THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION LITERARY SKILLS ON THE USE OF E-LIBRARY RESOURCES BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the influence of information literacy skills on the use of e-library resources by part-time undergraduate students of Kaduna State University. The population of the study comprised all the 3215 students of the part-time programme. The descriptive survey method was adopted for the study, questionnaire was used for data collection and random sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of 200. Out of the 200 copies of questionnaire administered, 167 were retrieved and analysed using simple percentage, mean and standard deviation. Findings from the study showed that majority of respondents indicated that E-books (mean=3.44), e-journals (mean=3.43) and electronic database (mean=3.18) are available at the university library. Also, majority of the respondents indicated that they can recognize when there is need for information (mean=3.69) but can neither locate relevant information to satisfy their information needs (mean=1.78), evaluate information sources critically to determine if they are relevant to their information need (mean=1.53) nor use information in an ethical way (mean=2.07). Findings also revealed that majority of the respondents acquire information literacy skills on their own through the use of textbooks (mean=3.12) and on the internet (mean=3.53). Furthermore, it was discovered that the effects of information literacy skills on undergraduate students include ease of access (3.38), ease of use (3.31) and confidence in using e-library resources (3.35). Finally, the challenges faced by majority of the respondents include incessant electric power outage (3.10), lack of ICT and information literacy skills (2.59), limited time given to each user of the e-library (3.44). Recommendations put forward include that universities should adopt and fully implement the information literacy competency standard, that one-on-one instruction on e-library resources and their use be offered in schools.

Tagged with: E-Library Resources, Influence, Information Literary Skills, Use