the reference
section.
Unconducive environment in the reference section
of your library in terms of light, accommodation and
adequate ventilation - Air conditioners.
Non availability of the information or materials needed by
users.
Unco-operative attitude of some reference librarians to
users.
Dec
A
D
´
SD
2.58
2.58
1.11
1.11
A
A
1st
1st
2.53
1.09
A
3rd
2.50
1.10
A
4th
2.49
1.09
D
5th
2.48
1.11
D
6th
2.48
1.09
D
6th
2.47
1.09
D
8th
Rank
Table 10 and fig 3 showed the nature and ranking of inhibitors to the utilization of
ICT facilities in reference services by library users. The study showed that the low level of
computer literacy among users and irregular power supply/electricity supply with mean
scores of 2.58 for both of them inhibitors greatly against their use of ICT facilities. This was
followed by difficulties in accessing information materials from the internet which had a
mean of 2.53. The table also showed that high cost of accessing and downloading
information resource with a mean of 2.50 constituted the third major problem militating
against the user’s use of ICT in obtaining their reference needs. The above table showed that
four problems had mean scores of over 2.50 while four out of the problems identified
namely: uncooperative attitude of some reference librarians to users, unconducive
102
environment in the reference sections of the libraries in terms of light, accommodation and
air conditioners, inadequate seats and tables for users and non- availability of information or
materials needed by users had mean scores of less than 2.50. In addition, the grand mean
score and standard deviation of 2.51.and 1.09 respectively indicated that most of the users
accepted the item statement as problems militating against their ICT use in reference
services.
The results presented showed that the librarians and users agreed that irregular
electricity supply ranked the highest among the problems militating against their use of ICT
facilities in the reference section. They also agreed that uncooperative attitude of some
reference librarians ranked very low indicating that they were insignificant problems
affecting the use of ICT in the reference section. The reference librarians interviewed
confirmed that the following factors militated against effective utilization of ICT facilities in
reference services: poor funding, lack of requisite facilities, poor ICT literacy among
reference librarians, poor power supply, inadequate support staff and lack of government and
management support for library development.
The mean responses and standard deviations in table 9 indicates that there was no
significant difference in the mean responses by the librarians of the various universities on
the perceived inhibitors to their utilization of ICT facilities in their reference sections. This
was very evident from the hypothesis tested on the inhibitors to ICT utilization by reference
librarians in the various universities in the six geo-political zones.
On the part of the library users, they also showed the same inhibitors to utilization of
ICT facilities for their reference needs in all the university libraries studied. For example, the
university of Nigeria, Nsukka in the South-East Zone and the university of Maiduguri in the
North-west zone had in items – nos 4, 5, 6 and 7 as minor inhibitors: inadequate seats and
tables for users in the reference sections, unconducive environment in the reference section
103
of their library in terms of poor light, inadequate accommodation and inadequate ventilationno air conditioners, non-availability of the information or materials needed by users and
unco-operative attitude of some reference librarians to users had the same mean of 2.49, and
standard deviation of 1.09 respectively.
All the other universities in the other zones, from the standard deviations of the
responses of both librarians and users had their responses to each item clustering around the
mean. This showed that there was no significant difference in the responses of the librarians
and library users from the various universities in the six geo-political zones on the inhibitors
to ICT facilities utilization for reference services.
F IG 2
3.5
3
MEAN SCORES
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
IP
LP
HC
HC M P F
LL
AI
P A U DA
IP
PA
IA
UE
UA
IS
Fig 2: Bar Chart Showing the Ranking of Inhibitors to the Utilization of ICT
Facilities in Reference Services as Perceived by Librarians
LI
104
KEY
IP
LP
HC
HCM
PF
LL
AI
PAU
DA
IP
PA
IA
UA
UE
IS
LI
Irregular power/ electricity supply
Low level of computer literacy among patrons
High cost of maintaining ICT facilities
Poor funding of ICT projects in your university library
Low level of computer literacy among reference librarians
Absence of ICT policy for libraries in Nigerian Universities
Poor attitude of university management to the development of ICT in your library
Difficulties in assessing information/materials from the internet
Inadequate provision of telephone services
Poor attitude of librarians to the use of ICT for reference services
Inadequate accommodation for users
Unco-perative attitude of some reference librarians to users
Unconducive environment in the reference section of your library in terms of light and
adequate ventilation- air conditioners
Inadequate seats and tables for users in your library
Librarians’ ignorance of the benefit of ICT use in reference section
Ranks
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
4th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
13th
14th
16th
F IG 3
3
2.5
MEAN SCORES
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
LP
IP
DA
HC
IS
UE
NA
UA
Fig 3: Bar Chart Showing the Ranking of Inhibitors to the Utilization of ICT Facilities
in Reference Services As Perceived By Library Users
KEY
LP
IP
DA
HC
IS
UE
NA
UA
Ranks
Low level of computer literacy among users affects their use of ICT facilities
1st
Irregular power/ electricity supply
1st
Difficulties in assessing information/materials from the internet
3rd
High cost of accessing and downloading information resourses
4th
Inadequate seats and tables for users in the reference section
5th
Unconducive environment in the reference section of your library in terms of light6thand
adequate ventilation- air conditioners
Non availability of the information or materials needed by users
6th
Unco-oprative attitude of some reference librarians to users
8th
105
Research Question Six
What are the strategies for enhancing the utilization of ICT facilities in reference
services of the university libraries under study?
In analyzing the responses to this research question, frequency counts, mean scores
and standard deviation were computed. The analysis of the responses was presented in table
11 below:
Table 11: Mean Responses of the Librarians on the Strategies for Enhancing the
Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services of the University Libraries
under Study
N = 242
S/N
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Item Description
To what extent do you agree that the following strategies
will enhance ICT facilities utilization in the reference
section of your library?
Establishment and sustenance of staff training and
development programme for reference librarians.
University's management should allow the libraries to
control their own budget.
Provision of adequate ICT facilities for digitization,
collection, processing, storage and retrieval of information
resources in your university library.
Strategic organization of workshops and conferences on the
utilization of ICT for reference services in your university
Provision of adequate workstations in your university
reference section.
Adoption of strategic planning and management
effectiveness by reference librarians in your university.
Development of functional virtual library in your university
library.
Libraries should develop database of print reference sources
already in the library to e-reference
University libraries should solicit for e-reference sources
from donor agencies to facilitate e-reference services.
Professional associations like NLA should encourage and
sponsor research on ICT use in our libraries.
Capacity building to ensure availability of qualified and
competent ICT staff in the reference section of your library.
Libraries should buy and maintain generators as an
alternative source of power supply
Government should develop consortium for sectional,
regional and national information infrastructure to improve
the use of ICT.
Funds for print reference sources should be channeled to ereference sources.
´
SD
3.24
Dec
Rank
0.93
A
1st
3.24
0.93
A
1st
3.22
0.94
A
3rd
3.22
0.96
A
3rd
3.21
0.97
A
5th
3.19
0.94
A
6th
3.19
0.96
A
6th
3.15
0.92
A
8th
3.14
0.92
A
9th
3.12
0.92
A
10th
3.10
1.09
A
11th
3.09
1.01
A
12th
3.09
0.91
A
12th
2.90
0.97
A
14th
106
The data presented in table 11 above showed the mean ratings of the responses of the
librarians on the strategies for enhancing the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services
in federal university libraries. The data indicated that the items on allowing the libraries to
control their own budget with a mean score of 3.24 and establishment and sustenance of staff
training and development programs for reference librarians which also had a mean score of
3.24 ranked highest.
Other ways of enhancing utilization of ICT in reference services as agreed by
respondents included: provision of adequate ICT facilities for digitization, collection,
processing, storage and retrieval of information resources with the mean rating of 3.22 of
each item, strategic organization of workshops and conferences on the utilization of ICT
facilities in reference services with a mean rating of 3.22, provision of adequate workstations
for reference services with a mean rating of 3.21, adoption of strategic planning and
management effectiveness by reference librarians with a mean rating of 3.19 and
development of functional virtual library with a mean rating of 3.19.
