APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN TECHNICAL SERVICES OF POLYTECHNIC LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA

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Author

Presented To

Department of Education

ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to assess the application of ICT in the Technical Services Sections of Polytechnic Libraries in Nigeria. Thus, the study tried to discover, among others, the types of ICT facilities available in the Technical Services Sections of Nigerian Polytechnic Libraries, routine operations in Technical Services Sections of Nigerian Polytechnic Libraries, where ICTs are applied, extent of the relevance of ICT in executing routine tasks in Technical Services Sections of Nigerian Polytechnics Libraries and effects of ICT application in stock management in the Nigerian Polytechnic Libraries. To achieve the objectives of the study, eight research questions were formulated. The study adopted survey research method which allowed the collection of data through questionnaire and use of sample. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of frequency count and percentages. The data collected were interpreted and analyzed to arrive at the findings of the study. The study discovered among others that, the types of ICT facilities available in Technical Services Sections of Nigerian Polytechnic Libraries included computer, scanner/printer, Internet, website, local area network/ Intranet, CD-ROM player and, telephone. However, from observation, it was found that some of these ICT devices were not all installed in the Technical Services Sections of Polytechnic libraries but were available within the polytechnic. The data collected revealed that computers were adequate as recorded in the responses of 69(56.6%) respondents, while Internet, library website and local area network, were not adequate from the responses of 66(54.1%),71(58.2%), and 60(49.2%) respectively. It assessed the routine jobs in Technical Services Sections of Polytechnic Libraries where ICT were applied. The data on this indicated that the main use of computer in Technical Services Sections of Nigerian Polytechnic Libraries is in cataloguing, duplicate verification, classification and classification verification. While the least use of ICT as discovered was in budget allocation to subject or items in the Technical Services Sections of Nigerian polytechnic libraries as recorded in responses of 3(2.5%), 6(4.9%), 6(4.9%), 0(0.0%), and 3(2.6%) respondents respectively. It concluded that ICT has revolutionalized library and information services. ICT has developed to such a stage that it has given access to information at fingertips. The study recommended that variety of ICT facilities should be made available in Technical Services Sections of Nigerian Polytechnic Libraries to enable them catch up with advances in technology, which can help to increase the opportunities available for competitions by improving on information management capacity of the libraries. Internet and other social networking platforms make it possible for more widespread sharing and collaborative use of information. Text retrieval systems, document management systems and a host of other ICT tools used in knowledge management have created opportunities for libraries and users alike