INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCIES NEEDED BY LIBRARIANS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSTY LIBRARIES IN SOUTH- EASTEN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study is to identify the information communication technology competencies needed by librarians in federal university libraries in south – eastern Nigeria. This is achieved by examining  the  opinions  of librarians  on ICT  competencies  needed  by  them  in their  electronic environment.  Five  research  questions  were  formulated  to  guide   the  study.  118  copies  self administered questionnaires were distributed to the population of 104 librarians in the four federal university libraries used. Out of which 95 were retuned representing 80.5% of the copies distributed to respondents. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics were employed, such as: percentages and mean  to  answer  the  research  questions.  The  result  obtained  from  the  findings  revealed  that: librarians still need some level of ICT competencies to cope in their ICT environment. That most of them already possess basic ICT competencies not enough to make them proactive in their new ICT environment. Problems such as lack of fund, lack of ICT facilities, constant change in ICT industry etc, may hinder  librarians’  ICT competency acquisition.   Based  on these research findings,  the researcher  made possible recommendations  such as: The university libraries and their authorities should press for more found from government, seek for alternative sources of fund for ICT projects, continually organize ICT training programmes for librarians and themselves, map out ICT training policy, partner with ICT compliant libraries and urge government to provide solar back-ups in every university library in Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

The major objective of the university library is to provide information resources  in support of teaching,  learning,  research and community services  that  go on in the  parent institution. The library remains the fulcrum upon which the goal of any academic institution revolves.  Every  academic  community  relies  on  the  library,  not  just  as  an  information custodian  for its academic  goals and  objectives,  but  also  as an organ  for gathering  and collecting information resources of all kinds and forms. The library assumes intellectual and physical control of information  resources,  organizes,  manages  and makes these resources available to users. The users of the library go on to consume information resources directly or make  use  of  the  resources  indirectly  to  create  more  information  through  research  and publication. Indeed, the library is so central to the institution’s academic program in such a way, that without the library, the overall academic output will diminish in quality and may eventually be mere sham (Edoka, 2001).

Traditionally,  the university library strives to satisfy the needs of their clientele  by collecting,   organizing,  preserving  and  disseminating  information  resources   specifically tailored  to  suit  their  curricular  and  research  interests.  This  function  has  been  usually performed by Librarians. Information professionals who must have  obtained at least a first degree in library and information science and accepted by Librarians’ Registration Council – a body established by degree 12 of 1995 and charged with the responsibility of regulating the practice  of  librarianship   in  Nigeria.   Librarians,  accomplish  this  function  through  the development, deployment, and management of information resources and services (Ehigiator,

2000). Challenges in university libraries have always been met by them because most of them

were trained in library schools and mentored by more experienced colleagues who thought them  knowledge,  abilities and attitudes that must be possessed  to be able to  carry out a specific function in a standardized way.

The requisite  traditional  operational  and service  skills,  without  which  information professionals  will be termed  inefficient,  includes:  Management  skills:  personnel,  finance/ budgeting,  public  relation  and  other  administrative  skills.  Collection  development  skill: identifying  new publications,  refreshing of library stock  through evaluation and weeding, judicious  selection of new materials,  budgeting  and  accountability;  Public services skills: Good rapport, communication, users profile request analysis, time consciousness, knowledge of library stock, speed and accuracy; Technical services skills: knowledge of classification scheme,  patrons’  areas  of  interest  and  specialization,  filing/  alphabetization  and  library statistics.(Aunobi, 2004). Librarians with the above mentioned skills in the traditional setting

were referred to as icons and masters of all field of knowledge. Till the later part of the 20th

century,  information  from  every  source  was  packaged  and  disseminated  on  print-based platform.  Librarians  have nothing to worry about so far as the status quo  is maintained. Emphasis  was  on  library  holdings,  print  collection  and  on-sight  services.  Clienteles  in libraries were required to physically visit the library before  they benefit of these services. Ownership  of  information  resources  in  print  form  was  a  measure  of  the  strength  and capability of libraries to provide the needed services.

The  sudden  merger  of  information  and  communication  technology  (ICT)  in  the

1940’s  launched  the  world  information  packaging  and  services  into  global  electronic platform. ICTs in general sense refer to the new technologies that have  emerged from the integration  of  information  technology  (IT)  and  communication  technology  (CT).  Akinde (2002)  stated  that  information  and  communication  technology  (ICT)  as terminology  has overtaken information technology (IT) because of its appropriateness and its utilitarianism.