Furthermore, the respondents agreed that these strategies: development of databases
having the electronic format of the print reference sources already in the library for ereference with a mean rating of 3.15, soliciting for e-reference sources from donor agencies
by university libraries to facilitate e-reference services with a mean rating of 3.14,
professional associations like Nigerian Library Association (NLA) encouraging and
sponsoring research on ICT use in university libraries with a mean rating of 3.12, capacity
building to ensure availability of qualified and competent ICT staff in the reference section of
each library with a mean rating of 3.10, procurement and maintenance of electric generators
as an alternative source of power supply with a mean rating of 3.09, development of a
consortium of university libraries for sectional, regional and national information
infrastructure to improve the use of ICT in reference services with a mean rating of 3.09 and
107
channeling of funds for print reference sources to the production of e-reference sources with
a mean rating of 2.90. Finally the grand mean score and standard deviation of 3.15 and 2.52
respectively supported the above findings.
The reference librarians interviewed also agreed that the following strategies would
enhance ICT utilization in reference services which were arranged in order of importance
(a) Adequate funding of the library: the reference librarians were of the view, that if
libraries were adequately funded they would provide better services to their clients.
(b) The reference librarians suggested training and retraining of librarians so that they
would be abreast with new developments in information technologies which would
enhance their service delivery.
(c) Regular provision of resources for the payment of bandwidth (for constant internet
connection) so that there should not be a time patrons would come and the librarians
would tell them that the information they needed could not be accessed because the
library had not paid for the internet access.
(d) The reference librarians suggested that the software to be used in the library should be
easy to operate and user friendly. This was because they said that if the software were
not easy to operate, patrons could not be attended to easily thereby wasting the time
of the patrons.
(e) The reference librarians interviewed suggested that the university libraries should
practice serious maintenance culture. They were of the view that, if it was practised
the ICT facilities supplied would last.
(f) The reference librarians also suggested the formation of collaboration and consortium
by university libraries to help provide better ICT services to patrons. This
collaboration could be institutional, regional or national. This was because they felt
that some libraries might have facilities more than the others, so with the formation of
108
collaboration and consortium those libraries with less facilities could benefit from the
services of such libraries. The above strategies from the reference librarians
interviewed corroborated significantly with the responses by the librarians to the
questionnaire as may be inferred from table 11.
From the grand mean and SD in table 11, it was clear that there was no significant
difference in the responses of the librarians on the strategies for enhancing the utilization of
ICT facilities in reference services.
The mean responses of the librarians to each of the items in table 11 (from the various
universities located in the zones studied) were very close to each other and their standard
deviations were quite small and almost the same. This meant that the responses to Research
Question six by the librarians from the various universities and zones compare favourably.
Although no hypothesis was formulated on this research question, from the available
data, if a hypothesis was tested, the result would have indicated that there was no significant
difference in the mean responses of the librarians in the six geo-political zones on the
strategies for enhancing the utilization of ICT facilities for reference services. From the
standard deviations of the responses of the librarians, it was clear that their responses to each
item clustered around the mean.
Hypotheses Testing
Three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance to ascertain if there
was any significant difference in the mean responses of the librarians in the six geo-political
zones. Two of the hypotheses were on the extent of utilization of ICT facilities in reference
services and on the problems that militated against their utilization of ICT in reference
services; while the third hypothesis tested was on the mean responses of library users on the
benefits they derive from their utilization of ICT facilities for their reference needs. The
testing of the hypotheses was done using ANOVA statistical analysis.
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Hypothesis One
There is no significant difference in the mean responses of librarians in the six geopolitical zones on the extent of utilization of ICT facilities in reference services. To test the
above hypothesis the ANOVA statistical analysis was employed. A hypothesis in this study
is rejected if the p-value is less than 0.05 and it is not rejected if the p-value is greater than or
equal to 0.05. The results of the analysis were presented in table 12 below.
Table 12: Result of ANOVA Test of Significant Difference in the Mean Responses of
Librarians in the Six Geo-political Zones on the Extent of Utilization of ICT
Facilities in Reference Services
North
West
Mean 2.66
Std
1.09
North
East
2.66
1.09
North
Central
2.65
1.10
South
West
2.65
1.09
South
South
2.66
1.09
South
East
F-value
2.66
0.018
1.09
P-value Decision
1.000
Accept
Results in table 12 showed that calculated p-value (1.000) is greater than 0.05.
Hypothesis one was therefore accepted. The conclusion that was drawn was that the
librarians did not vary significantly on the extent of their utilization of ICT facilities in
reference services.
Hypothesis Two
There is no significant difference in the mean responses of librarians in the six geopolitical zones on the problems militating against the utilization of ICT facilities in reference
services.
To test the above hypothesis, the ANOVA statistical analysis was also employed. The
results of the analysis were presented in table 13 below.
Librarians in the Six Geo-political Zones on the Problems Militating Against
the Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services
North
West
Mean 2.77
Std
1.03
North
East
2.76
1.03
North
Central
2.76
1.03
South
West
2.77
1.03
South
South
2.76
1.04
South
East
F-value P-value Decision
2.78
Accept
0.038
0.999
1.03
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Results of ANOVA test of significant difference in the mean responses of librarians
in the six geo-political zones on the problems militating against their utilization of ICT
facilities in reference services. The results in table 13 showed that calculated p-value (0.999)
was greater than 0.05.
Therefore, the hypothesis stating that there was no significant difference in the mean
responses of the librarians in the six geo-political zones on the problems militating against
their utilization of ICT in reference services was accepted. The conclusion that was drawn
was that the librarians did not vary significantly in their responses on problems militating
against their utilization of ICT facilities.
Hypothesis Three
There is no significant difference in the mean responses of library users in the six
geo-political zones on the benefits they derive from their utilization of ICT facilities for their
reference needs.
To test the above hypothesis, the ANOVA statistical analysis was used. The results of
the analysis are presented in table 14 below.
Library Users in the Six Geo-Political Zones on the Benefits they Derive from
Their Utilization of ICT Facilities for their Reference Needs
North
West
Mean 2.57
Std
1.11
North
East
2.56
1.11
North
Central
2.56
1.11
South
West
2.57
1.11
South
South
2.57
1.11
South
East
F-value
2.57
0.010
1.11
P-value Decision
1.000
Accept
Results in table 14 showed that calculated p-value (1.000) was greater than 0.05.
Therefore, the hypothesis stating that there was no significant difference in the mean
responses of library users in the six geo-political zones on the benefit they derived from the
use of ICT for their reference needs was accepted. The conclusion that was drawn was that
the library users did not vary significantly on the benefits they derive from their utilization of
ICT facilities for their reference needs.
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Summary of Major Findings
The major findings of this study are summarized as follows:
1.
The federal university libraries studied had ICT facilities, including computers,
workstations, internet connectivity, printers, and scanners. They also subscribed to
various databases for their e- resources for reference services.
2.
The ICT facilities were utilized in the reference sections of the libraries for various
purposes, including assisting patrons to obtain information they needed using the
internet and provision of e-books and e-journals with the provision of chat services
being minimally used.
3.
The findings also revealed that the librarians used the ICT facilities to a high extent.
4.
The use of ICT in reference services in the federal university libraries had benefits on
the reference librarians’ service delivery to library patrons, including easy retrieval and
dissemination of information and quick access to information.
5.
The study revealed a number of problems that militated against the use of ICT in
reference services, with poor power supply and low level of computer literacy for both
users and librarians being very prominent.
6.
The study further revealed that some strategies could enhance the utilization of ICT in
reference services, including regular organization of workshops and conferences for
librarians and users, emphasis on power generation facilities and provision of functional
ICT systems and databases.
7.
The hypotheses tested using ANOVA statistics showed that the librarians in the six geopolitical zones did not vary significantly in their mean responses on the extent of
utilization of ICT in reference services. Similarly, they did not vary significantly on the
problems that militated against their effective utilization of ICT facilities in reference
services. The hypothesis tested also showed that the library users in the six geo-political
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zones did not vary significantly in their responses on the benefits they derived from their
use of ICT facilities for their reference needs.
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CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND
CONCLUSION
This chapter discusses the findings of the study as presented in the previous chapter.
The discussion of the findings of the study was followed according to the problems which the
research questions sought to solve. The findings are discussed under the following
subheadings - ICT facilities available for reference services, purposes of ICT utilization in
reference services, the extent of ICT facilities utilization for reference services, benefits of
ICT use in reference services, problems militating against the utilization of ICT facilities in
reference services and strategies to enhance the utilization of ICT facilities for reference
services.
