INFLUENCE OF LIBRARY AUTOMATION TOOLS ON THE USAGE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES BY STUDENTS OFFERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the Influence of Library Automation Tools for Enhanced Usage of Information Resources by Students offering Entrepreneurship in Public Universities in Benue State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two objectives and two research questions. The researcher adopted ex-post-facto research design for the study. The study area was two public universities in Benue State- Joseph Sarwua Tarka University (JOSTUM) and Benue State University, now Rev. Fr Moses Orshio Adasu Unviversity. The total population of this study was 1, 078 students made up of 400 level undergraduate students offering entrepreneurship who are registered with the university libraries. A sample of 417 undergraduate students offering entrepreneurship in public universities in Benue State Nigeria. The sampling techniques are purposive and snowball. The instrument for data collection for the study was a self-structured questionnaire titled “Influence of Library Automation Tools Questionnaire” (ILATQ). The instrument for data collection was subjected to face and validation by 3 lecturers of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi. The instrument was trial tested on 30 respondents in Federal University, Lafia which was not part of the study area but have similar characteristics with that of the study area. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation to answer the five research questions. The findings of the study reveal that library automation is one of the key means of easing and enhancing information search strategies for entrepreneurship students. Automation helps students acquire the knowledge and skills required for effective information searching. It also improves information retrieval among entrepreneurship students. In addition, the Integrated Library Management System (ILMS) speeds up information search and the retrieval of library resources. Automation tools further enhance storage space management in public  universities in Benue State,Nigeria. The study concluded that library automation is a vital tool in academic libraries for meeting the information needs of students offering entrepreneurship in public universities in Benue State Nigeria.