Information literacy programmes in Nigeria: a survey of 36 university libraries

Information literacy programmesin Nigeria: a survey of 36

university librariesEmmanuel E. Baro and Timi Zuokemefa

The Library, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to examine the various information literacy (IL) practices inuniversity libraries in Nigeria, to identify the likely barriers facing information literacy programmes inNigeria, and to provide suggestions on how best to improve the IL practices.

Design/methodology/approach – Librarians from 36 university libraries participated in thesurvey which adopted an online method.

Findings – The study revealed that university libraries in Nigeria were found to be engaging indifferent information literacy (IL) practices ranging from library tour/orientations sessions tointroductory information skills, database searching skills, bibliographic training and use of thelibrary. Barriers such as lack of interest by students, teachers, and management, inadequate humanresources to handle IL training, lack of facilities, low acceptance of online IL delivery approach andabsence of IL policy were identified as factors militating against librarians’ efforts when advocatingand providing IL programmes in university libraries in Nigeria.

Practical implications – The study will inform librarians or library administrators in developingcountries who want to train users on information literacy skills in order to facilitate full exploitation ofinformation resources and services in their libraries.

Originality/value – The paper describes information literacy practices in university libraries inNigeria. The findings may be of help to librarians who want to improve on their IL programmes inuniversity libraries in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Keywords Information literacy, University libraries, Nigeria, Academic libraries, Skills training

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionAs public access to information becomes increasingly sophisticated, the need forinformation literacy skills become valuable for the day-to-day decision making, as wellas in formal learning. The ability to use libraries and information sources, both printand electronic, is becoming an integral part of undergraduate study in Nigeria.Information literacy according to Armstrong et al. (2005, p. 2) is:

[. . .] knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, useand communicate it in an ethical manner.

Information literacy is defined by the AmericaN Library Association (2004, p.1) as:

[. . .] a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and havethe ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

People who recognize their own need for good information, and who have the skills toidentify, access, evaluate, synthesize and apply the needed information are thusinformation literate.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

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Received 1 June 2011Reviewed 12 July 2011

New Library WorldVol. 112 No. 11/12, 2011

pp. 549-565q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0307-4803DOI 10.1108/03074801111190428

The information literate person is defined according to a range of attributes, which,once acquired, facilitate the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skillsand motivate students to learn throughout life (Lloyd, 2006). It is essential for Nigeriangraduates in this information technology age to develop the skills of independentinformation searching, evaluating and utilizing all available sources of information.Information literacy programmes can inculcate good principles in the fundamentalskills of information use in the knowledge society. Information literacy has beenredefined to take account of the demands of the knowledge society conceptualizedwithin lifelong learning. The focus broadened from just acquiring the skills andunderstandings for success in academic settings to developing those required acrossthe lifespan, including both professional and citizenship dimensions (George et al.,2001).

The ultimate goal of a comprehensive information literacy programme is toinculcate in the individual the ability to recognize when information is required and toteach them to understand how the information is organized, and how to access it. Moststudents in Nigerian universities have been found to lack the sophisticated skills thatare needed to exploit the university libraries information resources both print andonline (Baro and Fyneman, 2009). The main objective of this study is to investigate towhat extent university libraries in Nigeria are providing information literacyprogrammes to equip students with the necessary skills.

Literature reviewTheoretical frameworks on information literacySeveral frameworks and models have been developed on information literacy indifferent countries. Some of them are: “Information literacy competency standards forhigher education” by the American Library Association (2004); Council of AustralianUniversity Librarians (CAUL) (2001); Library and Information Association of NewZealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) (Bundy, 2004); the Standing Conference of National andUniversity Libraries (SCONUL, 1999); and The National Institute of Library& Information Science (NILIS) (Wijetunge and Alahakoon, 2005).

Information literacy programmesSalisbury and Ellis (2003) reported that there is no doubt that the information literacyinterventions in the different subjects contributed to a substantial improvement ininformation skills. Similarly, Secker and Macrae-Gibson (2011) in their study on theimpact of IL programmes pointed out that student confidence on finding publishedliterature was 2.9 percent before attending the programme and after the programmebecame 4.5 percent, on searching the internet was 2.85 percent and after theprogramme became 4.3 percent. Information literacy programmes no doubt equipstudents with the skills to find, evaluate and manage the information they need fortheir academic work. Similarly, Kuh and Gonyea (2003) reported on the effects ofinformation literacy programmes on attracting and retaining students. Lloyd (2006, p.580) commented that:

[. . .] if we accept that information literate people have a deep connection with theirinformation environment and through this connection are enriched, enabled and embodied,we begin to focus on the nature of information literacy as a way of knowing through learningto engage with the landscapes which constitute our working, educational and everyday lives.

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It is becoming an increasingly strategic issue that universities now place emphasis onlearning and teaching methods that will deliver the skills students need to becomeemployable after graduation from the university. Emphasizing the relevance of ILprogrammes, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2002, p. 2) in UKreported that “the student will have the ability to gather and analyze relevantinformation from a wide variety of sources using appropriate manual and electronicsystems.”