Discussion of the Findings
ICT facilities available for reference services
The universities studied have the basic ICT facilities for use in their reference
sections. These include: computers, workstations, internet connectivity, printers, scanners
and databases. Furthermore, all the universities studied subscribe to different databases for
their e- resources based on the courses they offered.
The subscription by the universities to various databases as shown in Table 2 are as
follows:
1. Bayero University Kano
-
14 data bases 1st
2. University of Lagos
-
13 data bases 2nd
3. University of Benin
-
11 data bases 3rd
4. Abubakar Tafawa Belloa
-
11 data base 3rd
5. Ahmadu Bellow University, Zaria
-
10 data bases 4th
6. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka -
10 data bases 4th
7. Abuja University, Abuja
9 data bases 5th
102
114
8. University of Jos
-
9 data bases 5th
9. University of Maiduguri
-
9 data bases 5th
10. University of Ibadan
-
7 data bases 6th
11. University of Nigeria, Nsukka
-
6 data bases 7th
12. University of Port Harcourt
-
6 data bases 7th
This agreed with the study carried out by Ajidahun in 2004 on the state of
information technology in Nigerian University libraries to some extent. His study revealed
that the university libraries studied had computers and printers; CD–ROM drives; telephone,
photocopies and e–mails; databases; terminals /workstations for their ICT systems and fax
machines. The reason for the differences in numbers and types of ICT facilities in the two
studies is likely that the university libraries must have acquired more ICT facilities between
Ajidahun’s study in 2004 and the present study. Besides, his research was not specifically on
the reference sections of the universities.
The research conducted by Anunobi in (2005) on the availability and use of ICT
facilities in Nigerian university libraries is also partly in agreement with this study regarding
availability of ICT facilities. Anunobi’s study like that of Ajidahun was not specifically on
reference services. Considering the scope of Anunobi’s study and the time lag from the year
2005 to 2012, it is not surprising that the type and quantity of available ICT facilities
reported by her are fewer than those being reported by this study. For instance Anunobi
(2005) reported 84.21% availability of personal computers, 72.68% CD-ROM, 57.89% Local
Area Network (LAN), Internet and E-mail facilities. The percentage of libraries using Wide
Area Networks (WAN), fax machines and online public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
according to Anunobi (2005) is below 50% in all the libraries studied.
The present study showed a remarkable increase in the quantity of available ICT
facilities in the federal university libraries in 2012 when compared with the earlier studies in
115
2005 and 2006. For example this study records 95% availability and use of computers and
90% availability and use of CD-ROMS in all the libraries studied. These increases in
availability of computers and CD-ROMS have affected the quantity of some other ICT
facilities including workstations, scanners and internet connectivity. Furthermore, present
study reports that the federal university libraries have started subscribing to e-journals and ebooks for easy access to information and quick response to patrons’ requests.
The import of the former and present studies is that the availability and utilization of
ICT facilities for reference services have improved with time in the federal university
libraries and that improved services are being provided to patrons unlike before. Patrons
could be attended to irrespective of their geographical locations which was not possible
before. Inter-library loans can also be done online. The increase in the quantity of available
ICT facilities in the institutions was as a result of some intervention grants to the universities
from a number of organizations including: MC Arthur Foundation, Shell Petroleum, ETF,
MTN and Elsevier foundation in support of the provision of ICT and virtual library services
(Agabi & Uche 2006)
Other researchers, like Ibegbulam(2000), Adetmirin (2007) and Blakes (2006)
revealed availability of ICT facilities in the university libraries they studied which were
similar to those stated above in paucity and none of the authors reported effective utilization
of the ICT facilities for reference services. Blakes (2006) reported that all the eight
universities studied had computers-ABSU (1), DELSU (23), FUTO (5), IMSU (2), RSUST
(23), Uniport (3), Unical (4) and UYO (16) making a total of seventy seven computers in the
eight university libraries. Two universities had internet connectivity- Unical (1) and UYO
(1). Only the university of UYO had website and automated LAN and WAN. The study also
revealed that eight ICT facilities were not available and therefore not used by the patrons
which included: software programme, E-mail, VSAT, Main Server, Modem, Telephone
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landline, Telephone Network, GSM and Fax. Even though the earlier studies and the present
study are on different universities except the University of Port Harcourt, the present study
shows remarkable increases in the quantity of ICT facilities in the universities studied. For
instance the present study shows that the university of Port Harcourt has thirty computers
(30), twenty six workstations (26), forty (40) CD-ROMS, university of Nigeria, Nsukka has
two hundred (200) computers, fifty (50) workstations and CD-ROM two hundred (200),
university of Abuja has seventy-four (74) computers, sixty-eight (68) workstations and three
hundred (300) CD.ROMS. Adetimirin (2007) reported that two out of the three university
libraries studied had computers- ABU (10), and Babcock (7), making a total of seventeen
computers. ABU and Babcock University had one scanner each. IMSU University had none.
ABU had fax machines. ABU and BU had CDROM facilities in their libraries while two
university libraries (ABU (1) and BU (2) had photocopying machines. Two universities
(ABU and BU) had computer laboratories established by the universities and the facilities
were available for the use of their students. IMSU had none of the ICT facilities in their
library. Ibegbulum (2000) reported that out of the fourteen university libraries studied, eleven
university libraries had computers, seven libraries had CD-ROM, four universities had Local
Area Network (LAN), one university library had telephone. Two university libraries had fax
machines and e-mail facilities. One university library had internet connectivity. From all
indications and the analysis presented above, one can deduce that ICT facilities are available
in Nigerian university libraries since 2000 but are grossly inadequate when compared to what
are available in the university library presently as being reported in this study. The present
study is reporting that ICT facilities are available and being utilized in reference services in
the federal university libraries studied. The acquisition of ICT facilities by the federal
university libraries is ongoing and is likely to improve tremendously in the near future.
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Purposes of ICT utilization for reference services
The findings of this study showed that librarians and library users made use of ICT
facilities for different reference purposes. The study revealed that the highest use of ICT in
reference services by librarians was in assisting patrons to obtain information they need using
the internet. This was followed by the provision of current awareness services. Other
purposes for the use of ICT in reference services by librarians included: provision of current
e-books and e-journals, provision of selective dissemination of information services (SDI),
online searching using workstations in the library, co-operative online resource sharing and
inter–library loans and provision of online public access catalogue (OPAC). Furthermore, the
responses to all the items showed proper utilization of ICT facilities for reference purposes.
On the responses of users, the findings revealed that the highest use of the facilities
by users was in accessing and downloading information materials followed by searching of
information from the internet. Other reference needs for which patrons used the ICT facilities
included: - access to current e–books and e – journals, user education and access to global
information in other libraries. The similarities in the use of ICT facilities by librarians and
users for specific services include: access to current e-books and e-journals, e-mail, chat, user
education and access information materials from the internet.
The differences in the use of ICT facilities for various services are here under stated:
(a) librarians use ICT facilities for various services including: provision of current awareness
services (CAS) and selective dissemination of information services (SDI), on-line searching
using workstations in the library, provision of on-line public access catalogue (OPAC)
services, keeping statistics of users of the reference section and compilation of
bibliographies. The library users on the other hand, use ICT facilities for the following
services for their assignments and projects, access to global information resources in other
libraries and helped them to contact subject specialists for their specific information needs.
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The findings of this study show that more librarians and patrons are becoming aware
of a wide range of services that could be provided by the reference sections of university
libraries using ICT facilities. Ikpahindi (1999) agree on the findings of this study on purposes
of utilization where he stated that ICT facilities have made research and learning very easy.
He reported that with ICT the shiver, nightmare and hours of fumbling through card
catalogue and readers guide to periodical literature has been eliminated with the use of ICT.
The users responses ranked between 2.50 and 2.64 which reveal that they use them for those
purposes but not so much may looking at the range of their scores.
Extent of ICT facilities utilization in reference services
The findings of this study showed that the librarians and library users used ICT
facilities in reference services to a high extent. The study revealed that librarians used ICT
for providing access to current e-books and e-journals to a very high extent. This is followed
by the use of a variety of databases for reference services. Other areas where the librarians
use ICT for reference services to a high extent include providing online public access
catalogue services (OPAC), assisting patrons to conduct complex literature searches
electronically. All other responses of the librarians showed a high extent usage of ICT in
reference services except in the provision of online inter-library loans and exchange services
and the use of ICT systems for chat services.
