Digital Devices and Digital Literacy Skills Among Library and Information Science Students in Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study focused on Digital Devices and Digital Literacy Skills Among Library and Information Science Undergraduate Students in Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Survey design was used. The population of the study covered the 200 and 300-level students of the Department of Library and Information Science, Niger Delta University. The sample size of the study was 165. The total enumeration sampling technique was used to determine the sample size of the study. The instrument used for data collection was a self-constructed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis. The findings revealed that students of LIS, Niger Delta University, use their own smartphones, laptops, and other types of digital devices. Poor information search skills, epileptic power supply, inability to provide internet connectivity with free access, inability to manage myriads of information sources, were some of the major challenges of the respondents. Arising from the findings, recommendations were made to include the provision of internet services within the school premises for easy access by students of LIS at all times so as to reduce the cost of data subscriptions for daily academic activities in order to keep pace with information creation use and knowledge sharing. Secondly, the issue of epileptic power supply should be tackled and alternatives provided

Users' Satisfaction with Library Information Resources and Services: A Case Study College of Health Sciences Library Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Nigeria

This study investigated users' satisfaction with library information resources and services at the College of Health Sciences (CHS) library Niger Delta University, Nigeria. The objective was to determine the level of users satisfaction with library information resources and services. 2 (two) research questions were formulated to guide the study. The survey research design was adopted, using a population of 687 registered users in the College of Health Sciences Library. The sample size of 180 was selected through random sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire. Among the results of the study showed that users were satisfied with the lending services of library, renewal of library materials and longer hours of internet services in the library. It was also revealed in the study that users were dissatisfied with the limited reference materials in their various subject areas, national and international journals because they were not up to date. Keywords: university library, library information resources and services, users satisfaction

Assessment of Library Instruction and Library Literacy Skills of First Year Undergraduate Students of University of Benin, Nigeria

This study investigated the effectiveness and impact of library instruction (GST 111 – the use of library) course on library literacy skills of first year undergraduate students. The study adopted the descriptive survey research method and questionnaire was used as the research instrument. First year undergraduate students of the 2013/2014 academic session constituted the population of study. Simple random and total enumeration sampling methods were used to collect data from students in five out of twelve faculties in the university. Data were collected at the end of the first semester library instruction course. Data collected was subjected to frequency, percentage, mean and correlation analysis using SPSS 17.0. Results revealed that the library instruction was well perceived by the students as adequate and effective. The students’ library literacy skills were high irrespective of the students’ sex and faculty. Library instruction received positively influenced the students’ library literacy skills but students’ gender and secondary school attended did not despite the fact that majority of the students attended private secondary schools and they were exposed to the library before entering the university. It is therefore concluded that adequate and effective library instruction positively impact on library literacy skills of first year undergraduate students. Therefore, library instruction programme should be well structured and adequately delivered to achieve the desiredresult.Keywords: Library literacy skills, Library instruction, Undergraduate students, Library us

INFORMATION NEEDS AND SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA

This study was hinged on the information needs and seeking behaviour of library and information science undergraduates during the covid-19 pandemic in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Three questions were raised to put the study in the right perspective. The researcher employed the simple random type of sampling technique used to sample 184 respondents who are 200, 300, and 400 level undergraduates from Library and Information Science schools in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The questionnaire was used as the sole instrument for data collection. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (simple percentage and frequency counts). The finding from the study showed that the information required by undergraduates of library and information science includes: information for personal development, covid-19 preventive protocol, resumption of schools, health-related issues, socio-security, etc. The approach of undergraduates in LIS when seeking information includes: seeking information from course-mates online, consultation of designated chat groups, consulting lecturers, e-books, e-journals, and use of professional services. Also, it was shown that they consult various sources when seeking information, such as e-books, e-journals, websites, social networking sites, e-magazines, print materials, search engines, mass media, etc. The researcher, therefore, recommended among other things that covid-19 has helped to expose undergraduates to different approaches of seeking information and to be independent learners, hence, government at all levels, university administrators, and lecturers should inculcate ICTs into the curriculum of higher institutions of learning alongside the traditional system of teaching and learning

Assessing the Information Literacy Skills Among Undergraduate Students at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana

Information literacy skills have become a topical issue in the academic lives of university students. It is a skill needed to be able to identify an information need, knowing the sources of information, effectively searching for information and ethically using information in this era of the information age. Various studies have observed that university students lack the basic skills needed to make them effectively search for academic information and how to apply them. This situation, if not checked, would negatively affect the academic lives of students. This paper, therefore, sought to examine the level of information literacy skills among incoming first-year undergraduate students of the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa so as to suggest ways of improving upon them. The level of information literacy skill, possession of basic information and communication technology (ICT) skills, awareness of various search strategies were examined by analyzing responses obtained from the administration of the questionnaire. It was found out that the majority of the students possessed basic ICT skills, however, their knowledge of various search strategies was low. Again, there was no course designed to introduce them to the acquisition of information retrieval skills. Various ways of improving information literacy skills among students have also been suggested

Digital Literacy Skills as Determinants of Library Use by Undergraduate Students of Private Universities in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study examined digital literacy skills as determinants of library usage among undergraduates in two Private Universities in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive and non-experimental survey research design which involved the use of questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The targeted population of the study comprised of 8020 users who are undergraduates of the Ajayi Crowther University Library and Lead City University Library, while 481 respondents formed the sample using the sample size at confidence level of 95% and P=0.5. The data was collected via questionnaire and was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The First, and second research questions were analysed using descriptive statistics, while the research hypothesis was analysed using correlation analysis. Findings of the study revealed that most of the undergraduates can use technology competently to interpret and understand digital content. Secondly, majority of the undergraduates frequently update their digital skills to decrease their inability of accessing online materials which helps in increasing their digital knowledge. Thirdly, current and relevant information resources provided by the library encouraged the undergraduates to use the library. The study established that digital literacy skills had significant effect on library usage among undergraduates of private Universities in Oyo State. The study recommended that undergraduates should consider the university library as a place where they can actively engage themselves and enhance their knowledge as this would turn them into active Library users

