Social Media Usage by Library Staff in Academic Libraries: The Case of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The significance of social media in an academic library cannot be overemphasized. The advancement and application of information technology to academic libraries has brought about change in users attitudes and needs, changes in library services and changes in library staff job functions. The objective of the study was to ascertain the awareness and use of social media by library staff of Yaba College of technology, Lagos, Nigeria. The descriptive survey method was employed for the study. The sample for this study comprised of 60 library staff. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. Findings of the study revealed that Facebook and WhatsApp are the most commonly used social media tools by library staff in promoting library and information resources and services. However, major constraints to social media usage include poor internet access, irregular power supply and lack of social media tools, hence, recommendations were made; these include the provision of internet facilities in all offices in the library and uninterrupted power supply for library staff amongst others.

Keywords: Social media, Library staff, Academic libraries, Yaba College of technology, Nigeria