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Library & Information Science

Use Of E-Library Resources By Students Of Imo State University, Owerri

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ABSTRACT

This study examined the use of e-library resources by students of Imo State University, Owerri. Five research questions were posed to guide the study. The study employed survey research design. The population of the study was 1,020 and the sample size was 287 which was derived using Taro Yamane statistical formula. Rating scale was used as the instrument for data collection and data was analyzed using mean scores. The findings of the study revealed that types of e-library resources available for use by students include; e-books, e-dictionaries, e-encyclopedia, e-thesis and dissertations and e-journal; purpose of using e-library resources includes research work, to gain current and general information, for class assignment, for social interaction and entertainment and for teaching and learning. The study also revealed that the benefits of e-library resources include; access to current and up-to-date information, provides wider range of information, makes research work easier; students use the e-library resources to a high extent and high cost of internet browsing, limited access to computers, poor electricity supply, lack of ICT knowledge and unavailability of server at all times are factors hindering use of e-library resources. The study recommends among others that the university authority should provide internet facilities, increase the extent they use e-library resources and as well, reduce the cost of utilization of e-library resources for students.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher discussed the background to the study statement of the problem, scope of the study, purpose of the study, significance of the study and research questions.

Background to the Study

Electronic Information has become the backbone of many academic organization, Awareness and us of electronic Information resources depends mainly on skills of each individual to locate information materials. Information explosion has increased the amount of electronic information resources help to expand access, increase usability and effectiveness and establish new ways for individuals to use information and to be more productive in their endeavours (Negahban & Talawan 2003). Awareness of electronic resources may aid the users in keeping abreast of current development in the various subject fields. The use of electronic information resources is necessary for users mainly because electronic resources provide better, faster and easier access to information than the print media. Electronic information resource can be relied upon for timely information. This means that information needed by a user can be accessed at any given time at different location.

Academic institutions are established for teaching, learning and research. These education functions depend on information resources. These resources are the driving forces for making an education society, the educated society can only exist when information is stored, shared and properly utilized. In an academic arrangement both education and library are inseparable concept, working for the promotion and evolution of teaching, learning and research for greater use of the academic (Lang, 2008). The proliferation of electronic resources has had a significant impact on the way the academic community uses, stores and preserves information (Heterick, 2002). These e-resources have added value to the academic libraries to offer better services to users, they are accessible from many different approaches.

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The electronic resources empowerment and the staff and users of the library and the entire academic institutions academic libraries these days prefer electronic resources to substitute print media or the traditional library collections for optimum use. E-library resources unlock the key to global information from more than one location because of this reason academic libraries now prefer electronic resources in meeting the needs of the large community of users. This evidenced by the adoption of ICT for the library services at FUTO and many other universities in Nigeria (Anunobi, 2010). The use of electronic resources in the academic environment makes classes more efficient lectures more compelling informative and varied, reading and assignments more extensive, interesting and accessible (Monegomery & King, 2002).

The library is a repository of resources. It is an integral part of any educational system of which its primary functions is to serve the information needs of users (students, researches and staff) computer and electronic resources have come to play a central role in education (Lang, 2008) electronic resources are the prime ingredients in information search of users and they have become a common part of the choice of most academic library resources today with the advancement of ICT, academic libraries are moving towards digital resources are helped especially to distance learners who have limited time to access the libraries from outside by commonly available electronic resources mainly CD-Roms, online public access catalogue (OPAC) the internet etc which are replacing the traditional library materials or the print media (Mulla, 2011).

The term “E-library” refers to Information accessed through the internet. Unlike the traditional libraries, e-libraries are not limited by location or time libraries have changed with the emergencies and application of ICT. They use information both in the library continues to soar users are expected to develop information literacy skills. These skills as (Julien 2002) observe will enable users to make efficient and effective use of the e-resources. The work of Uwafor, (2012) Shama (2009) and Nergaliban and Talawar (2009) indentified a checklist of e-library resources that are available for use. These includes database, digital libraries metadata, e-books, e-conference, e-thesis, e-research report and bibliographic database, CD-Rom etc.

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The justification for the choice of this topic is the if libraries and librarians fail to catch-up with recent developments in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) by adopting the use of e-library resources relevance in the services with its limited access to current and relevant information contents and other problems such as space mutilation of print resources by users, misplacement of book on the shelf and other ant-social behaviours of some library users etc. will be a problem in meeting the needs of information seekers, therefore it becomes imperative that libraries should as a matter of urgency, adopt the use of electronic resources in this era of ICT. It is based on this background that this study on use of e-library resources by students of Imo State University, Owerri is being carried out.

Statement of the Problem

The emergence of e-library resources seems to have threatened the use of printed resources in our academic libraries, the introduction of e-library resources has pared way for a new system of getting current and reliable information from the net when compared with the print resources. The limited access to up to date information materials that are prevalent in the manual or traditional library system and practice in this academic library is a major problem that impedes/research and teaching and makes information searching and retrieval very cumbersome. It has also been observed that certain information materials in the library may not be accessible due to wrong shelving or intentional misplacement by users thereby preventing others from making use of the materials. The manual library system faces the problems of space,. Mishandling and mutilation of library resources. The use of catalogue card as the major access tool to information materials is outdated.

Students and lecturers in Nigerian tertiary institutions have increasingly demanded and preferred access to electronic sources delivery and networked information from their respective libraries. Timely information is required by all categories of users of academic libraries and for our libraries to meet up with the use of e-library resources, it is hoped that these identified setbacks associated with old manual/traditional system of library operations and service will be minimized if not eradicated. Hence, this study to investigate use of e-library resources by students of Imo State University, Owerri.

Scope of the Study

This study focused on the use of e-library resources by the students of Imo State University Owerri. The study covered types of e-library resources, purpose of students’ use of e-library resources, benefits of students’ use of e-library resources, extent of students’ use of e-library resources and factors that hinder students’ use of e-library resources. The study is limited to undergraduate students of Imo State University, Owerri.

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Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of the study is to ascertain the use of e-library resources by students of Imo State University, Owerri. Specifically, the study sought to;

  1. identify the types of e-library resources available for use;
  2. ascertain the purpose of using e-library resources by students;
  3. ascertain the benefits students derive from the use of e-library resources;
  4. determine the extent of use of e-library resources by students and
  5. identify the factors that hinder students’ use of e-library resources.

Significance of the Study

Those that will benefit from this study include the students, staff (academic and non-academic), university management and researchers.

The students will benefit from this study because they will be exposed to a wide range of e-library resources that are available globally through the net and make use of them in their studies and class assignment and so will be more knowledgeable than they were.

Secondly, the staff of this institution will benefit from the study. It will expose them to know the resources that will help them to access recent development in their field of study and pass it on to their students. It will also help them to update their knowledge. The librarians in the libraries will also benefit from the finding of this study as they will help to ease their services to the academic community they serve.

The university management will benefit from this study as it will help them to develop new policies on how to harness the potential of e-library resource in the information and communication technology era and support library management in the selection and acquisition of these e-resources into the library for use by the academic community.

Finally, this study is expected to benefit researchers in the area of utilization of e-library resources and librarianship in general by furnishing them with data for their research and also serve as a useful reference material for further studies and researches.

Research Questions

The following research questions were posed for this study

  1. What type of e-library resources are available for students use?
  2. What are the purposes of using e-library resources by students?
  3. What benefit do students derive from the use of e-library resources?
  4. To what extent do students use the e-library resources?
  5. What are the factors that hinder students’ use of e-library resources?

Pages:  51

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF        

Chapters: 1-5                                 

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.

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