The library users also ranked the use of ICT for accessing current e-books and ejournals high. They also ranked the use of online inter-library loan and exchange services and
the use of ICT systems for chat services low like the librarians. The low usage of librarians
and users of ICT for chat services, online inter-library loans and exchange services may be
because our libraries have not developed affordable resource sharing facilities apparently due
to the extensive involvement of collaboration and consortium linkages particularly with
foreign university libraries.
119
This goes to support the reluctant efforts of Nigerian libraries in the collaboration and
consortium linkages as reported by Anaeme (2005) who recommended that collaboration and
formation of consortium should be developed to improve resource sharing in reference
services. The findings of the studies of Ibegbulam (2000), Anunobi (2005) and Adetimirin
(2006) regarding the extent of utilization of ICT facilities in reference services were in
contrast with the findings of this study. Their findings revealed that ICT facilities were not
utilized for reference services rather they were used more for administration and technical
services. The present study has revealed that, there is a positive change in the extent of use of
ICT in reference services. This may be because the librarians are increasingly aware that it is
faster, easier and more accurate to use ICT in rendering reference services than the traditional
system. Furthermore, the difference in the findings of this study and the earlier studies could
be that the explosion of information and the increasing demand for quick replies to queries
by patrons irrespective of their locations are in contrast with the situation when the earlier
studies were carried out. This probably made the librarians to attach more importance to the
use of ICT facilities in reference services as a way to cope with the demands by patrons. This
goes to buttress the view of Parson (2001) that with ICT, limitless reference services can be
provided with elastic scope and the crossing of institutional and national boundaries.
Benefits of ICT use in reference services
The findings of this study showed that the librarians and library users derive a lot of
benefits from their use of ICT facilities in reference services. The results showed that easy
retrieval and dissemination of information to patrons were ranked highest by the librarians.
This may be attributed to the fact that patrons want their information needs to be met
immediately .The other benefits derived from the use of ICT for reference services that were
ranked high included : faster access to information, provision of variety of materials in digital
forms, breaking barriers of geographical distance for users, providing timely current
120
awareness services (CAS), providing access to tools such as online catalogues, subject
gateways and portals, providing access to global library and information resources, easy
provision of electronic resources - e-books and e-journals and making conduct of complex
literature searches easier.
The results of the study indicated that library users derived much benefit from the use
of ICT for their reference needs. This is attested in the benefits they derived from the use of
ICT for their reference needs including; quick access to information resources, easy access to
e-books and e-journals, consultation of reference materials using their personal computers
which ranked highest. The responses of library users agreed with those of librarians to some
extent except that users reported that they derive minimal benefits from their use of ICT for
inter-library loans. This is evident in their responses to that item which fell within the lowest
category of the mean scores of 1 to 2.49 .This goes to support the reluctant efforts of
Nigerian libraries in the collaboration and consortium linkages as reported by Anaeme
(2005).
Generally, the result of this analysis show many benefits of ICT facilities use by
librarians in reference services. The findings of this study on the benefits of using ICT for
reference services supports the view of Ikpahindi (1999) who reported that patrons no longer
experience nightmare with hours of fumbling through card catalogue and readers guide to
periodical literature. Today’s students are spared the challenges of finding information the
hard way due to the emergence of ICT in reference operations.
The findings of Lantz (1978) on speed and cost in using manual searches and
computerized searches also agreed with the findings of this study. In his findings, manual
reference searches takes longer time and costs more than computerized reference searches. In
his findings, the cost of retrieval of computerized reference was ₤28.55 and the time spent on
that was 1.6 hours. The findings also observed that the manual retrieval of the same reference
121
operations costs ₤37.10 and 9.0 hours was spent on the same. This goes to concur with the
views of Ikpahindi (1999), Oketunji (2001), Alabi (2003) and Aina (2004) that reported the
immense positive benefits of using ICT facilities for library operations which has made
reference services much faster and easier for both librarians and patrons.
Problems militating against the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services
The findings of the study reveal that out of the sixteen problem items listed, fourteen
of them were accepted as problems militating against the utilization of ICT facilities in
reference services by the librarians. Furthermore, the mean scores of the accepted items were
above 2.72.This shows that the problems are of high magnitude.
It is obvious from the results of this study that the librarians and library users are
facing quite a number of problems militating against effective utilization of ICT facilities in
reference services. The librarians identified irregular power supply / electricity supply as a
major cause of setback in their utilization of ICT in reference services. Alabi (1991) reported
that among the other problems that hinder effective utilization of ICT, irregular power supply
ranked the highest. The findings further showed that the low level of computer literacy
among patrons adversely affect the utilization of ICT in reference services. This is in
agreement with the findings of Okore (2005) who reported that many users seeking
information are not computer literate and therefore depend on the librarians expertise in
accessing the information.
The following problems - high cost of setting up ICT reference section having
facilities and systems, high cost of maintaining ICT facilities and inadequate funding of ICT
projects in the university libraries. Fsanya (1997) and Ogunlege (1977) identified poor
funding as the major problem associated with limited computerization in Nigerian university
libraries. The mere mention of computerization to Nigeria university management is
frightful, in terms of the attendant cost implications. The findings also identified low level of
computer literacy among reference librarians as a problem affecting effective utilization of
122
ICT in reference services. This was in agreement with the views of Nwali (1991) and Okore
(2005) who viewed staff incompetence as a major problem in the utilization of ICT. They
opined that the provision of ICT facilities for greater productivity and services demanded that
staff should improve their level of knowledge of technological devices as well as the skills
and competencies required in the technological environment.
The finding also revealed that absence of ICT policy for libraries in Nigerian
universities and poor attitude of university management to the development of ICT in the
libraries also constitute a problem militating against the use of ICT in the university libraries.
This is in agreement with the views of O’ Connor (1998) who sees the lukewarm attitude of
the Nigerian government and university authorities to the electronic library as a basic
problem.
Furthermore, minor problems identified as militating against ICT use include:
difficulties in assessing information /materials from the internet, inadequate provision of
telephone services, poor attitude of some librarians to the use of ICT for reference services
and inadequate accommodation, seats and tables for users in the library. The findings also
showed that uncooperative attitude of some reference librarians to users and some librarian’s
ignorance of the benefits of ICT use in reference section were also identified as minor
problems militating against ICT use in reference services. On the side of the library users, it
was shown that out of the eight problems indicated by the users four of them were indicated
by the users as the major problems militating against their utilization of ICT in reference
services. Out of the four problems indicated by users; low level of computer literacy among
users and irregular power/ electricity supply were shown to be their greatest problems. These
were followed by difficulties in accessing information materials from the internet and high
cost of accessing and down loading information resource.
123
Other minor problems identified by the users included: inadequate seats and tables for
users in the reference section, unconducive environment in the reference section of the
libraries in terms of light, accommodation, inadequate ventilation and lack of air
conditioners, non availability of the information or materials needed by users and
uncooperative attitude of some reference librarians to users. This was evident in the mean
scores of these problems which were within the minimum 1.00 to 1.49 category.
Strategies for effective use of ICT facilities for reference services
This study has revealed that certain strategies could be used to promote effective use
of ICT facilities in reference services. The findings of the study showed that all the items
relating to the strategies for promoting effective use of ICT facilities in reference services
were agreed to by the respondents. This is evident from the mean scores of the responses by
the librarians which are all above 2.50. The strategies for promoting effective use of ICT
facilities in reference services that were identified included: the universities’ management
allowing the libraries to control their own budgets, provision of adequate ICT facilities for
digitization and management of information resources, establishment and sustenance of staff
training and development programmes for reference librarians and other reference staff, and
adoption of strategic management of the reference sections of the libraries.
The findings of this study regarding strategies agreed with those of Ibegbulam (2000)
Ajahahun (2004) and Anunobi (2005) on strategies for enhancing the utilization of ICT for
reference services. They pointed out that steady supply of electric power should be
guaranteed, be it from Power Holding Company of Nigeria or from standby electric
generators. They further advocated capacity building to ensure availability of qualified and
competent ICT staff.
