1.1 Introduction
The use of ICT has the potential to radically alter our very social structure and mode of operation, and this social change will in turn force our educational institutions to react and change as well. With respect to the role of technology in higher education, Shields (2000) broke down the socio-technological movements into three stages. The first stage, the first personal computing movement of the early to mid –1980s spawned the second, the networking of the late 1980s to mid-1990s; the latter, in turn envisions the rise of virtual universities during the 2000s (Rosemberg, 2001).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Information resources are one of the products that define libraries in terms of what they stand for. In a normal situation, the types of information resources in a library are relatively directed at the category of users they are expected to serve. Library information resources are the information bearing materials that are either in print or non-print format. They include CD-ROM, textbooks, journals, OPAC, online databases, serials, Internet resources among others. In a university, the information resources housed or provided by the university library are meant to support the teaching, learning and research activities of the university, and undergraduates constitute a greater percentage of students in most universities. This was reiterated by Maxwell (2018) who opined that in any discipline, the backbone of teaching, learning and research is information resources. Thus, beyond the classroom, undergraduates are expected to utilise information resources provided by the library in complementing classroom instructions, especially in this age of globalisation where ICTs facilitate quick and easy access to a wide range of information resources worldwide.
The provision and use of ICT is part and parcel of the entire system; including undergraduates, information professionals, staff, and researchers. It is one thing to recognise the importance of ICTs and another to know if they are effectively used by students. If ICTs were to be effectively applied directly or indirectly on the utilisation of information resources, skills are required. In this regard, Israel and Edesiri (2013) stated that ICT skill is one essential requirement for one to operate in the knowledge society of the 21st Century.
Ukaegbu and Wegwu (2019) citing Quadri (2012) described ICT skills as the abilities for the collection, effective processing, storing, transmitting and the dissemination of information which enables the use of computers and related technologies to meet personal academic and labour market objectives. ICT skills of a student is a relative measure of the student‘s capacity to make appropriate use of ICT for educational and learning purposes, this is because, ICT skills are required to critically evaluate information content and explore it effectively, as well as understanding the technological infrastructure on which information transmission is based (Oliver & Tower, 2000).
Therefore, in Edo State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Mobile Internet Device as Determinants of the Utilization of Library Resources by Undergraduate Students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
The main problem of this study is under utilization of library information resources by undergraduates. The role of the university library is to provide information resources such as textbooks, Internet resources, OPAC, online databases, CD- ROM among others, that will support teaching curriculum and to assist students in complementing classroom instructions for academic excellence. The university libraries under study are making effort to regularly update their information resources through acquisition of print materials, electronic resources, and subscription to online databases as well as providing access to these information resources through the library catalogue/OPAC as well as Internet access in the library. However, observation has shown that students do not make effective use of the information resources in these libraries.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to assess the Mobile Internet Device as Determinants of the Utilization of Library Resources by Undergraduate Students in Edo State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to:
- Find out the types of mobile resources available for undergraduate students’ use
- Evaluate the extent to which the undergraduates make use of the mobile sources of information
- Find out the frequency of usage of mobile resources by the undergraduates
- Find out the benefits being derived by the undergraduates from the use of mobile information resources;
- Ascertain the purpose for which the undergraduates use the mobile resources; and
- Investigate the factors that hinder the use of mobile resources by the undergraduate students
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Does gender significant influence utilization of information resources among undergraduates?
- Does academic level of students significantly influence utilization of information resources?
- Does age has significant influence utilization of information resources among undergraduates?
- What are the types of mobile resources available for undergraduate students’ use?
- What is the extent to which the undergraduate students make use of mobile sources of information?
- What is the frequency of usage of mobile resources by the undergraduates?
- What benefits do the undergraduates derive from the use of mobile information resources in the library?
- What is the purpose for which the undergraduates use the mobile resources?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
- H0: There is no significant relationship between ICT skills and library mobile information resources utilization among undergraduates
- H1: There is a significant relationship between ICT skills and library mobile information resources utilization among undergraduates
1.7 Significance of Study
The result of this study may be beneficial to the government (policy makers, individuals), universities, library and library users. It may enable the policy makers to formulate appropriate policies that may enhance the type of information resources to be donated or bought for the library. It may also help government to be aware of current trends in the library sector and work towards achieving its goal and maintaining the standards of the library.
It is equally expected that the result of this study may help the university to provide adequate fund for sustaining library services. It may also increase value, that is, quantity and quality of information resources available to staff, students and individual users, thereby supporting the mission of each institution. This as well may help library users and staff to have knowledge of what is available in academic libraries and what is expected in the libraries. And create more opportunities for library users through user education and other skills development opportunities.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Mobile Internet Device as Determinants of the Utilization of Library Resources by Undergraduate Students in Edo State
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
