KNOWLEDGE SHARING PLATFORMS EMPLOYED BYACADEMIC LIBRARIANS IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN KADUNA STATE

Abstract

Reliable knowledge sharing platforms plays an important role on simplifying knowledge sharing practices of organizations such as university libraries. Hence, it has been viewed as the main enabler of knowledge sharing due to the changing nature of the universe. However, this research sought answers to the following questions: To what extent do academic librarians share knowledge in the university libraries in Kaduna state, What are the knowledge sharing platforms employed by academic librarians in the university libraries under study and what are the inhibitors to employing knowledge sharing platforms among academic librarians in the university libraries under study ?. The study adopted the quantitative research approach which emanates from the positivists school of thought. The target population of the study was focused on the entire population of 172 academic librarians of the four (4) university libraries in Kaduna state using the total enumeration sampling scale. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire and the data collected was analyzed using Statistical Product Service Solution (SPSS). However, the findings of the study revealed that: There is a high extent to which knowledge sharing is been practiced by the respondents, workshop, seminar, conferences, and on the job training were the major platforms employed by academic librarians for knowledge sharing and insufficient funds as the major inhibitor to employing reliable knowledge sharing platforms among academic librarians in the university libraries. Hence, it is concluded that a greater percentage of the respondents absolutely employ reliable platforms for knowledge sharing. Hence, the researcher recommends that the library management should be sending academic librarians to workshops, seminars and conferences on knowledge sharing topics as this would positively reshape their mindset which would in turn slice away so many inhibitors to employing reliable knowledge sharing platforms.