For the users, they agreed to the strategy of making library users computer literate in
order to enable them use the reference section effectively. They also agreed to the strategy of
124
university’s management allowing libraries to control their own budget and making their
monthly imprest to the libraries regular. Other strategies suggested by the authors included:
transfer of fund for the print reference sources to the development of e-reference sources,
libraries soliciting for e–reference sources from donor agencies to facilitate e-reference
services, professional associations like Nigerian Library Association (NLA) encouraging and
sponsoring research on ICT use in our libraries and formation of consortium for sectional,
regional and national information infrastructure to improve the use of ICT.
Implications of the Findings
The findings of this study were expected to have far reaching implications to university
managers, librarians; policy makers, library users and the government. The findings are of
importance to university managers in that they will be aware of the importance of ICT in
library services and therefore try to fund and develop the libraries.
To the librarians, the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services has enhanced
the services they render by making it faster and easier. There is also a need for training and
retraining of librarians in order to equip them with modern knowledge, skills and technology
for virtual library services. If university libraries are not adequately funded, the librarians
will not be able to perform their jobs efficiently and effectively.
In terms of importance to library users, it has made learning and research much easier
and less cumbersome. The users also need to be computer literate in order to benefit from the
virtual library services. The government should formulate and implement a policy on the
application of ICT in library services. By the findings of this study, the government should
be aware that the application of ICT in library operations is capital intensive and should
therefore make adequate financial provisions for setting up modern library services in the
universities.
125
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, the researcher made the following
recommendations that will help promote the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services
in federal university libraries.
1. Federal universities should embark on capacity building designed to produce the
much needed computer literate librarians through training and retraining in computer
skills, seminars, in service courses, conferences and workshops.
2. Patrons should also be computer literate so as to eliminate the difficulty they
encounter in accessing information materials from the internet.
3. The university libraries should be adequately funded by the university management
by their regular provision of the library’s monthly imprest, to enable them cope with
the huge expenditure embedded in computerization.
4. The university libraries should procure generator sets and also make provision for
constant fuelling of the generators that could be used in the library in case of irregular
supply of power.
5. The government should develop consortium linkages for sectional, regional and
national information infrastructure to improve the use of ICT for networking and
resource sharing among the libraries within the geo- political zones.
6. University libraries should solicit assistance from foreign and local donor agencies
for e- reference sources.
7. The universities should embark on the maintenance culture, so that the ICT facilities
should be maintained to avoid dilapidation.
126
Limitations of the Study
Due to the vast land mass of the country, the researcher could not cover all the
universities in the country. The study was limited to some sampled federal university
libraries. It is advisable that such study should be carried out in state and private universities
in the country so that one can have room for better comparison of the services rendered using
ICT facilities. It was difficult to recover some copies of the questionnaire from the
respondents due to their unwillingness to complete the questionnaire at the stipulated time.
Furthermore, the insecurity problems in the country affected the return rate of the
questionnaires, especially from those universities in the northern part of the country where
the menace of Boko Haram disturbed the respondents.
Suggestions for Further Research
1. The utilization of ICT facilities in reference services in state and private university
libraries in Nigeria. This is necessary considering the high benefits of ICT use in
reference service.
2. Strategies for enhancing ICT facilities utilization in state university libraries.
3. Also, further studies could be carried out on capacity building to enhance effective
utilization of ICT facilities in Nigerian universities.
Conclusion
The need for the use of ICT facilities in reference services of the various federal
university libraries cannot be overemphasized. This study shows that there has been
appreciable improvement in the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services of federal
university libraries in Nigeria currently considering the results of earlier studies in this area
as reported above.
127
However the usage of ICT in reference services to a very high extent as expected of
universities is yet to be achieved. This large room for improvement may be as result of the
numerous problems facing the utilization of ICT facilities in reference services in these
university libraries as reported in this study. It is therefore hoped that with the
implementation of the recommendations contained herein both the librarians and users will
enjoy better services.
128
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138
APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR LIBRARIANS AND USERS ON THE UTILIZATION OF
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT), FOR
REFERENCE SERVICES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
Department of Library and Information Science
Faculty of Education
19th September, 2011.
Dear Sir/Madam/Users
REQUEST FOR THE COMPLETION OF QUESTIONNAIRE ON UTILIZATION OF
ICT FOR REFERENCE SERVICES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES.
I am a doctoral student in the Department of Library and Information Science of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I am undertaking a study on “Utilization of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), for Reference Services in Federal University
Libraries. The researcher hereby gives an undertaking to treat all information received from
respondents with utmost confidentiality. You are please requested to study the questionnaire
carefully and supply the information required frankly.
Best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Uzoigwe, Comfort U.
139
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LIBRARIANS ON UTILIZATION OF ICT FACILITIES
FOR REFERENCE SERVICES
SECTION A
PERSONAL DATA
Name of University _____________________________________________________
Designation/post:
University Librarians
[
]
Deputy University Librarians [
]
Reference Librarians
[
]
Library officers
[
]
Name of Library:_________________________________________________________
SECTION B:
CLUSTER A: The Purposes for the Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services.
Please indicate by ticking (√ ) in the spaces provided, the extent to which you agree or
disagree to each of the stated purposes for your use of ICT facilities in the reference section
using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree.
S/N For what purposes are ICT facilities utilized in reference
SA
services
1
Keeping statistics of users of the reference section
2
Provision of current awareness services
3
Co-operative online resource sharing and inter library loan with
other libraries.
4
Provision of current e-books and e-journals for users.
5
Assisting patrons to obtain information they need using the internet
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Compilation of e-reference collections for ready reference services
Compilation of electronic documents like e-Thesis and Dissertation
(ETD)
Provision of on-line public access catalogues (OPAC) services.
Making information in CD-ROM and other electronic databases
available to patrons
On-line searching using workstations in the library.
Provision of e-mail and chat services to users.
User education including instruction to users using ICT systems.
Providing selective Dissemination of information (SDI) services.
Compilation of bibliographies.
A D
SD
140
CLUSTER B: Extent of Utilization of ICT Facilities by Librarians
Please indicate by ticking (√) the extent of application of ICT to each of the following
reference operations (items) in your library using Very High Extent (VHE), High Extent (HE),
Low Extent (LE) and Very Low Extent (VLE)
S/N
To what extent do you use ICT facilities for the
provision of the following reference operations?
1
Providing on-line public Access catalogue (OPAC)
VHE LE LE VLE
services.
2
Providing on-line Network for resources sharing with other
libraries.
3
Providing on-line inter-library loans and exchange
services.
4
Providing on-line user – education and instructional
services.
5
Providing access to current e-books and e-journals.
6
Making information available in CD-ROM to patrons.
7
Use of your internet facilities for e-mail services.
8
Providing workstations for online searching.
9
10
Use of a variety of databases for reference services.
11
Providing e-reference collections for ready reference
services.
12
Compiling of electronic documents such as electronic
Abstracts, Thesis and Dissertations (ETD) to be used by
patrons.
13
Assisting patrons conduct complex literature searches
electronically.
Others (specify)……………………………………………………………………………………….
141
CLUSTER C: The Perceived influence of use of ICT in Reference Services from the
Librarian’s Point of View.
Please indicate by ticking (√) the extent to which you agree or disagree in the following
statements using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD).
S/N To what extent has the utilization of ICT positively affected
reference services
1
Easy retrieval and dissemination of information
2
Provision of variety of materials in digital forms
3
Creates faster access to information
4
Breaks barrier of geographical distance for users.
5
Provision of access tools e.g. online catalogues, subject gateways and
SA
A D SD
portals.
6
Increases resource sharing among libraries.
7
Provision of E-reference collections for ready reference services.
8
Providing Current Awareness Services (CAS)
9
Makes inter-library loans and exchange services faster
10
Providing access to global library and information resources.
11
Making information available in CD-ROM to patrons.
12
Ability of the reference librarians to serve a number of patrons
simultaneously.
13
Easy provisions of electronic resources – E-books and e-journals
needed by patrons.
14
Improved efficiency of reference services provided by your library in
terms of providing most of the needs of your patrons.
15
Functional co-operative resource sharing network provided by your
library.
16
Makes conduct of complex literature searches easier.