Access to E-Resources by Librarians in University Libraries in Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

This study investigated Access to Electronic Resources by Librarians in University Libraries in Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. The descriptive research design was adopted for this study using 73 items self-structured questionnaire to collect data. In selecting the university libraries, the researcher applied the stratified random sampling technique to select the universities. One hundred and fifty (150) librarians were selected from three (3) centrally located states which include Delta, Bayelsa, and Edo from the nine (9) Niger Delta States from a target population of four hundred and thirty-two (432) librarians. seven research questions were formulated to guide the study. A reliability coefficient index of 0.87 was obtained from the instrument using Cronbach\u27s Alpha Guttman split-half Coefficient. Additionally, it was strongly recommended that Institution’s authorities and governments should provider internet, ICT facilities for all to enjoy free flow for effective and efficient access to e-resources

Assessing Information Literacy Skills: A Survey of Undergraduate Education Students at the University of Livingstonia in Malawi

The purpose of this study was to assess the information literacy skills of Education Students at the University of Livingstonia. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive survey design in which questionnaire was used to collect data. Stratified sampling technique was used to sample students from their respective degree programmes under the faculty of education. Altogether 160 questionnaires were distributed proportionally to respondents and 123 were successfully returned with a response rate of 76.9%.Data was analysed using IBM SPSS where percentages, charts and tables were obtained to present and interpret data. The findings revealed that Faculty of Education students (ES): (1) demonstrated a high level of awareness of types of information sources; (2) they accessed both print and electronic information; (3) expressed familiarity with APA referencing style and acknowledged the importance of providing citation and references to academic work to avoid plagiarism. However, students also demonstrated high deficiency in identifying diverse information sources. They did not have adequate knowledge on writing proper citation and references nor familiarity with the bibliographic and reference management software tools. Based on the findings, the study makes recommendation

Covid-19 Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Undergraduates of Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study examined Covid-19 information needs and seeking behaviour of undergraduates of Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study identified Covid-19 information needs, Covid-19 information sources, strategies of seeking Covid-19 information and Covid-19 information seeking challenges encountered by the undergraduates. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised all the undergraduates of Federal University Otuoke who were in 300, 400 and 500 levels of study. Convenience sampling was adopted and three hundred and sixty-nine (369) undergraduates, consisting of 76, 73, 74, 71 and 75 undergraduates, each constituent drawn from the Faculty of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Management Sciences, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering respectively were involved in the study. The instrument for data collection was a self-designed structured questionnaire. The instrument was validated by two experts in the Department of Library and Information Science in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State. The researcher distributed three hundred and ninety-three copies of the draft of the validated questionnaire to students who visited the university library. Out of the three hundred and ninety-three questionnaires distributed, 369 questionnaires were properly filled in and found usable for data analysis. This produced a response rate of 93.89 %. The data collected was analyzed using weighted mean and standard deviation. The results from data analysis revealed that information on causes/treatments of the disease and on methods of its transmission was needed. It also revealed that friends, course mates, relations, neighbours, health care workers, library, mass media, books, journals, association meetings, internet/websites and social media were the sources of Covid-19 information used. It further indicated that the strategies for seeking Covid-19 information adopted were starting, browsing, monitoring and extracting. Finally, it was revealed that poor telecommunications network, lack of funds to purchase resources and subscribe to data, library closures and poor power supply were the challenges in seeking Covid-19 information encountered by the undergraduates. The study recommended that the government should take measures to improve telecommunications networks in Nigeria; universities’ management should make available free Wi-Fi to enable students seek their information needs and Nigerian university libraries should digitize their information resources so that undergraduates can access their health-related information needs without having to visit the physical library

Information and Communication Technology Literacy Skills and Class Instruction: a Comprehensive Perception Survey of University of Benin First Year Students

This study investigates the influence of class instruction (GST 111 – use of library) on University of Benin (UNIBEN) first year students’ information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills. The study adopted the survey research method using the questionnaire as research instrument. First year students in the 2013/2014 academic session constituted the population of study. Simple random and total enumeration sampling methods were used to collect data from students in five out of twelve faculties in the university. The questionnaire used is a 4-point likert scale instrument: SA (Strongly agreed) = 4; A (Agreed) = 3; D (Disagreed) = 2; and SD (Strongly disagreed) = 1. Data was collected at the end of the first semester when the GST 111 – use of library was concluded. Results revealed that Computer, Software, Internet, WWW and ICT literacy skills of the students are high. There is a significant difference in Computer, Software, Internet and WWW and ICT literacy skills of the students per faculty. Majority (65%) of the students are skillful in ICT use. Class instruction is very well perceived by the students and it positively influenced students’ ICT literacy skills. Gender and secondary school attended did not influence students’ ICT literacy skills. There is no significant difference between male and female students’ ICT literacy skills as well as students that attended private or public secondary schools. It is therefore concluded that the students are highly ICT literate and class instruction (GST 111 – use of library) course mainly influenced the students’ ICT literacy skills thus the class instruction programme in the university is adequate and effective