The Role Of Information And Communication Technology In The Dissemination Of Information In Abia State E-Library, Umuahia:- Nkemjika Friday C

Abstract ix This work is on the role ofinformation and communication technology (ICT) in the dissemination ofinformation in Abia State e-Library. The historical background ofAbia State e-Library which is the area ofthe study was reviewed, and it covers both the library staffand users. The objectives ofthe study was tofind out the ICTs availablefor the dissemination ofinformation, determine the extent ofthe use ofthese ICTs available for dissemination ofinformation, ascertain the role of these ICTs in dissemination ofinformation, find out the effect ofthe use ofICTs in dissemination ofinformation, discover challengesfacing the use ofICT in dissemination of information, and proffer strategies ofsolving the challengesfacing the use ofICT in dissemination ofinformation in Abia State e-Library. Research questions were formulated based on these objectives. Various concepts were defined, and empiricalstudies were also reviewed and the reviewed literature were summarized. The research designfor this study was descriptive survey. The area ofthe study was Abia State, Nigeria. The population of the study was one hundred and thirty-five (135). This comprised ofthree (3) professional librarians, seven (7) library assistants and one hundred and twenty-five (125) library users. The entire population was usedfor the study as it is a manageable population, there is no sampling technique for this study as it adopts a complete census. The instruments for data collection were questionnaire and observation checklist. The researcher personally administrated the copies ofthe questionnaire to the respondents and collected after a period ofthree days, data obtained was analyzed to find answers to research questions, each of the six research questions was analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation. The research found out that there more than three hundred computer system and other facilities for the exploration ofthe information resources in the libraries database and also on the internet and that the 1C T resources available in Abia State e-Library are used regularly by the library users. The researcher alsofound out that some of the major challenges ofthe utilization ofthese resources is that some of the library users who are computer illiterates fine it difficult to use these ICT resources effectively, inadequate funding and power supply, and also inexperience library staff. Following the findings ofthe study, the following conclusions were made by the researcher; ICT resources and the equipment for exploring them are available in the library, these resources are c//c’i tix el) used by the user of Iibrary. The study also stated the roles and the impact ofICT in the dissemination of information in the e-Library. The researcher recommended that the library should acquire new electronic devices which the users can easily access without any difficulties, library staff should be trained on the maintenance and handling of ICT equipment that are available in the library, users should be educated on how use e-resources, recruitment Oj electronic librarians/experts by the library’ board.