Achuonge  (2005)  defines  ICT  as  the  application  of  computers  and  telecommunication gadgets to process,  store retrieve,  and send information  of all  kinds  in whatever  form or distance.  He  added  that  it  encompasses  modern  technologies  such  as  communication, satellites,  radio,  television,  video,  tape  recorders,  compact  discs,  floppy  diskettes,  flash memory,  CD-ROM,  personal  computers  and  other  related  equipment  so  that  the  output

generated can reach the overall benefit of mankind and in good time. ICT in this 21st  century

in libraries  have become  a global issue.  With the establishment  of Internet  in 1969  and development of World Wide Web in early 1990’s as well as the global information explosion, the global society is propelled  to “the information society”. Thus  information is not only produced in quantum but is readily available in environment outside the walls of the library. Using the Internet,  information  could be accessed  bridging the global divide through the worldwide web, electronic mail, news group, electronic journals, electronic database, video conferences and lately Web 2.0 which gave rise to library 2.0. By way of consolidation many electronic  companies  namely  Google  books  are  transforming  the  already  existing  print resources  to digital formats  thereby demonstrating  their readiness  to displace  library and information professionals and what their operations and services stand for (Lewis 2007). The implication of these trends as noted by Thorhauga (2004) is that the routine associated with public services, cataloguing, collection development and searching are changing completely along  with  other  core  services  needed  to  service  customer’s  needs  in  libraries.  Many librarians  in  developed  countries  are  already  thinking  and  talking  in  electronic  terms, performing  and  operating  digitally.  In  Nigeria,  the  case  is  different,  most  librarians  in university libraries still lack competencies needed in this new ICT environment. Ekoja (2007) reasoned that this may be as a result of the nature of the professional training they received in years past and the failure of some of them to receive complementary training that will bridge the competency gap created by ICT.

Competency  according  to  Mansfield  (1999)  is  an  underlying  characteristic  of  a person   that   results   in   effective   or   superior   performance.   Rankin   (2002)   describes competencies  as definition  of skills  and behavior  that  organizations  expect  their  staff  to practice in their work place. He also explained that competencies represent the language of performance. They can articulate both the expected outcomes from individual’s efforts and the manner in which these activities are carried out. Makara (2002), explained that skills are knowledge of how a particular piece of work ought to be done, and competencies are abilities that a person possesses to be able to carry out a specific piece of work. The two terms are closely related concepts and are often used interchangeably. Skills and competencies usually refer to technical abilities and such abilities are obtained from some kind of training, which is often  conducted   in  a  formal   manner.  They  are  an  indispensable   component   in  the advancement of librarianship. Omekwu (2003) relates competencies to librarians’ knowledge of information source, access to technology, management, and ability to use this knowledge as basis for providing the highest level quality information services to their users. He went further  to  state  that  competencies  relates  to  skills,  attitudes  and  values  that  enable  a practitioner to work efficiently, be a good communicator, focus on continuing education or leaving throughout his career, demonstrate the value and remain flexible and positive in an ever changing environment. Thus, competency includes: what is known and understood about a subject in order to ensure successful performance on the job. For example, the knowledge and understanding of social and intellectual needs of a library’s client group, skill which are necessary to process this knowledge. An example of this is effective communication skills, appropriate attitudes and values which are exhibited in behavioral characteristics that impact the way knowledge  and skills are brought  to  bear  on the job. These are usually internal evolutions of what is considered important, such as the insistence on giving the best practices and beliefs have been challenged and in most cases wiped out.

There is a paradigm shift in the traditional role, purpose and operation of the library. The way information is made available and the way users wish to access it  have  changed. Scholarly  communication  has  been  transformed  and  the  issue  of  e-learning  manifest  to replace  the  commercial  publishing,  physical  teacher-student  interaction  respectively.  The academic community can be said to be ICT charged. Clienteles in these modern times can only prefer the library not only when there is internet connectivity, e-journal, e-books, online newspapers,  dissertations,  or when they  can download  them digitally.  But when they are being given the best type of professional services that proves librarians’ competency level with ICT that will enable them break research on real time. Librarians can only be relevant if their professional  proficiency is able to satisfy these ICT recreational  needs such as, the provision with social software like Face book, Blogs, Twitter, flickers, MySpace, YouTube and  others.  Librarians  may  then  have  a  need  to  migrate  from  the  traditional  library environment to the new environment created by information communication technology; and for this transition to be smooth, they will need some level of ICT competencies to  enable them settle professionally in the new environment they find themselves.

Statement of Problem

Traditionally  the  role  of  librarians  in  the  university  library  has  always  been  collection development, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information materials to users with the aim of satisfying  their information  needs. But the  application  of ICT and other related equipment in university libraries is increasingly becoming a determinant and major issue in the achievement of its major objectives. ICT  has risen because of the need to cope with the proliferation of information and  keeping pace with its handling, processing with greater  speed  and  accuracy.  ICT  has  tremendously  transformed  the  way  information  is gathered,  processed,  preserved,  accessed  and disseminated  to  the user community.  It has created  diversified  channels  for  access  and  distribution  of  information  and  knowledge,

collapsed the waiting time and has also provided librarians and their users with more tools in terms of information resources and access points.

