Investigating the information needs of sandwich and part-time students of two Public universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the information needs and impediments to access to information among the sandwich and parttime students of two public universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The two universities are Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED). Questionnaires were used to gather data from 4999 respondents out of 5075 students sampled. The study identified that both male and female pursue part-time/sandwich courses for one reason or another. Their courses of study cut across Arts, Education, Social Sciences, Sciences, and Applied Sciences; and their information needs relate mainly to their studies and other socio-economic issues. The information format preference of the students is both print and non-print. However, their institutional libraries fall short of meeting their information needs due to some problems, prominent among which are inadequate library facilities, and inadequate ICT and library use skill. The study recommended that the universities should recognize the right of their students to access accurate information in the desired formats; provision of practical oriented ICT and library use skill; subscription to electronic resources for the use of staff and students and review of the students’ study packs.

Keywords: Information needs, information seeking, sandwich/part-time, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Nigeria