TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Approval Page – – – – – – ii
Certification Page – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – iv Acknowledgements – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – – vi
List of Figures – – – – – viii
List of Tables – – – – – – – ix
List of Appendixes – – – – – – xi
Abstract – – – – – – xii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION – –
Background of the Study – – – – 1
Statement of the Problem – – – – – 9
Purpose of the Study – – – – – – 10
Research Questions – – – – – – 10
Hypotheses – – – – – – – 11
Significance of the Study – – – – – 11
Scope of the Study – – – – – 13
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW – – – 14
Conceptual Framework – – – – – – – 14
Concept of reference services in libraries – – 14
Overview of information and communication technology – 21
Concept of digital reference services – – – – 24
Application of ICT facilities for reference services – 30
Current trends in the utilization of (ICT) for reference services in libraries – 40
Problems of ICT use in reference services in university libraries – 48
Strategies for the effective utilization of ICT facilities in reference service – 50
Theoretical Framework- – – – – – 52
Theories of reference services – – – – 52
Theoretical model for the study – – – 55
Review of Related Empirical Studies – – 59
Summary of Literature Review – – – – – 66
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD – – – 68
Research Design – – – – – – 68
Area of the Study – – – – – – 68
Population of the Study – – – – 68
Sample and Sampling Technique – – – 70
Instruments for Data Collection – – – 71
Validation of Instrument – – – 73
Reliability of Instrument – – – – 73
Method of Data Collection – – – – – 74
Method of Data Analysis – – – – 75
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS – – – 76
CHAPTER
FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 102
Discussion of Findings – – – – – 102
Implications of Findings – – – – – 113
Recommendations – – – – – – 114
Limitations of the Study – – – – 115
Suggestion for Further Research – – – 115
Conclusion – – – – – – – 115
REFERENCES – – – – – – 117
APPENDICES – – – – – – 127
LIST
OF FIGURES
Figure Pages
1. Adopted from General Process Reference Model – – 57
2.
Bar Chart Showing the Ranking of Problems Militating Against the Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services as Perceived by Librarians 92
3.
Bar Chart Showing the Ranking of Problems Militating Against the Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services as Perceived by Library Users 93
LIST
OF TABLES
Tables Pages
- Availability of ICT Facilities in the Reference Sections of the Federal University Libraries – – – – 77
- Databases for the Subscription of E-Resources by the Federal University Libraries – – – – – – 78
- Mean Responses of Librarians on What Purposes ICT Facilities are Utilized in Reference Services – – – 80
- Mean Responses of Library Users on what Purposes ICT Facilities are Utilized in Reference Services – – – – 82
- Mean Responses of Librarians on Extent of ICT Facilities Utilization in Reference Services in the Federal University Libraries – 83
- Mean Responses of Library Users on Extent of ICT Facilities Utilization for their Reference Needs – – – 84
- Mean Responses of Librarians on the Perceived Benefits of ICT Facilities Use in Reference Services in the University Libraries under Study 86
- Mean Responses of Library Users on the Perceived Benefits of ICT Facilities Use for their Reference Needs – – – 87
- Mean Responses of Librarians on Perceived Problems Militating Against the Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services in the Federal University Libraries – – – 89
- Mean Responses of Library Users on Inhibitors to their Use of ICT Facilities for their Reference Needs – – 90
- Mean Responses of Librarians on the Strategies for Enhancing the Utilization of ICT Facilities in Reference Services of the University Libraries Under Study – – – 94
- 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 – 98
- 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 98
- 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. – 99
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendices Pages
A. Questionnaires for Librarians and Users on the Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), for Reference Services in Federal University Libraries – – – – 127
B. Availability of ICT Facilities in the Reference Sections of the Federal University Libraries – – – – – 137
C. Validation of Research Instrument on Utilization of ICT Facilities for Reference Services in Federal University Libraries – – 138
D. Reliability of Instrument – – – – – – 139
E. List of Selected Federal Universities Studied
from the Six Geo-Political Zones 151
F. Interview Guide for Reference Librarians – – – 152
G. Distribution and Collection of Questionnaire – – – 153
H.
Formulas for Mean, Standard Deviation and ANOVA Test Statistics. – –
154
I. List of Federal Universities in Nigeria – – – – 155
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.
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.
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.
- Through connections to local, regional
and global networks and
- By securing materials for students,
academics and staff through interlibrary loan and other resources sharing
arrangements.
- ICT infrastructure: state-of-the-art
hardware and software and sufficient bandwidth and responsive network
management at multiple levels, from the institutional level upwards.
- Expert professional support to
facilitate thorough and accurate use of all library resources,
- 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 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 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 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, e-mail, 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. 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, co-operative 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 co-ordinate the collaboration amongst the
participating libraries (Roesch, 2006). The author 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 pre-paid 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 foreign-owned 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) 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 I
