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ATTITUDE OFF LIBRARIANS TOWARDS APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN POLYTECHNICS LIBRARIES IN NORTHERN STATES OF NIGERIA

Dept: LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE File: Word(doc) Chapters: 1-5 Views: 3

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify the attitude of librarians in polytechnic libraries in Northern States of Nigeria towards information and communication technologies as well as factors that predicts such attitudes. Survey research method was used for the study. The questionnaire and observation were used in collecting data relevant to the study. Four research questions and three hypotheses were formulated for the study. Findings showed that: The librarians expressed positive attitude towards information technology. Only one variable; academic qualification of polytechnic librarian, out of the three variables measured was discovered to be related to the attitude of the polytechnic librarians towards information communication technology. It is however surprising to note that despite the strong positive attitude registered by the librarians, only limited information communication technology seemed to be available at the polytechnic libraries even as such used for libra

BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY

1.1       Introduction

This thesis is on the attitude of librarians towards information  communication technology in polytechnic libraries. Polytechnic exist for the purpose of education, research and learning. Polytechnics are academic institutions established with the aim of providing theoretical and practical knowledge, which are invaluable for the training of personnel required for the technological development of the nation. Education in any academic institution cannot be optimally achieved without libraries a integral parts of the institutions. The tremendous growth of the human knowledge, matched with the corresponding increase in books, journals, reports, thesis, to mention a few, resulted in information explosion. This phenomenon has brought about the problem of how to select, organize and handle information sources in libraries vis-à-vis polytechnic libraries.

Today, the wind of change is blowing to every direction, as we are witnessing information explosion, so also is technology changing to suit every situation. Daniel (2002) cited by Abubakar

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 observed that “the siren of information communication technology is being heard loud and clear in every sphere of human endeavour”. The demands placed on polytechnic libraries by it patrons to provide adequate and current materials for teaching, research and learning calls for alternative approach to manual process of rendering services.

Libraries attached to polytechnics fall into the category of those libraries refereed to as academic libraries. The importance of academic libraries to its parent institutions cannot be overemphasized. “They are heartbeat of any institution of higher learning” Daniel

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. Academic libraries exist in higher institutions for providing educative, informative, recreational and research assistance to the tertiary institutions community. Ifidon and Nkoli

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 stated that the functions of academic libraries include:

1. Provision of materials for undergraduate instruction, term papers and projects as well as for supplementary reading.
2. Provision of materials in support of faculty external and collaborating research.
3. Provision of materials in support of postgraduate research.
4. Provision of expensive standards works especially in the professional disciplines.
5. Provision of materials for self-development.
6. Provision of specialized information on the region within which the institution is situated.
7. Co-operation with other academic library with a view to developing a network of academic library resources that is at the disposal of all scholars.

In other for the academic libraries to perform the above functions effectively, the use of information communication technology was clearly inevitable. Madu and Adeniran

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 defined information communication technology as “the coming together of computing and telecommunication for the purpose of information handling”. The researcher observed in this study that information communication  technologies refer to equipment such as, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), international networks (internet), micro-computers and all its peripherals, like scanners, printers to mention few. Thus, information communication technolgies in libraries consist of all electronic infrastructure and facilities employed by libraries to improve and provide efficient services. Madu

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 stated, “The first libraries that experimented the use of information communication technologies in Nigeria were the universities and research libraries. This he observed has virtually placed those libraries ahead of other libraries in the acquisition and use of information communication technologies”. The application and use of information communication technologies in information delivery in Nigeria polytechnic libraries is still at the elementary stage, when compared alongside other academic libraries such as university libraries.The usefulness of attitude research in the field of social psychology cannot be overemphasised. Such dominant status of attitude has made psychologist to equate it with social psychology. Accordingly, Kelman

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 stated that “attitudes are a central concept and I regard the study of attitude as the legitimate pursuit in its own right and as a useful component of multi method research strategy”.

