Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Facilities and Skills Level of Library Staff of Universities in Benue State

Abstract

The library is at the centre of academic activities in every university. It is being transformed from the traditional operations to a service organization with the use of information and communication technology facilities. In this study, the researchers x-rayed ICT facilities and the skills level of the staff in the three universities in Benue state. Survey design was employed and questionnaire instrument used to obtain information from a population of 195 respondents in the three universities. Out of the 195 questionnaire distributed, 134 questionnaire items were returned which were analysed using percentages and mean scores to answer research questions while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis at 0.5 level of significance. It was discovered that, ICT facilities were found in greater number in the Federal university of Agriculture followed by the state university, Benue state university. Possesion of ICT skills by staff of the universities also differ in line with the size of the institution as is the case with facilities above. A paucity of the resources was therefore found available in the private university, University of Mkar. The paper recommends that, the university of Mkar particularly should be assisted by government and private donor agencies and public spirited individuals and that, each of the universities should make efforts to improve in line with its users’ needs but not to allow itself to be driven into unhealthy competition to meet up with another.