INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Utilization of electronic information resources in facilitating access to current and relevant literature for students’ studies and research is increasingly becoming an integral part of the university library systemespecially, in the universities of science and technology libraries. This perhaps underscores the increasingacquisition and subscription of e-resources in university libraries. Significantly,students need e-resource to access current and relevant literature to actualise its academic pursuit, Quadri (2013) confirmed this assertion when he posited that thestudents of Nigeria universities need electronic information resources to satisfy their information needs, promote and enhance their academic pursuit during their course of study in the university. The university library supports students’ studies and ensures access to current and up-to-date educational literatures in electronic format.
However, irrespective of the availability of e-resources in university libraries, it is worrisome that scientific and technological development in Nigeria is still backward even with the existence of science and technological universities in Nigeria, well-equipped with electronic information resources; hence, the skills for effective and efficient utilization of electronic information resources for development now become inevitable. Tobuttress this view Sujatha (2009)opines that adequate knowledge about ICT and retrieval techniques are desirable to effectively utilise electronic information resources for effective development. What this implies is that acquisition of ICT literacy skills is required among the students’ for effective utilization of e-resources.
In addition, it is important to note that more meaningful application and utilization of ICT literacy skills which will better the growing Nigerian educational system is felt at the tertiary institutional levels. There is no doubt however that plethora of efforts have been put together by private individuals, corporate firms and organisations as well as institutions of learning towards developing and sustaining ICT literacy skills , but where the utilization is more applicable is the tertiary institution which the researcher has singled out specialised universities of science and technology in Nigeria for more reliable, accurate and meticulous findings to be ascertained with the view to developing the Nigerian education system. It is needful to add that the university education system is a convenient environment where the availability and application of e-resources can be enhanced.
More to it, in Nigeria, university eduaction is a very serious venture because it helps in determing the pace of development in the country. To support this view, Bello (2017) observes that the demand for university education is very high in Nigeria because education is not only an investment in human capital, but also a prerequiste for the socio-economic development of the nation. The researcher adds that university education has consistently remained a priority area for successive governement of Nigeria because it is fundamental to the development of high-level manpower within the context of the nation’s needs. Hence, universities are established with the aim of advancing the frontiers of knowledge. To buttress this argument, the New Encyclopaedia Britannica (1997) describes a university as an institution of higher education, usually comprising a liberal arts and sciences college and graduate and professional schools and having the authority to confer degrees in various fields of study.Omekwu and Ugwuanyi (2009) observe that the word university is derived from the term ‘universe’ which means a community of teachers and students.By this statement, university is said to be a place where people of diverse interest; race or colour are gathered to undergo the process of teaching or learning (research), which will in turn have positive or negative effects on the individuals and the society at large. Hence,in agreement with this view, Makanjuola (2008) summarizes the three major functions of a university as: teaching, research and community service.
Universities in Nigeria are traditionally classified into “conventional” and “non-conventional” universities depending on their areas of specialization, hence, universities of science and technology are referred to as non-conventional universities. According to Mukoro (2014) the universities of science and technologies are citadels of learning for the generation of knowledge and experienced manpower at promoting the technological and sustainable development of a nation. The university of science and technology is non-conventional university, that is, focused on science and technology education in order to expand their science and technical skills base. To emphasize the relevance of universities of science and technology, the National Policy on Education (2014) recommends that a greater propotion of expenditure on university education be devoted to science and techology. This provision is to enable the universities of science and technlogy have a strong financial base to actualise the objectives for which the institutions were established.
As stated in Edit N0. 980 cited in the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (2014),the objectives for the establishment of universities of science and technology in Nigeria include:
- The production of scientific and technical manpower of various levels needed for essential development.
- To produce technical and science teachers for development programme.
- To assist in the industrial and other development programmes through Consultancy Services, Special Project Centers and related activites.
- To encourage the advancement of learning and to hold out to all persons without distinction of race, creed, sex or political conviction, the opportunity of acquiring a higher and liberal education.
- To provide courses of instruction of and other facilities for the pursuit of learning of all its branches and to make those facilities available on proper terms to such persons as are required to benefit from them.
- To encourage and promote scholarship and conduct research in all fields of human endeavour.
- To relate its activities to the social, cultural and economic needs of the people of Nigeria and.
- To undertake any other activities appropriate for a University of the highest standard.
From the aforestated objectives of establishing science and technology universities, it can be deduced that creation, development and sustainabilty of human knowledege or manpower in a pragmatic, effective and efficient ways are the primary focus of the initiative. There is no better person nor nation, which was not influenced by the application of knowledge and action in an ideal ways. Hence, science and technology is said to be the brain behind every developed economy or system.
In line with the objective for the establishment of universities of science and technology Okoli, Ogbondah and Ewor (2016) postulate that universities of science and technology are supposed to engage in research, not only to push out the frontiers of knowledge, but to solve the problems of the society. A university of science and technology education is built around the establishment and provision of an equipped university library as a means of providing support and service meant to actualise the aims and objectives of the university. Clearly, the achievement of the university objectives depends to a great extent on the support of the library. To buttress this assertion, Okon and Lawal (2013) observe that the academic health, intellectual vitality and effectiveness of any university depend largely upon the state of health and excellence of its university library.
