THE EXTENT OF AVAILABILITY AND STUDENTS’ UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION LIBRARIES IN THE NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA.
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the extent of Availability and students’ utilization of Electronic Information Resources (EIRs) in Colleges of Education (COE) Libraries in the North Central Nigeria. Six specific objectives and six research questions guided the study. Two null hypotheses were formulated and used to test the study at (0.05) level of significance. The review of related literature indicated that the concept of EIRs is synonymous with digital and virtual library resources within the COE environment. The review noted the scarcity of research information on the topic in the study area but identified some problems and strategies for solving the problems. The survey research design was used for the study. The target population of the study is 1472 students and librarians. Proportionate stratified random sampling techniques were used to select 221 respondents for the study. Structured questionnaire titled Students’ Utilization of Electronic Information Resources Library Questionnaire (SUEIRLQ) and Observation Checklist (OC) were the instruments used to collect data. The instrument was validated and a test re-test reliability conducted by experts. The researcher with two research assistants collected the data from the survey field. The data collected were analyzed by statistical analyst with the aid of a package known as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings show that quite a number of EIRs were available while others were not. The purpose of use of EIRs are learning and research; there is generally a low extent of students utilization and also, a low extent to which EIRs meet with the purposes of their utilization; problems and strategies for curbing the problems were discovered. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that library and Electronic Information Resources be introduced for all NCE year one students in all Colleges of Education in Nigeria so that they can utilize modern library services. It was concluded that some EIRs were available, but the utilization by students failed.