Back to Journal

Home»Articles»Library Orientation and Information Literacy Skills as Correlates of Scholarly Research of Postgraduate Students of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

JournalCover

Indian Journal of Information Sources and Services (IJISS)

Editor Dr.K.S. Shivraj
Print ISSN : 2231-6094
Frequency : Quarterly

Library Orientation and Information Literacy Skills as Correlates of Scholarly Research of Postgraduate Students of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

Author : Pelemo, Grace Dolapo, Onanuga, Ayotola O, Ilori, Olufemi O, Ugbala, Chukwuemeka Peter
Volume 10 No.1 January-June 2020 pp 40-47

Abstract

This study focused on library orientation, information literacy skills as correlate of scholarly research of postgraduate students at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. The university has ten colleges with various departments. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all 1,361 postgraduates in Diploma, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy from the ten (10) colleges in the institution. Out of the population, 900 postgraduates were randomly selected using purposive sampling technique, while data were collected using questionnaire. Findings of the study revealed that there is no library orientation programme for postgraduates at FUNAAB, while the only form of information literacy available to them is the use of computer course. It was also found that information literacy skills of postgraduate are still low given that majority of them either cannot access the library’s online catalogue or its electronic databases without assistance. The study therefore concluded that library orientation and information literacy skills are essential for postgraduate’s quality research output and recommends for inclusion of library orientation, information literacy and any other user education programmes into postgraduate curriculum. Also, seminars and workshops on the online catalogue and electronic databases for research should equally be periodically organised for postgraduate students.

Keywords

Library orientation, information literacy, postgraduate students, scholarly research

Full Text:

References

  1. Abubakar, D. and Adetimirin, A. (2016). Postgraduate students’ use of e-resources in Nigerian university libraries: What is the influence of user education? Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice, 4(3), 43–56. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1633/JISTaP.2016.4.3.3
  2. Abubakar, D. and Cholom, K. M. (2017). Relationship of user education, computer literacy and information and communication technology accessibility and use of e-resources by postgraduate students in Nigerian university libraries
  3. Adeyoyin, S. O. (2011). Library and Information Resources Management: The beginners’ text. Abeokuta: Eagle Publishers
  4. American Library Association (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy: final report. Washington: ALA. Retrieved November,2017from: http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whis/presidential.cfm
  5. Bruce, C. (2003) Seven faces of information literacy: Towards inviting students into new experiences. Retrieved from Http://www.bestlibrary.org/digital /files/bruce.pdf
  6. Hof, S. V., Sluijs, J., Asamoah-Hassan, H. & Aguen-Gyasi, K. (2010). Information literacy training in an African context: Case study of information literacy course development at KNUST in Kumasi, Ghana. Royal Tropical Institute. KIT working paper series
  7. Igbo, U. H. & Imo, N. T. (2010). Challenges of accessibility of information resources by the post-graduate library users of a Nigerian university. The Information Technologist: An International Journal of Information and Communication Technology. 7 (2), 1-12
  8. Kerns, S. C. (2002). Information literacy instruction: theory and practice. J Med Library Association. 90 (3), 351. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC116414/
  9. Lertputtarak, S. (2008). An investigation of factors related to research productivity in a public University in Thailand: A Case Study” A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education, School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. [Online] vailable: http://wallaby.vu.edu.au/adt-VVUT/uploads/approved/adt UT20080711.120505/public/01front.pdf
  10. Lock, S. (2003). Information skills in higher education. Retrievedfromhttp://www.sconul.ac.uk/group/informationliteracy    /paper/seven.pillars.html
  11. Madhusudhan, Margam, and Poonam Singh. (2010). “A multimedia-based library orientation programme at Dyal Singh College Library, New Delhi.” Library Review 59, No.6, pp. 43 0-44. http://dx.doi.Org/10.l 108/00242531011053940.
  12. Madu, E.C. and Dike, V. W. (2012). An assessment of the relationship between information competencies and academic productivity amongst staff in Nigerian universities in north Central geographical zone. Retrieved from       http://www.cisjournals.org
  13. Menou, M. J. (2002). Information literacy in national information and communication technology (ICT) polices: The missed dimension, information culture. White paper prepared for UNESCO, the U.S national Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the national forum on information literacy, for use at the information literacy meeting of experts. Prague, the Czech Republic.
  14. Nwosu, O. C., Obiamalu, A. R. & Udem, O. K. (2015). Relationship between information literacy and research output of academic staff in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. Journal of Applied information Science and Technology, 8 (1), 89 – 108.
  15. Okiki, O. C. & Mabawonku, I. (2013). Impact of information literacy skills on academic staff research productivity in Nigerian Federal Universities. Information and Knowledge Management, 3 (2), 9-18. Retrieved from http://www.iiste.org.
  16. Okpala, H.N., Benneh, E.A., Sefu, A. and Kalule, E. (2017). Advancing the information literacy skills of postgraduate students in University of Nigeria. Journal of Applied Information Science and Technology, 10 (2), 163 – 181.
  17. Omeluzor, S. U., Bamidele, I. A., Onuoha, U. D. & Alarape, A. A. (2013). Information literacy skills among postgraduate students at Babcock University, Nigeria. International Journal of Innovative Research Management, 12 (2), 1–19.
  18. Raja, A. Y., Raja, A.I. & Kamaruzuman, J. (2011). Achieving excellence through information literacy as part of innovative curriculum. International Referred Journal. Retrieved from www.researchersworld.com 2.1, 1-6.
  19. Ranaweera, P. (2008). Importance of information literacy skills for an information literate society. In proceedings Retrieved from http://eprints.rclis.org/archive/0001416/pdf.
  20. Suleiman, S. A. (2012). User education programs in academic libraries: the experience of the International Islamic University Malaysia students. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/ali.pdf.
  21. Tan, S., Gorman, G. & Singh, D. (2012). Information literacy /competencies among school librarians in Malaysia. LIBRI: International Journal of Libraries and Information Services. 62 (1). 98-107.
  22. Tilvawala, K., Myers, M. D. & Andrade, A.D. (2009). Information literacy in Kenya. The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries. 39(1),1-11. Retrievedfromhttp://www.ejisdc.org/ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/viewFile/613/296.
  23. Walsh, J. (2008). Effects of library orientation on student’s usage of library. Library Hi Tech News, 1, 27–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07419050810877535.
The Research Publication