Application of social media to library service delivery: Perception of Library and Information Science practitioners in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the use of social media among Library  and Information Science practitioners in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria. Four specific objectives with 4 corresponding research questions guided the study. The research design used was a descriptive survey with researcher-made rating  scale used for data collection. Population of the study was 154 made up of 75  professional librarians and 79 library officers. A sample size of 154 respondents  was used. A total of 131 copies of the instrument out of 154 administered were  retrieved and analyzed. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard  deviation. The study revealed that few of the social media identified are rarely  relevant to library service delivery. Reference services, current awareness services, and library news postings were the types of library services that social media are applied. Results also indicated that there were benefits derived from using social media in library service delivery. In spite of the numerous benefits derivable from using social media, low bandwidth/slow internet connectivity among other  challenges were discovered as limiting the effective utilization of social media.  Based on the result of the study, recommendations were made for sensitization of library staff on relevance of social media to library service delivery and integration of other social media not in use to the delivery of library services, including proper and adequate planning for full integration of social media to library and information service delivery.

Keywords: Information, Service, Science, Professionals, Library, Practitioners,  Service, Social Media