Information   communication   technology   (ICT)   has   brought   with   it   so   great opportunities as well as sobering challenges for librarians. The traditional role of librarians as information professionals have been enhanced by ICT leaving more tools in their hands. They are now increasingly responsible not only to provide traditional library information services but also to deliver ICT related services according to the actual user needs and expectations. Librarians are under great pressure due to the increasing demands of achieving high level of performance in the areas of competencies, skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values with the use of ICT by users. This has also increased  their expectations when they visit the library. Besides,  most  of  them  already  possess   ICT  competency  for  themselves.   Contrarily, Akintunde  (2006) observed  that many  librarians  in Nigeria still operate in the traditional service  pattern  where  they  are  in  charge  in  main  service  points  such  as:  circulations, reference, serials, acquisition, cataloguing and document. Ugwu (2010) affirmed that out of experience that IT competencies in these libraries are still lacking. This situation has been of great concern to many writers and individuals (Nwachukwu, 2005; Edem, 2008; Anunobi,

2010). This concern is not that librarians in university libraries under this traditional setting are no longer providing the much desired services to their communities, but this stems from the  fact  that  many  librarians  in  these  libraries  in  Nigeria,  have  functioned  under  the traditional manual environment and information communication  technology forces are fast dictating  the  pattern  and  speed  of  their  services  delivery  both  internally  and  globally. Librarians  may  therefore  need  some  level  of   information  communication   technology competencies   to  function  as  competent   information   professionals   in  their   new  ICT environment.  This will enable them to  avoid the risk of obsolesce  and irrelevance  in the

scheme of things. The following question now emerge: what competencies  are needed  by librarians to enable them cope in this era of information communication technology?

This question definitely demands urgent investigation. If this is not done, there is the danger that librarians in these federal universities libraries, may not cope with the demands of current information services by users. This may also reduce their professional confidence and relevance especially in the new ICT environment which they found themselves.

Purpose of the Study

The broad purpose of the study is to examine ICT competencies needed by librarians in federal university libraries in south eastern Nigeria. Specifically, objectives of the study seek to:

1.   Find out competencies needed by librarians to enable them cope with ICT.

2.   Find out ICT competencies possessed by librarians in the library.

3    Identify methods librarians can acquire ICT competencies.

4     Determine problems hindering the acquisition of ICT competencies by librarians.

5      Find out strategies for enhancing the acquisition of ICT competencies by librarians.

Research Questions

The following research questions have been formulated to guide the study.

1.   What competencies are needed by librarians to enable them cope with ICT?

2. What ICT competencies are possessed by librarians?

3. What methods can be use by librarians to acquire ICT competencies?

4. What are the problems hindering the acquisition of ICT competencies by librarians?

5.  What  strategies  can  be  used  to  enhance  the  acquisition  of  ICT  competencies  by librarians?

Significance of the Study

This  study will  hopefully  be  of  great  benefit  to  all  library  managers,  librarians, aspiring librarians, researchers and library patrons in the following ways:

It  will  enable  library  managers  to  know  the  ICT  competencies  needed  by  their librarians in this electronic age to acquire process, organize, preserve, and make information available to patrons. It will expose them to existing gaps in their staff competence in turn help them to organize relevant training programmes to fill such gaps. Aside this, library managers through this work, will develop relevant ICT training policy generally for staff in other to ensure  continual  acquisition  of ICT  competency  by librarians.  Federal  university  library managers will significantly find it handy when searching for guide on staff recruitment policy in  the  area  of  ICT  competency  that  must  be  possessed  by  librarians  before  or  after recruitment.

To librarians, it will help to identify existing gaps in their individual competencies which  are  needed  to  restore  their  self-image,  professional  integrity  and  become  more proactive in global competitiveness in their new ICT environment.

It will enable aspiring librarians to become more familiar with the basic and advanced

ICT competencies needed for modern librarianship.

Researchers will develop more confidence in librarians in federal university libraries and become more attracted to better library services which will result to added value during research work.

Scope of the Study

This study will focus on ICT competencies needed by librarians in federal university libraries in south-eastern Nigeria. The study is limited to data collected  from  librarians in these  libraries  namely,  Nnamdi  Azikiwe  Library  of  the  University  of  Nigeria  Nsukka;

Michael Okpara  University Library of Agriculture  Umudike;  Nnamdi Azikiwe  University Library Akwa; Federal University of Technology Library, Owerri, all in federal universities in south-eastern Nigeria.

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