Usage of Social Media Tools by Library and Information Professionals (LIPs) in selected Academic Libraries in South-West, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the awareness and use of social media tools by Library and Information Professionals (LIPs) in selected academic libraries in South-west, Nigeria and the challenges they face in the use of social media technologies. Descriptive survey was adopted for this study. The population of the study comprised 217 library and information professionals from 10 selected academic libraries in south-west, Nigeria. A total enumeration technique was used to cover all the library and information professionals, 136 respondents filled and returned the questionnaire, given a response rate of 62.7%. The questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. The findings show that majority of LIPs possessed a high level of awareness in the use of social media tools. The study also revealed that social network tools were highly used by LIPs in the academic libraries studied and the types of social media used by LIPs was also revealed. The major challenges faced in the use of social media include inadequate power supply, lack of Internet access and time constraints. The paper recommended that to enhance the use of social media by LIPs, there is need for constant awareness of the importance of social media tools to LIPs and libraries in effective service delivery, LIPs should be ready to learn, unlearn and be learned in the use of social media and University libraries should provide enabling environment such as Internet connectivity, power supply and policy to guide LIPs in social media usage.