Relevance and Adequacy of IT Skills of Librarians in Southern Nigeria in the Digital and Electronic Environment in Nigeria: A Survey

Abstract

Libraries as gatekeepers of knowledge are rapidly witnessing the introduction of various information technologies (IT). One of the challenges facing IT/digital library projects in Nigeria has been inadequate or dearth of knowledge and skills to implement the digital and electronic library services. In this study, an audit of IT skills set of librarians in some Nigerian university libraries located in the southern region of the country was carried out with the aim of examining their relevance and adequacy to the digital environment. The study used the survey approach. The stratified sampling technique was adopted to select 10 university libraries in the Southern part of Nigeria. The findings of the study revealed that many of the respondents had knowledge and skills in email use, word processing application, and use of search engines such as Google and Yahoo but lacked knowledge of search engines and directories other than Google and Yahoo respectively. Many of them did not know how to evaluate and catalogue e-resources; had no knowledge of subject gateways, specialized databases and some open access library databases; had no knowledge of database management, are not skilled in web design and are equally not familiar with web design applications. The study recommends management support for information technology skills training and/or improvement for librarians. Librarians are also challenged to explore the range of training resources available over the Internet for self development.