Survey of the use of electronic information resources by students in two selected academic libraries in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Information technology has influenced all aspect of librarianship and information service delivery. For libraries to continue to lead in this industry generally and academic libraries in particular, deliberate effort must be made to bring the IT education to every potential user of the libraries. This however must be done based on available data. This is what this study sought to provide- a survey of the use of electronic resources (ERs) in libraries. An 12-item questionnaire was developing and administered to a s ample of 447 library users in two universities in Cross River State, Nigeria. The analysis of the resulting data was done using percentages, chi-square test, t-test, Z-test and Friedman test. The result shows that the extent of use of ERs is significantly below expectations. The result also shows that the level of awareness of the use of ERs in libraries is about average and significantly higher than expected. Assess cost in the use of ERs and availability (limited) were the main problems confronting users. Based on these recommendations are made.

The Information Technologist Vol. 5 (1) 2008: pp. 98-111