Library staff knowledge of information and communication technology skills for digitisation of information resources in federal universities in South East Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined library staff in the federal universities in South East, Nigeria to find out their knowledge of ICT skills for digitisation of information resources. Five research questions guided the study. The research design adopted for the study was descriptive survey design. The population for this study comprised 287 professional and paraprofessional library staff in the five federal universities in South East Nigeria. The instrument used for the study was a test of ICT skills designed by the researcher based on literature review and expert opinion. Data were analyzed, simple percentages were used to answer the research questions. The study revealed that majority of the library staff in Federal University libraries in South East Nigeria have good knowledge of computer skills for digitization. On the other hand, majority of the library staff have poor knowledge of scanning, editing, document analysis and archival skills. The study concludes therefore, that library staff do not have knowledge of all the ICT skills required for digitization and strongly recommends training to strengthen knowledge of ICT skills of library staff in order to improve their abilities for managing digital resources.

Keywords: Library staff, Knowledge, ICT skills, Digitization, Metadata, University Libraries