Others (specify)…………………………………………….…………………………………
142
CLUSTER D: Problems Associated with the Utilization of ICT Facilities.
Please indicate by ticking (
) in the spaces provided, the extent to which you agree or
disagree to each of the following statements using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree
(D) and Strongly Disagree (SD).
S/N State your level of agreement or disagreement with the
following factors. Effective utilization of ICT facilities in the
reference section of your library is affected by:
1
Low level of computer literacy among patrons.
2
Low level of computer literacy among reference librarians.
3
4
5
Poor attitude of librarians to the use of ICT for reference services.
6
Inadequate provision of telephone services.
7
High cost of maintaining ICT facilities.
8
Difficulties in assessing information/ materials from the internet.
9
Poor funding of ICT projects in your university library.
10
Poor attitude of university management to the development of ICT
SA A
D
SD
in your library.
11
Absence of ICT policy for libraries in Nigerian universities.
12
Librarians’ ignorance of the benefits of ICT use in reference
section.
13
Unco-operative attitude of the reference librarians to users.
14
Inadequate accommodation for users.
15
Inadequate seats and tables for users in your library
16
Unconducive environment in the reference section of your library
in terms of light and adequate ventilation – Air conditioners.
Others(specify)………………………………………………………………………………….
143
CLUSTER E: Strategies for the enhancement of ICT utilization in Nigeria University
Libraries
Please indicate by ticking ( ) in the spaces provided, the strategies that will enhance ICT
utilization in the reference section of your library using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A),
Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD).
S/N
1
To what extent do you agree that the following strategies will SA
enhance ICT utilization in the reference section of your
library
Capacity building to ensure availability of qualified and
A
D
SD
competent ICT staff in the reference section of your library.
2
Provision of adequate workstations in your university reference
section.
Adoption of strategic planning and management effectiveness by
3
reference librarians of your university.
4
Development of functional virtual library in your university
library.
5
Establishment and sustenance of staff training and development
programme for reference librarians.
6
Provision of adequate ICT facilities for digitization, collection,
processing, storage and retrieval of information resources in your
university library.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Organization of workshops and conferences on the utilization of
ICT for reference services in your university.
University’s management should allow the libraries to control
their own budget.
Libraries should buy generators as an alternative source of power
supply.
Professional associations like NLA should encourage and sponsor
research on ICT use in our libraries.
Funds for print reference sources should be channeled to ereference sources.
Government should develop consortium for sectional, regional
and national information infrastructure to improve the use of ICT.
Libraries should develop database of print reference sources
already in the library to e-reference.
University libraries should solicit for e-reference sources from
donor agencies to facilitate e-reference services.
Others (Specify)…………………………………………………………………………………
144
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR USERS ON UTILIZATION OF ICT FACILITIES FOR
REFERENCE SERVICES
SECTION A
Name of Library:___________________________________________________________
Year/Level of Study:________________________________________________________
SECTION B:
CLUSTER A: The Purpose for the Utilization of ICT Facilities in the Reference Section
by Library Users.
Please indicate by ticking (√ ) in the spaces provided, the extent to which you agree or
disagree to each of the stated purposes for your use of ICT facilities in the reference section
using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree.
S/N For what purposes do you use the ICT facilities in your
reference section?
1
To access and download information materials.
2
To help me in my internet search to locate the information
SA
A D
SD
resources I need for my assignments and projects.
3
To help me to contact the Newsgroup and usenet for specific
information I need.
4
I use ICT facilities for my e-mail services.
5
I use it to access current e-books and e-journals.
6
To provide me access to global information resources in other
libraries.
7
I use the ICT facilities for chat services.
8
I use it for accessing user education and instructional services of
the library.
Others (Specify)……………………………………………………………………………..
145
CLUSTER B:Extent of Utilization of ICT Facilities for Reference needs by users.
Please indicate by ticking (√) in the spaces provided, the extent to which you agree or disagree
to each of the following statements using Very High Extent (VHE), High Extent (HE), Low
Extent (LE) and Very Low Extent (VLE).
S/N To what extent are you using the following ICT
VHE
1
Use of on-line public access catalogue (OPAC) services
HE LE VLE
which is easier than the cumbersome manual form.
2
Use of on-line network for resource sharing with other
library which is easier than traditional practice.
3
Use of on-line inter-library loan and exchange services.
4
Access to current e-books and e-journals.
5
Use of internet facilities for e-mail services.
6
Use of workstations for on-line searching.
7
8
Use of variety of databases for reference needs.
Others(Specify)………………………………………………………………………………
146
CLUSTER C: Benefits derived by users from the use of ICT Facilities for their
Reference needs
to each of the following statements using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and
Strongly Disagree (SD).
S/N What Benefits do you derive from the use of ICT facilities for SA A D
your reference needs?
1
Prompt answering of queries by librarians.
2
SD
Success in the provision of answers to most of my queries by
librarians.
3
Quick access to information resources I need.
4
My ability to consult the reference section without coming to the
library with my personal computer (PC).
5
Access to consistent electronic file contents.
6
Easy access to electronic materials, like e-books and e-journals I
need.
7
Easy transaction of interlibrary loans.
8
Resource sharing was made easy and faster.
Others (Specify)………………………………………………………………………………
147
CLUSTER D: Problems Associated with the Utilization of ICT Facilities for Reference
needs by users
to each of the following statements using Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and
Strongly Disagree (SD).
S/N
1
What problems do you encounter in your use of ICT
SA
Low level of computer literacy among users affects their use
A
D
SD
of ICT facilities
2
Difficulties in accessing information materials from the
internet.
3
4
Inadequate seats and tables for users in the reference section.
5
Unco-operative attitude of reference librarians to users.
6
Unconducive environment in the reference section of your
library in terms of light, accommodation and adequate
ventilation – Air conditioners.
7
High cost of accessing and downloading information
resources.
8
Non availability of the information or materials needed by
users.
Others (Specify)………………………………………………………………………………
148
APPENDIX B
AVAILABILITY OF ICT FACILITIES IN THE REFERENCE SECTIONS OF THE
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
S/N ICT Facilities
1
Computer
2
Workstations
3
Internet connectivity
4
Printers
5
Scanners
6
Software materials – CD-ROMS
7
Databases – for e-resources e.g.
AGORA
EBSCOHOST
National Vritual Library
Bibliomania
Directory of Open Access Journals
Scholarly Journals Distributed via the www
Ingenta
Online Access Research in the Environment (OARE)
Hinari
World e-library
Bioline International
Electronic Journal Library
Social Science Online Periodicals
World Bank Documents
World Development Reports
Electronic Literature Directory
Electronic Text Centre
No Available
No functional
149
APPENDIX C
VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT ON AVAILABILITY AND
UTILIZATION OF ICT FACILITIES FOR REFERENCE SERVICES
IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
Sources of Modification
The
validators
Sources of modifications suggested
observed
Corrections affected in the
instrument
that They suggested that an observation The researcher developed an
observation guide be used to guide be developed instead of yes or observation
ascertain
the
availability
and no response. It was also suggested that included a
utilization of ICT facilities for availability
reference services.
in
terms
of
guide
and
variety of ICT
number facilities in the list.
available and number utilized should
be used.
They also observed that cluster B It was suggested that the items in the Necessary
items
in section B should be modified to section should be made more elaborate included
and
others
Also
response
ascertain
the
extent
of
ICT to contain all the aspects required in modified.
utilization in reference operations. ascertaining utilization.
were
options were developed to
indicate extent of utilization.
Another observation was that the They suggested that users should be The researcher developed a
users of this reference services asked how the problems of ICT has questionnaire to this effect.
should be part of the respondents.
affected their
utilization of ICT
facilities in reference services.
