INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS ON THE USE OF INFORMATION RETRIEVAL TOOLS AMONG USERS IN SELECTED LIBRARIES IN NORTHERN, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study determined Influence of Information and Communication Technology on the Use of Information Retrieval Tools Among Users of selected Libraries in Northern, Nigeria. The study was guided by three (3) objectives and three (3) research questions. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and six thousand nine hundred and twelve (6,912) registered library users were used as target population. While, the sample size for the study was seven hundred and twelve (712) users drawn from the target population using Krejcie, and Morgan (1970) table for determining sample size. Systematic sampling technique was used to ascertain the respective sample of the study. Thus, 712 copies of questionnaire were distributed to respondents with 633 (88.9%) valid responses. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics (frequency counts and percentage scores), Findings indicated that types of Information Retrieval Tools available for users of selected libraries in northern Nigeria were Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), bibliographies, Library Management Systems (such as KOHA), indexes and abstracts, databases, search engines, internet search engines (including Google Scholar), and multimedia databases (comprising audio and video). However, meta search engines are not available. The level of used of information retrieval tools by users of selected libraries in northern Nigeria was high. The level of ICT skills among users of selected libraries in northern Nigeria was high. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Libraries should regularly survey users to improve services, update ICT training to match new technologies, and offer advanced training for users needing specialized skills.