The State of ICT in University Libraries in South Eastern Nigeria

The work surveyed eight university libraries in southeastern Nigeria to determine their state of ICT application including the availability of the hardware, software, e-resources and their challenges. A tenitem questionnaire was designed and distributed to the surveyed libraries. Most of the libraries have above average ICT literate professional staff but very low ICT literate non professional. The first computers acquired were used for document processing and till date most of the libraries have not advanced into other uses. Many of the Libraries especially the state funded have no Internet, or LAN workstation but each of the library can boast of standalone computers. Library software, network operating systems and LAN are conspicuously absent in most of the libraries. Though a few of the libraries subscribe to online electronic resources such as EBSCOhost, Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) , Health Internetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), Online Access to Research in the Environment and The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL), most of their electronic resources are predominately on CD-ROM. They face series of challenges including poor funding ; unskilled manpower ; ignorance of the location / availability of ICT and its application; ICT avert of library and university management and infrastructural problems. Recommendations were made based on the findings. Samaru Journal of Information Studies Vol. 8 (1) 2008: pp. 35-43