They observed that the items to be It was suggested that more items be The corrections were taken
used to ascertain the problems of included and existing ones elaborated. note of and more items were
ICT utilization and strategies for
included to bring out more
enhancing it need to be revisited.
factors that pose problems
and strategies to enhance ICT
utilization
services.
for
reference
150
APPENDIX D
RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENTS
CLUSTER B
RELIABILITY
/VARIABLES=VAR00001 VAR00002 VAR00003 VAR00004 VAR00005 VAR00006
VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 VAR00010 VAR00011 VAR00012 VAR00013
VAR00014
/SCALE (‘ALL VARIABLES’) ALL/MODEL=ALPHA
/STATISTICS = DESCRIPTIVE SCALE
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
Scale: ALL VARIABLES
Case processing summary
N
%
Cases Valid
Excluded˄a
5
100.0
Total
0
.0
5
100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Reliability statistics
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.821
14
151
Item statistics
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
VAR00009
VAR000I0
VAR00011
VAR00012
VAR00013
VAR00014
Mean
2.6000
3.2000
2.6000
3.2000
3.0000
2.8000
3.2000
3.4000
2.6000
2.2000
2.6000
2.4000
2.6000
2.8000
Item –Total Statistics
Scale
Mean if
Item
Deleted
VAR00001 36.6000
VAR00002 36.0000
VAR00003 36.6000
VAR00004 36.0000
VAR00005 36.2000
VAR00006 36.4000
VAR00007 36.0000
VAR00008 35.8000
VAR00009 36.6000
VAR00010 37.0000
VAR00011 36.6000
VAR00012 36.8000
VAR00013 36.6000
VAR00014 36.4000
Mean
39.200
Std.
Deviation
54772
.83666
.89443
.83666
.70711
.83666
.83666
.54772
.54772
.83666
.54772
.54772
.54772
.83666
Scale
Variance
if Item
Deleted
28.300
23.000
23.300
26.500
28.200
23.300
23.000
27.700
29.300
24.000
30.800
30.200
31.300
26.800
Scale Statistics
Variance Std.
Deviation
30.700
5.54076
N
Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation
.360
.872
.764
.406
.266
.830
.872
.468
.186
.732
.066
.033
.147
.369
N of
items
14
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Cronbach’s
Alpha if
Item
Deleted
.815
.772
.781
.814
.822
.776
.772
.810
.825
.785
.837
.832
.841
.817
152
CLUSTER C
RELIABILITY
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
%
N
Cases
Excluded˄a
Valid
5
0
5
100.0
.0
100.0
Total
b. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.715
13
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
VAR00009
VAR000I0
VAR00011
VAR00012
VAR00013
2.8000
2.2000
2.6000
2.2000
3.0000
2.8000
2.4000
2.6000
3.4000
3.0000
3.0000
2.6000
3.0000
Std.
Deviation
.83666
.44721
1.14018
.44721
.70711
.83666
.89443
1.14018
.54772
1.00000
.70711
1.14018
1.00000
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
153
CLUSTER D
RELIABILITY
VAR0014 VAR00015 VAR00016
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
%
N
Cases
Excluded˄a
Valid
5
0
5
100.0
.0
100.0
Total
c. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.945
16
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
VAR00009
VAR000I0
VAR00011
VAR00012
VAR00013
VAR00014
3.0000
2.8000
2.8000
3.0000
3.0000
3.2000
2.6000
2.6000
2.8000
3.0000
3.0000
2.8000
2.6000
3.4000
VAR00015 3.0000
VAR00016 3.0000
Std. Deviation
1.22474
.83666
.83666
.70711
.70711
.83666
1.14018
.54772
.44721
1.00000
.70711
.83666
1.14018
.54772
1.00000
.70711
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
154
Mean
46.6000
Scale Statistics
Variance
Std. Deviation
102.800
10.13903
N of items
16
CLUSTER E
RELIABILITY
VAR0014 VAR00015 VAR00016
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
%
N
Cases
Valid
5
100.0
Excluded˄a
0
.0
5
100.0
Total
d. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.913
16
155
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
VAR00009
VAR000I0
VAR00011
VAR00012
VAR00013
VAR00014
VAR00015
VAR00016
3.0000
2.6000
2.8000
3.2000
2.8000
3.2000
3.0000
2.8000
3.0000
3.2000
3.0000
2.8000
3.0000
2.8000
3.0000
3.0000
Scale Statistics
Mean
47.2000
Variance
75.700
Std. Deviation
1.22474
.89443
.83666
.44721
.44721
.83666
1.22474
.83666
.70711
1.09545
.00000
.44721
1.00000
.83666
.70711
.70711
Std. Deviation
8.70057
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
N of items
16
CLUSTER F
RELIABILITY
VAR00014
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
%
N
Cases
Valid
5
100.0
Excluded˄a
0
.0
5
100.0
Total
e. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
156
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.878
14
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
VAR00009
VAR000I0
VAR00011
VAR00012
VAR00013
VAR00014
3.0000
2.8000
2.4000
2.6000
2.8000
2.2000
3.0000
2.6000
3.2000
3.0000
2.6000
2.6000
2.8000
3.2000
Scale Statistics
Mean
38.8000
Variance
55.200
Std.
Deviation
.70711
1.30384
.54772
.89443
.44721
.83666
1.00000
.89443
.44721
.70711
.89443
1.14018
.83666
.83666
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Std. Deviation
7.42967
N of items
14
QUESTION B CLUSTER A
RELIABILITY
VAR00007 VAR00008
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
157
%
N
Cases
Excluded˄a
Valid
5
0
5
100.0
.0
100.0
Total
f. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.864
8
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
2.8000
3.0000
2.6000
2.8000
3.0000
2.8000
2.8000
2.8000
Scale Statistics
Mean
22.6000
Variance
25.800
Std.
Deviation
1.30384
1.00000
.54772
.44721
1.00000
.44721
1.30384
.44721
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Std. Deviation
5.07937
N of items
8
158
CLUSTER B
RELIABILITY
VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
%
N
Cases
Valid
5
100.0
Excluded˄a
0
.0
5
100.0
Total
g. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.871
9
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
VAR00009
2.6000
3.0000
2.6000
2.8000
3.0000
2.8000
2.8000
2.8000
2.6000
Std.
Deviation
1.14018
1.00000
.54772
.44721
1.00000
.44721
1.30384
.44721
.54772
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
159
Scale Statistics
Mean
25.0000
Variance
27.500
Std. Deviation
5.24404
N of items
9
CLUSTER C
RELIABILITY
VAR00007 VAR00008
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
%
N
Cases
Valid
5
100.0
Excluded˄a
0
.0
5
100.0
Total
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.790
8
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
3.4000
3.0000
3.0000
3.4000
3.2000
3.6000
3.0000
3.2000
Std.
Deviation
.54772
.70711
.00000
.89443
.44721
.54772
.70711
.83666
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
160
Scale Mean if
Item Deleted
Scale Variance
if Item Deleted
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
9.300
7.200
10.700
6.800
9.800
8.700
7.700
7.300
Scale Statistics
Mean
25.8000
22.4000
22.8000
22.8000
22.4000
22.6000
22.0000
22.8000
22.6000
Variance
10.700
Corrected ItemTotal
Correlation
.329
.791
.000
.665
.250
.526
.637
.597
Std. Deviation
3.27109
Cronbach’s
Alpha if Item
Deleted
.790
.713
.807
.738
.798
.764
.742
.751
N of items
8
CLUSTER D
RELIABILITY
VAR00007 VAR00008
/SUMMARY= TOTAL
Reliability
[Data Set 0]
Cronbach’s
N of items
Alpha
.797
8
161
Item statistics
Mean
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
Std.
Deviation
1.09545
.54772
1.14018
.83666
.70711
.70711
1.00000
.83666
2.8000
2.6000
2.6000
3.2000
3.0000
3.0000
3.0000
2.8000
N
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
%
N
Cases
Excluded˄a
Valid
5
0
5
100.0
.0
100.0
Total
h. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Scale Mean if
Item Deleted
VAR00001
VAR00002
VAR00003
VAR00004
VAR00005
VAR00006
VAR00007
VAR00008
Scale Statistics
Mean
23.0000
20.2000
20.4000
20.4000
19.8000
20.0000
20.0000
20.0000
20.0000
Variance
20.500
Scale Variance
if Item Deleted
13.700
17.300
16.800
13.700
19.000
17.500
16.000
15.200
Corrected ItemTotal
Correlation
.691
.636
.257
.985
.162
.423
.437
.705
Std. Deviation
4.52769
Cronbach’s
Alpha if Item
Deleted
.741
.769
.826
.698
.817
.787
.788
.745
N of items
8
162
APPENDIX E
LIST OF SELECTED FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES STUDIED FROM THE SIX GEOPOLITICAL ZONES NUC CATEGORIZATION OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES
AND THEIR ZONES
First generation federal universities
Year est.
