Extent of Utilization of Social Media in Rendering Library and Information Services by Librarians in University Libraries in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

A potent means to which librarians and libraries can optimize for their work and services as well as maintain their relevance is through a  medium like social media. Social media is a shift on how people discover, read and share news, information and content. This study is to determine the extent of utilization of social media in rendering library and information services by university librarians in south–south  Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted and the population for the study was five hundred and sixty-three (563)  librarians in south–south Nigeria. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the states to be studied based on specific characteristics or qualities which produced a sample size of 323 librarians. The proportionate sampling technique was used to ensure that  every member of the population was represented. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire of 27 questions  titled “Extent of utilization of social media in rendering library and information services by librarians in university libraries in south–south Nigeria”. The data collected was analyzed using arithmetic mean and standard deviation on statistical package on social  science (SPSS) to answer research questions. The findings of the study revealed that the use of Facebook and twitter in rendering library  and information services by librarians in university libraries is high. The researcher concluded from the findings of the study that the extent of use of Facebook and twitter in rendering library services by librarians in university libraries in south- south Nigeria is high. It  was recommended among other things that libraries need to be consistent in the use of social media platforms in rendering library  services as this will help the library to be easily accessible by patrons thereby st maintaining its relevance in this 21 century.