It is pertinent for a study such as this on the attitudes of librarian towards information communication technology to be embarked on, as it will reveal the librarians’ attitude towards the use of information communication technology in polytechnic libraries in northern Nigeria. Many variables were found in literatures to correlate with attitudes. However, the ones examined in this study were age, gender, and academic qualifications of the librarians.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The demand placed on librarians to provide current information resources to users’ calls for an alternative approach to manual process of rendering library services in this information explosion age. The application of information communication technology to institutional library operations would go a long way in improving information delivery to patrons. This is imperative as the successive improvement on the manual process of information delivery have not yielded the desired result even with all the importance attached to polytechnic education in Nigeria vis-à-vis information communication technologies in libraries. The researcher observed that not much have been done to alleviate the information acquisition and dissemination problems of polytechnic libraries, as most polytechnic libraries still rely on the manual methods of information service delivery. This is so as very little application of information communication technologies have taken place. In line with the above statement, Nwosu

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 stated that:

The number of polytechnic libraries that have acquired any form of information communication technology for use could be counted on ones fingertip; as such, most polytechnic libraries are standing edifices with nothing to show for their being there in this era of information explosion.

Essentially, the success or failure in the use of information communication technologies in any library often depends to some extent, upon the attitudes of the librarians in the library. Adomi

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 observed,

If a librarian has a negative attitude towards information technology in his library, he is unlikely to be friendly or disposed to the idea. The reverse is the case when the librarian has a positive attitude towards information communication technologies in his library.

 

Negative attitudes of librarians towards the use of information communication technology in libraries could hinder their introduction in the libraries. There is need to understand the disposition of polytechnic librarians towards information communication technology. In line with the above, studies on attitudes of university librarians by Uwaifo

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 revealed “that university librarians have positive attitude towards  ICTs”. This the researcher observed  may been the contributing factor to the acquisition and use of ICTs in university libraries.

1.3       Research Questions

This study was embarked to answer these research questions:

1. What types of information communication technology are available in the polytechnic libraries
2. What are the attitudes of librarians in the polytechnic libraries toward information communication technologies?
3. what steps can be taken to improve on the attitude of polytechnic librarians in respect of information communication technologies?

1.4          Hypotheses

Hypotheses were formulated for the study they are:

1. There is no significant relationship between the ages of polytechnic libraries and their attitude towards information communication technology.
2. there is no significant relationships between the gender of polytechnic librarians and their attitude towards information communication technology.
3. there is no significant relationship between the academic qualifications of polytechnic librarians and their attitude towards information communication technology.
   • Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are to:

1. identify the information communication technologies available in the polytechnic libraries
2. identify the attitude of librarians towards information communication technologies in the polytechnic libraries.
3. ascertain whether age, gender and academic qualifications have influence on polytechnic librarians attitude towards information communication technology

 

• Significance of the Study

                  The research is aware of the importance of information communication technologies in modern library practice. This study would serve as a source of reference for studies in the area of information and communication technology, attitudinal studies and polytechnic education in Nigeria; for libraries of polytechnic libraries, students of library schools and researchers who have interest in this field of study. The research findings could also reveal the exact attitudes of polytechnic librarians towards information communication technology. The findings of this study would expose the variables that affect librarian’s attitudes towards information technology and show the necessary steps that could be taken to motivate librarians towards information and communication technologies in Nigerian libraries.

It is hoped that the governments and management of polytechnic institutions vis-à-vis libraries will be well informed on the attributes and usefulness of information communication technologies to the entire academic environment when applied to library functions and services.

1.7    Scope and Limitation

The study was concerned with the attitudes of professional librarians in polytechnics towards information communication technologies; it was aimed at identifying the variables that determine such attitudes, hence the study covered only six polytechnic libraries in Northern States of Nigeria, after which generalization of findings was however made to include the entire Polytechnic libraries in Northern Nigeria. Interestingly, incessant strike action embarked upon by Nigeria polytechnics was inimical to the research process. In addition, inaccurate information on actual number of respondents (Professional Librarians) in some of the selected sampled population such as polytechnic libraries acted as hindrances to the study as this was against the number of expected respondents got before the commencement of the study. This is so as it was discovered in polytechnic libraries visited, there exist limited number of professional librarians. However, the research study was limited to professional librarians of polytechnic libraries in Northern states of Nigeria.

1.8      Operational Definition of Basic Terms

            The following terms are defined as used in the study: –

Attitude: – This refers to Librarians’ individual frame of minds affecting their thought or behaviour most times exhibited outwardly towards the ICT.

Information communication technology: These refers to the combination of computing and telecommunication facilities used for the selection, acquisition, manipulation, storage and transfer of information such as computers, international network, micro opaque, slides, reprographic machines, transparencies, etc.

Librarian: This refers to a person with HND, B.Sc and higher qualifications in library and information science, who works with information resources in the library.

Polytechnic Library: This was used throughout the study to mean all libraries attached to the polytechnic as an institution.