Geo-political zones
1
University of Ibadan, Ibadan
1948
South-west
2
1960
South-east
3
Ahmadu bello university, Zaria
1962
North-west
4
University of Lagos, Lagos
1962
South-west
5
University of Benin, Benin
1970
South-south
Second generation universities
Year est.
Geo-political zone
6
University of Jos, plateau
1975
North-central
7
University of port-Harcourt, Rivers state
1975
South-south
1975
North-west
1975
North-east
1988
North-central
1992
South-east
Year est.
Geo-political zones
Bayero university Kano, Kano
8
University of Maiduguri, Borno state
9
University of Abuja, Abuja
10
NnamdiAzikiwe university, Awka
11
Third generation universities
12
AbubakarTafawaBalewa
University 1988
North-east
Bauchi
Source: National university commission (2002) ranking of Nigerian
universities
163
APPENDIX F
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR REFERENCE LIBRARIANS
1)
What is the name of your library?
2)
Which section of the library do you work?
3)
How long have you worked in the reference section?
4)
What ICT resources do you have in this your library?
5)
Is ICT used in the reference section of your library?
6)
If yes, which aspects of the reference work are the ICT facilities utilized?
7)
To what extent are these ICTs being utilized in reference services?
8)
How do you think the emergence and utilization of ICT is affection references work in
your library?
9)
What are the likely factors that pose problems to the use of ICT for reference services
in your library?
10)
If you think the utilization of ICT in reference services of your library need to be
improved, suggest strategies for improving it.
164
APPENDIX G
DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OF QUESTIONAIRE
Institutions
Questionnaire for librarians
No.
No. Retutned
distributed
19
14
Questionnaire for users
No.
No. Returned
distributed
130
114
ABU Zaria
48
43
130
120
14
13
130
110
NnamdiAzikiwe
university
10
9
130
100
University of Abuja
14
12
130
105
University of Benin
20
16
130
104
28
24
130
108
University of Jos
22
16
130
85
University of Lagos
18
13
130
93
21
19
130
72
University of Nigeria
Nsukka
51
46
130
112
University of Port
Harcourt
20
17
130
95
TOTAL
285
242
1560
1218
AbubakarTafawaBalewa
University Bauchi
FOR LIBRARIANS
No. distributed = 285
No. returned = 242
% of returned questionnaire
242
X
100
285
1
= 85%
FOR USERS
No. distributed = 1560
No. returned = 1218
% of returned questionnaire
1218
X 100
1560
1
= 78%
165
APPENDIX H
FORMULARS FOR MEAN, STANDARD DEVIATION AND ANOVA TEST
STATISTIC
X
Where X
=
∑Fx
N
= mean
∑
= summation of all values.
X
= the score
F
= frequency
N
= total number of respondents
While the above formula was used to get the calculated mean score, the criterion mean was
calculated using the weights of the response options thus: 4 + 3 + 2 + 1
4=
No. of response options.
10
4
So the criterion mean =
=
2.50
2.50
The statistical mode using the manual calculator was used to calculate both the mean
scores and the standard deviation of the responses to each item in the questionnaire.
Three hypotheses were formulated and tested for the study. ANOVA statistical
analysis was used to test the hypotheses using p-value of 0.05 to calculate the level of
significance. Where p-value is less than 0.05, the hypothesis is rejected and where the pvalue is greater or equal to 0.05, the hypothesis is accepted. The formula for computing the
value test statistic is given as
F=
MSt
~ F v1 , v2
MSe
166
APPENDIX I
S/N
UNIVERSITY
1
University of
LIST OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA
VICEGSM
E-MAIL
CHANCELLOR
PHONE
08023151513 [email protected]
Prof.O.A.Bamiro
URL
www.ui.edu.ng
Ibadan, Ibadan
2
ObafemiAwolowo
University,Ile Ife
Prof.M.O.Faborode
0806009811
3
University of
Jos,Jos
AbubakarTafawaB
alewaUniv.,Bauchi
University of
Ilorin,Ilorin
Prof.S.G.Tyoden
08037016420
[email protected].
uk
[email protected]
u.ng
[email protected]
Prof.M’hmadH.Mu
hammad
Prof.IsahaqO.Oloye
de
08023742505
[email protected]
08036087987
www.unilorin.edu
.ng
6
University of
Lagos, Akoka
Prof.ToluOdugbemi 08033028995
7
Ahmadu Bello
University,zaria
University of
Benin, Benin city
University of
Nigeria, Nsukka
Prof.J.U.Umoh(Ag.
)
Prof. Oshodin
08037866550
[email protected]
[email protected]
k
[email protected].
ng
toluodugemi@yahoo.
com
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof.Bartholomew
N. Okolo
08033401971
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.unn.edu.ng
University of
Abuja,
Gwagwalada
Bayero university
Kano
Prof. S.S.A.
Adelabu
08036009695
[email protected] www.uniabuja.ed
.edu.ng
u.ng
Prof. AttahiruJega
08036463118
[email protected]
12
Federal of
technology, Akure
Prof. Adebisi M.
Balogun
08037115976
[email protected]
[email protected]
13
Federal of
technology, yola
Prof. B.H. Usman
08034226485
08027999999
[email protected]
www.futy.edu.ng
14
Federal of
technology, Minna
Prof. M.S. Audu
08033745340
vcfutminna@futminn
a.orgaudumso@yaho
www.futminna.ed
u.ng
4
5
8
9
10
11
www.oauife.edu.
ng
www.unijos.edu.n
g
www.atbu.edu.ng
www.unilag.edu.
ng
www.abu.edu.ng
www.uniben.edu
www.buk.edu.ng
www.buk.edu.org
www.buk.edu.net
www.futa.edu.ng
167
o.com
15
Federal of
Prof. C.O.E
technology, Owerri Onwuliri
08037225385
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.futongr.com
16
University of Uyo,
Uyo
Prof. A.I Essien
08025016231
[email protected]
m
www.uniuyo.edu.
ng
17
University of
Calabar, calabar
Prof. Bassey O.
Asuquo
08039112822
07034078238
www.unical.edu.n
g
18
University of
Maiduguri,
Maiduguri
University of
agriculture,
Makurdi
Michael Okpara
university of
agriculture,
Umudike
University of
agriculture,
Abeokuta
University of port
Harcourt port
Harcourt
Usmandanfodiyo
university, Sokoto
NnamdiAzikiwe
university, Awka
Prof. M.M. Daura
08034834344
08023732885
[email protected]
[email protected]
t.ng
[email protected]
m
Prof. D.V. Uza
08036843471
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof. IkennaOnyido
08062685122
vicechancellor@mou www.moua.edu.n
au.edu.ngikennaonyid g
[email protected]
www.moua.org
Prof. Oluwafemi O.
Balogun
07034147636
www.unaab.edu.n
g
Prof. Don M.
Baridam
08034579593
[email protected]
mfemibalogun54@ya
hoo.com
[email protected]
om
Prof. Riskuwa A.
Shehu
Prof. Boniface
Egboka
08035042256
[email protected]
08057266387
vcnauawkanigeria@y
ahoo.comboniegboka
@yahoo.com
www.udsok.edu.n
g
www.unizik.edu.
ng
National open
university of
Nigeria, Lagos
Nigerian defence
academy, Kaduna
Prof.
OlugbemiroJegede
08039799024
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof.
AliyuAbudllahi
08034736807
Federal university
of petroleum
resources, Effurun
Prof.
BabatundeAlabi
09034567990
aliyuabdul56@yahoo. www.nigeriandef
com
enceacademy.edu.
ng
[email protected]
[email protected].
ng
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
www.unimaid.ed
u.ng
www.unimaid.org
www.uniagricma
kurdi.myportal
www.uniport.edu.
ng
www.nou.edu.ng
168
169
28
29
30
31
National institute
for Nigerian
languages, Aba
Prof. Clara
Ikekponwu
08033474408
[email protected]
om
Nigerian French
language village,
Badagry
Nigerian Arabic
language village,
ngaia
National
Mathematical
Centre
Prof. S.O. Aje
08037039025
[email protected]
om
TijanniEimiskin
08023577013
[email protected]
m
Prof. Sam Ale
08033164625
[email protected]
om

UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

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