Abstract
The study examined the application of information and communication technology (ICT) facilities to reference service delivery in some selected tertiary institutions in Kano state. The study employed qualitative research design using interview as a tool for data collection and it was conducted with the heads of reference section of the libraries under study. Four research objectives were formulated as thus: To identify the types of reference and information services provided in the institutions under study; to identify the type of ICT facilities used in provision of reference and information service in the institutions under study; to identify the various reference and information services provided using ICTs in the institutions under study, and to identify the challenges facing the library in using ICT facilities in the provision of reference and information services. The findings revealed that the reference sections of the libraries under study offer different types of reference and information services such as current awareness service (CAS), selective dissemination of information Service (SDI), literature searching service, photocopying service, display of new arrival service, user education service, indexing service, abstracting services, referral services, printing services, Library orientation service, group presentation service (Slide display), Video display service, Reference digital desk service, E-mailing service, and up-loading service. The findings further showed that the libraries apply different ICT facilities such as computers, internet service, CD ROM, photocopiers, printers, GSM telephones, online databases, off-line databases, projectors, smart multimedia boards, radio, web blog, e-mail and Library in a flash to provide various reference and information services to users. The challenges revealed by the study are: electricity problems, cost of subscriptions to databases and slow network, among others.Keywords: Reference, Information Service, ICT Facilities, Library
Highlights
The study examined the application of information and communication technology (ICT) facilities to reference service delivery in some selected tertiary institutions in Kano state
Four research objectives were formulated as : To identify the types of reference and information services provided in the institutions under study; to identify the type of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities used in provision of reference and information service in the institutions under study; to identify the various reference and information services provided using ICTs in the institutions under study, and to identify the challenges facing the library in using ICT facilities in the provision of reference and information services
The findings revealed that the reference sections of the libraries under study offer different types of reference and information services such as current awareness service (CAS), selective dissemination of information Service (SDI), literature searching service, photocopying service, display of new arrival service, user education service, indexing service, abstracting services, referral services, printing services, Library orientation service, group presentation service (Slide display), Video display service, Reference digital desk service, E-mailing service, and up-loading service
Summary
The study employed qualitative research design using interview as a method of data collection. The design was appropriate for this study due to the number of participant involved in the study. Shuttleworth and Wilson (2008) maintained that qualitative research is often more practicable when sample sizes are small. If a large number of participants cannot be secured for a quantitative study, the few available participants can be better understood with in-depth interviews. It is in this regard that researcher adopted this design in this study.
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