Creating universal resource locator links on library computers desktop: A panacea for students’ underutilization of subscribed electronic databases in academic institutions in Nigeria
97-105<span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-ansi-language:en-gb;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-GB">This
study is a 3-week experiment using Michael Okpara University of Agriculture
Umudike (MOUAU) Digital Library and clients as study area and population
respectively. Having observed the problem of students and researchers
underutilization of electronic databases subscribed by academic institutions in
Nigeria, the research was aimed at testing students and researchers approach to
a new method that may enhance usage of subscribed electronic databases and
recommend it if positive. Dummy links, representing some of the Universal
Resource Locators (URLs) of the databases subscribed by MOUAU were created as
the desktop page of ten computers in the digital library. Designed purposively,
a click on the dummy links referred clients to the librarian. The record of
clients who reported to the Digital Librarian as a result of the dummy upload
request was collated. Apart from finding that, gender, level of study and
purpose of visit are electronic database utilization variables, the study
reveals that creating URL links on desktop pages would effectively sensitize
and increase students’ utilisation of the various electronic databases
subscribed by individual Nigerian academic institutions. The experiment’s
result show that URL links would effectively introduce subscribed electronic databases
to students and researchers much better than any other means.</span