INFORMATION SCOPING SKILLS AND THE RESEARCH OUTPUT OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH GEOPOLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

This study investigated the relationship between information scoping skills and the research output of academic librarians in universities in South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria with corresponding specific objective, research question, and research hypothesis. To effectively drive the study two theories were adopted. The theory of social cultural learning for the independent variable (information scoping skill), and the theory of self-efficacy for the dependent variable (research output of academic librarians). More so, conceptual review of literature on information scoping skills and research out were carried, and specific empirical review of literature with extrinsic similarity and dissimilarity to the study was also done. The study adopted the correlational research design as the research design while the study area was South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. The population of study comprised of 252 academic librarians working in the various academic library units and faculties. The census technique was used as the sampling technique with a sampling size of 252. The researcher-developed questionnaire entitled: Information Scoping Skills and the Research Output of Academic Librarians Questionnaire (ISSROALQ)was used to collect data while the reliability test results using Cronbach Alpha formula in SPSS showed an average coefficient of .85 which signified that the instrument was reliable for the study. Data was collected from the various universities by the researchers and their trained assistants by following the requisite ethical procedures. The data collected was analysed using frequencies and percentages for the research question, while the test of hypothesis at ≤ 0.05 level of significant was carried with Chi-Square Test of Independence. The result showed that information scoping skill has a positive significant relationship with the research output of academic librarians with p value 0.00, and Phi coefficient of 2.53 indicating of very large extent of positive relationship. In conclusion, it was recommended that the National University commission should make proficient utilization of information literacy skills by academic librarians as part of the requirement to assess their suitability for performance within the scholarly communities. Also, the university management should consider constant information literacy skills programs to improve the literacy skill of the academic staff to be able to carry out sound and rich research output

Information resources availability, Staff Quality and Information Services Delivery by Libraries in French-Based Institutions in Lagos and Oyo States, Nigeria

A special library is established to provide information resources and services which are of direct relevance to the interest and activities of the parent institution. Information services delivery in special libraries assists in providing, storing, retrieving and disseminating information to the clientele of such libraries. However, poor information service delivery appears to be rampant in special libraries especially in Nigeria nowadays. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of information resources availability and staff quality on information service delivery in libraries of French-based institutions in Lagos and Oyo States, Nigeria. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, six (6) research questions were raised, and two (2) null hypotheses formulated. The research design adopted for the study was descriptive survey design of the correlational type. Data was collected from four (4) librarians, eleven (11) library staff, and five hundred and twenty-seven (527) library users at French-based institutions in Lagos and Oyo States through questionnaire. Data analysis was done in an SPSS output format based on simple frequency count and percentages to answer the research questions 1-6 while Pearsons’ Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the null hypothesis 1 and 2. The findings of this study revealed that the main services available in libraries of French-based institutions are Current Awareness Services, Reference Services, Bibliographic Services, Audio-visual Services, and Shelf-labeling. The quality of the library staff manifest in their communication skills, information resources selection skills, ICT skills especially the use of search engines to locate and retrieve web-based information resources, and knowledge from trainings and education. Findings reveal that the main challenges of information service delivery by libraries of the French-based institutions include: Lack of Internet facilities (mean=3.26); Lack of ICT devices and tools (mean=3.13); Epileptic power supply (mean=2.95); among others. Adequate information resources coupled with quality staff were available for services delivery in the libraries while ICT devices coupled with lack of Internet facilities and epileptic power supply tend to limit the performance of library staff in terms of services delivery. It is therefore recommended among others that management of the libraries of French-based institutions should strive to make Internet facilities, ICT devices, and alternative power supply available for modern day services delivery

INFORMATION PLANNING SKILLS AND RESEARCH OUTPUT OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH GEOPOLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between information planning skills and the research output of academic librarians in universities in South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria with corresponding specific objective, research question, and research hypothesis. To effectively drive the study two theories were adopted. The theory of social cultural learning for the independent variable(s) (information planning skills), and the theory of self-efficacy for the dependent variable (research output of academic librarians). More so, conceptual review of literature on information planning skills and research out were carried, and specific empirical review of literature with extrinsic similarity and dissimilarity to the study was also done. The study adopted the correlational research design as the research design while the study area was South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. The population of study comprised of 252 academic librarians from 14 libraries and faculties. The census technique was used as the sampling technique with a sampling size of 252. The researcher-developed questionnaire entitled: Information Planning Skills and the Research Output of Academic Librarians Questionnaire (IPSROALQ)was used to collect data while the reliability test results using Cronbach Alpha formula in SPSS showed an average coefficient of .79 which signified that the instrument was reliable for the study. Data was collected from the various universities by the researchers and their trained assistants by following the requisite ethical procedures. The data collected was analysed using frequencies and percentages for the research question, while the test of hypothesis at ≤ 0.05 level of significant was carried with Chi-Square Test of Independence. The result showed that information planning skills have positive significant relationship with the research output of academic librarians with p value = 0.00, and Phi coefficient of 2.62 indicating of very large extent of positive relationship. In conclusion, it was recommended that the National University commission should make proficient utilization of information literacy skills by academic librarians as part of the requirement to assess their suitability for performance within the scholarly communities. Also, the university management should consider constant information literacy skills programs to improve the literacy skill of the academic staff to be able to carry out sound and rich research output

Digital Literacy Skills among Users of State Central Library, Thiruvananthapuram: An Investigative Study

The study aims to ascertain digital literacy skills of users of State Central Library, Thiruvananthapuram. Data were collected using questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 160 members, out of which 150 are received with required details. It is observed that the respondents possess essential digital literacy skills. Majority of users were students and they have basic knowledge about digital materials and also used e-resources. Internet based resources and services are widely used. Google chrome is the most preferred web browser. Facebook is the social networking site used by the majority of respondents. Most of the library users identified the problem such as the absence of computer labs and free Wi-Fi facilities

Users' trust in information resources in the Web environment: a status report

This study has three aims; to provide an overview of the ways in which trust is either assessed or asserted in relation to the use and provision of resources in the Web environment for research and learning; to assess what solutions might be worth further investigation and whether establishing ways to assert trust in academic information resources could assist the development of information literacy; to help increase understanding of how perceptions of trust influence the behaviour of information users