The Need for Effective Information Resources Provision and Utilization in Nigerian University Libraries: A Case Study of Two Nigerian Premier Universities

Abstract

Effectiveness of a library and worthiness of its services in the present digital age depends largely upon the adequacy and accessibility of its services and resources. The study assessed the level of automation projects of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and University of Ibadan libraries using the sample drawn from the two university libraries. Questionnaire was administered to elicit information from the two respondents group using random sampling technique. The analysis of data was based on the variables of the study such as; Level of automation in the two university libraries, automation Software packages adopted by the two libraries, level of user satisfaction, problems militating against the development and utilization of the two systems. The study discovered that none of the two universities has finished automation of its services; Ahmadu Bello University adopted ALICE for WINDOWS library automation Software package and is yet to complete any of the five modules of the software, while the University of Ibadan adopted VIRTUA (VTLS) library automation Software and has finished only a module (cataloging) out of six modules possessed by the software. The findings also revealed that the level of users’ satisfaction and utilization were very low in the two universities as the project is moving at a slow pace and none of the universities has completed or even reached reasonable level of automation due to amalgam of problems such as electricity problem, inadequate fund, lack of technical expertise, frequent changes of the software adopted, small size Bandwidth etc. It concludes by proffering solutions to the observed problems like the provision of reliable source of electricity, increase in the budgetary allocation to the libraries, staff training and retraining on software design and network engineering and management, fostering synergy with some units of the universities such as Centre for Information Technology (C. I. T.) and Management Information Systems (M. I. S.) for the purpose of strengthening the systems, technology and expertise transfer.

Keywords: ICTs, Information Utilization, University Libraries, Library Services