Writing on “the current status of teaching and fostering information literacy inTAFE,” Fafeita (2006) reported that librarians at the Technical and Further Education(TAFE) sector in Australia are providing a wide variety of training, ranging fromintroductory to advanced level searching skills that generally resemble library skills orinformation literacy skills. According to the author, training is predominantly deliveredthrough face-to-face methods in library training rooms. Fafeita (2006) identified barrierslibrarians at the TAFE face when advocating or providing information literacyprogrammes as including insufficient resources, TAFE management, teachers, timeconstraints and students’ attitudes towards IL programmes. Szarina et al. (2006, p. 11)concluded in their study that “students who have attended a one semester compulsoryinformation skills course and library orientation for new students have higher meanscores at the advanced and intermediate levels than those who have not.”

In a bid to foster development of information literacy in Malaysia, the Malaysianauthorities aimed to ensure that university graduates are IT literate in line with thegovernment’s effort to modernize the Malaysian work-force through IT training, andthat IT will be used as an approach to literacy learning with the emphasis ondeveloping information literate people and knowledge workers enabled by IT (Edzan,2008). Basri (2003) conducted an empirical study to look at the training needs of theusers of three public university libraries in Malaysia with regard to electronicresources. His respondents differed considerably in their abilities to use electronicresources and he concluded that there is need to design a training programme thatwould address these differences. The study revealed that, the library’s most favoureddelivery modes of instruction was classroom lectures with hands-on, library workshopwith hands-on, one-on-one training and printed guides. The study revealed thatstudents indicated the one-on-one training mode as their favourite, followed bycomputer-assisted instruction for the students.

Fafeita (2005) in a study on information literacy practices conducted amonglibrarians employed in the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) in Australiarevealed that librarians are providing programmes that focus on the training ofinformation skills relating to the use of libraries, the internet and databases. Similarly,Corrall’s (2007) survey of strategic engagement with information literacy inuniversities in UK revealed that information literacy teaching is embedded within75 percent of the undergraduate and postgraduate taught course curricula and the aimis to achieve 100 percent penetration.

Information literacy interventions in AfricaLwehabura and Stilwell(2008) reported that the acquisition of adequate IL knowledgeand skills among information users is a fundamental issue because competentinformation users are empowered and enabled to become competitive in usinginformation in the global information age. Through IL, information users also acquire


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lifelong learning skills. Ojedokun (2007) asserted that information literacy has not beenaccorded its position in the higher education curricula in Africa. According to.Ojedokun, (2007, p. 9), “information literacy skills acquired, especially during thetertiary education training, are very useful for knowledge-based development andlifelong learning, even long after they would have left school”. Rasaki (2008) in hiscomparative study of credit earning information literacy skills courses of three Africanuniversities revealed that only little emphasis is placed on computer and technologyskills at Federal University of Technology, Akure and Lagos State University all inNigeria. The reason given is that courses are out-of-date, and were created when theemphasis was mainly on library literacy.

Baro (2011) conducted a study on information literacy education in library schoolsin Africa to ascertain whether librarianship is taking the leading role in thedevelopment of information literacy in the universities. The study revealed that onlyfew library schools have successfully integrated an information literacy course as astand-alone course in their curriculum. Problems such as lack of personnel andfacilities were mentioned in that study as obstacles to the integration of IL course in thecurriculum. Agyen-Gyasi (2008) in his study identified some problems facing the usereducation programme at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology(KNUST) Library Ghana. They are students’ apathy to user-education programmes,lack of personnel in the libraries, training need of librarians, irregular internetconnectivity and financial constraints.

Similarly, Sitima-Ndau (2010) reported on the information literacy programme atthe Chancellor College, University of Malawi that the library’s information literacyprogramme equipped students with sufficient skills, but facilities to surf the internetare too limited. The author observed that many students are not adequately computerliterate when they started their studies at Chancellor College. Other problems such aselectricity failure, service charges for using the internet were identified. However, theauthor added that majority of the students were happy with the content and delivery oflibrary, information and internet skills courses. This may be why Baro and Asaba(2010), in their study on “Internet connectivity in university libraries in Nigeria”, statedthat for university libraries to deliver effective and efficient services to its clientsincluding information literacy programmes, they must all have stable internetconnectivity in their libraries.

Writing on the “user education programme at the University of Ghana” Dennis(2004) identified inadequate number of qualified staff to instruct students duringorientation, and inadequate time allocated to the programme as some of the challengesfacing the programme. Similarly, Dadzie (2007) in her study on “information literacy:assessing the readiness of Ghanaian universities” identified a number of problemshindering the implementation of IL programmes at university of Ghana and Universityof Cape Coast. They are lack of university commitment to the project, inadequateinformation about what IL is, unwillingness of the various departments alreadyhandling components of the IL programmes to collaborate with each other to form acampus-wide project, unwillingness to accept innovations in curricula planning,inadequate technological infrastructure/computers, inadequate electronic resourcesand inadequate human resources.

