APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN  MANAGEMENT OF NIGERIAN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The development of libraries, regardless of kind, is based on the library's leadership. Library managers make or break a library's performance and productivity. Without appropriate leadership, libraries as a social institution will move at a glacial pace. Power, diversity challenges, leaders as change agents, and management styles are all factors that impact academic library executives' performance (Weiner, 2003).

Libraries, like other organizations, must adapt to their ever-changing surroundings. For survival, development, and profitability, they must remain compatible with environmental changes (Purushothama, 2015). A library, like any other institution, has managers, but finding a new path ahead necessitates much more than efficient administration or responsible caretaking; it necessitates leadership. With the introduction of ICT in libraries, the global approach of providing information services has changed ( Madu & Azubogu, 2017).

ICT is primarily viewed as a tool that, when appropriately applied in libraries or other organizations, may assist users in achieving their goals. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be defined as the application of computers and other technologies for easy acquisition, organisation, storage, accessibility, retrieval, and dissemination of information. ICT is one of the greatest inventions of mankind which played unprecedented role in changing the landscape of human and organisational activities around the globe including libraries. ICT, according to Eke (2006), is a sort of technology that connects a computer to a worldwide telecommunication network, allowing users to acquire, analyze, calculate, store, and broadcast spoken, written, and graphical information. ICT has fundamentally altered every aspect of our lives in the modern period, and libraries are no exception. It has given libraries new options to increase their resources and range of services, which would be very difficult to deliver manually otherwise (Garg, 2013). Omini and Esin (2019) identified library operations that could be carried out with ICT, these include; acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, serials control, selective dissemination of information services and preparation of management information. According to Sokari, Olayemi and Abba Haliru (2019) using technologies on operations peculiar to the library has improved efficiency in resource organization service delivery and dissemination of information making them effective and easy while at the same time eliminating repetitive and routine tasks in the library.

The convergence of ICT in academic libraries has brought about the maximum utilisation of all the technologies that enable the handling of information of various formats within the library. Onuoha and Obialor (2015) argued that ICT has influenced the traditional library services in the process of identifying, acquiring, processing, organizing, storing, retrieving and dissemination information. Supporting the assertion, Anunobi and Edoka (2010) reported that user expectations from any information providing system is to make resources available directly or remotely in real time and appropriate format. Notwithstanding, library routines are the major activities done in the library through the divisions or unit, such as acquisition, processing, storing, disseminating and preservation of information resources among others. While library operations are functions librarians carry out in the library on daily basis, such as selection, ordering, classification, cataloguing, charging and discharging of information resources in the various division of the library. Although libraries management in academic settings has gotten increasingly challenging as ICTs have proliferated in libraries. Following their apparent success in industrial industries, quality management is increasingly being integrated into library services, with a special emphasis on enhancing service quality.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The rapid changes in information and communication technology causes already uncertain business environment to be even more predictable. Organizations’ ability to identify the relevant information needed to make important decisions is crucial, since the access to data used to generate information for decision making is no longer restricted by the manual systems of the organization. Today, the emergence of ICTs made it possible for organizations to record, synthesized, analyze and disseminate information quicker than any other time in history, (Galliers, 2003). He further argued that data can be collected from different parts of the company and its external environment and brought together to provide relevant, timely, concise and precise information at all levels of the organization to help it become more efficient, effective and competitive. Also, over the years organizations generally have been accumulating heaps of information emanating from different departments and units within and outside the organizations. As a result of this scenario, these organizations are saddled with the tasks of managing the information and records for the purpose of effective and efficient decision making and improve productivity in the organization. The large volumes of different varieties of information generated and disseminated almost on daily basis require more sophisticated devices in its managements.                        However, observations by the researcher revealed that management of information and records in tertiary institutions is ineffective and thereby rendered lots of information and records of the organization not retrievable, not accessible and to a large extent not useful to the organization. Since, more often information and data are found to be lost. Another resulting problem is information redundancy, poor data security and preservation measures and inability to share data/information among departments in tertiary institutions. It is against this background that this research was designed to adopt the application of Information Communication Technology in management of information in resource and services in  tertiary institutions’ libraries.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to examine application of information and communication technology in the management of Nigerian academic libraries. Other specific objectives of the study includes:

i.          To examine the extent of application of information and communication technology in the management of Nigerian academic libraries.

ii.        To determine the relevance of computerization of  academic libraries.

iii.      To investigate  the problems associated with the application of ICT in Nigerian academic libraries.

iv.      Suggest strategies for implementing and addressing problems of ICT application in Nigerian academic libraries.

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

HO1: The extent of application of information and communication technology in the management of Nigerian academic libraries is low.

HO2: The is no relevance of application information and communication technology in the management of Nigerian academic libraries.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 It is expected that the result of this study would be useful to the following groups of people: university authorities, university librarians, other library staff, students, faculty members, educational research institutes, information technology researchers etc. University librarians will as a result of these findings identify relevant aspects of library services that are defective and which improvement is needed. It will further aid them to cut cost, save time and resources in providing services to clientele using ICT. Academic librarians will by this study appreciate the usefulness of adopting ICT in providing users services in university libraries. Other library staff (Para-professionals) will have the practical functional knowledge and understanding of the importance of ICT in achieving access to information.  Students and faculty members will as a result of this finding develop more confidence in the ability of the library to meet their research and academic needs. It will also aid them to access, analyze and present information gained from a variety of sources.  The findings will indicate those ICT resources educational research institutes and IT researchers will need to meet their specialized information need. This study will also contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the utilization of ICT for user services in libraries in Nigeria.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study borders on  application of information and communication technology in the management of Nigerian academic libraries.The study is limited to selected academic libraries in Portharcourt, Rivers State.

1.7       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only  academic libraries in Portharcourt, Rivers State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for academic libraries in other  States within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

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