In like manner, Lwehabura (2008) identified a number of factors hindering the ILdelivery in Tanzania universities. They are lack of clear IL policy, inadequate time, the

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teaching of IL as a stand-alone course on a voluntary basis and non-involvement ofteaching staff. Similarly, Lwehabura and Stilwell (2008) pointed out that, to a largeextent, IL instruction is weak in terms of its effectiveness in imparting IL knowledgeand skills in Tanzania. Among the reasons given are

. there is no dedicated IL policy to guide IL practice;

. there is a lack of awareness among students about the IL instruction sessions;

. instruction sessions are affected by time constraints because IL is not allocatedofficial time university academic timetables;

. attendance by students is voluntary and as a result not all students takeadvantage of the sessions that are in place;

. there is lack of resources such as computers and CD-ROMs to supporthands-on-practice; and

. information skills sessions are not integrated into the curriculum.

Kavulya (2003) observed that there is failure on the part of librarians to push IL to the foreas a function of the university library. Somi and De Jager (2005) in their study revealed thatwhile there is some evidence that the University of Fort Hare Library in Ghana is engagingin information literacy activities, students still have difficulty in finding, criticallyevaluating and using information. In South Africa, the Library and InformationAssociation of South Africa (LIASA) has since started to address how best to lobby for theintegration of IL in the curriculum. Good progress has been made by drawing on policydirectives for advocacy purpose and to position libraries as partners with academics in theteaching and learning process, making explicit the links between information literacy,graduate skills and lifelong learning (De Jager and Nassimbeni, 2005).

In Botswana, the University of Botswana Library (UBL) in its project proposaladmitted that, information literacy skills are fundamental to the students’ academic lifeon campus as well as adult life, being part of the “life long learning” process. UBL alsoacknowledged the paradigm shift taking root at UB within a “[. . .] technologicallyadvanced teaching [. . .] environment” (UB Vision) (Lumande et al., 2006, p. 67).Kavulya (2003) stated that, information literacy skills are essential for successfuluniversity study as well as for career development. According to Kavulya (2003, p. 220),“new university students are reluctant to use electronic sources, the main reason beinga lack of databases search skills, lack of awareness of what to expect, and whatassistance these services are capable of providing”. The most remarkable developmentin IL efforts in Kenyan universities is the communication skills course forundergraduate students regardless of their subject specialization. Kavulya (2003)states that, students are taught a variety of skills including library, reading, as well aswriting skills in the course. According to Kavulya (2003, p. 220), “the communicationskills course is designed to assist new university students to become familiar with thenecessary skills associated with university academic work”.

MethodologyA questionnaire was used to collect data on the current information literacy practicesin 36 university libraries in Nigeria. It was administered using the online method.E-mails of university librarians were collected from the “Practicing librarians inNigeria” list published by the National Library of Nigeria. The questionnaire was sent


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via e-mail attachment to university librarians who either responded to it or in mostcases forwarded it to the librarian in-charge of information literacy training in theirlibrary, most of whom are heads of readers services division, reference librarians, andICT librarians for response.

A total of 52 questionnaires were distributed to 52 university libraries in Nigeriastarting from June 2010, after which reminders were sent to the librarians to respond tothe study. Data collection was completed by February 2011. In total, 36 universitylibraries responded to the questionnaire with response rate of 69.2 per cent. Recently,the National University Commission (NUC) in Nigeria compelled all universities toprovide computers with internet facilities in their university libraries or they will nothave their programmes accredited (NUC, 2010). This led to the provision of computerswith internet facilities in many university libraries (Baro and Asaba, 2010). The reasonfor the NUC directive is for universities and their libraries in Nigeria to render qualityservices that can compete globally with other universities and libraries all over theworld. This probably led to the high response rate. Breakdown by status of theuniversity libraries is as follows – 25 are public university libraries, while 11 areprivate university libraries. Copies of the completed questionnaires that were sent backto the researchers through e-mail attachment were downloaded, printed and were usedfor the analysis.

Results and discussionsDemographic information of respondentsOut of the 36 respondents who participated in the survey, the breakdown bydesignation is as follows:

. eight are university librarians;

. three are principal librarians;

. ten are senior librarians;

. two are librarian I;

. nine are librarian II; and

. four are assistant librarians.

The breakdown by position is as follows:. ten are heads of readers’ services division;. ten are reference librarians;. five are ICT librarians;. two are heads of technical services division;. one is collection development librarian; and. eight are in an administrative position.

Further breakdown by qualifications is as follows:. ten are PhD holders;. 19 are master’s degree holders; and. seven bachelor degree holders.

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Librarians’ understanding of information literacyOut of the 36 respondents, 32 responded to this item on the definition of informationliteracy. The majority of the respondents mentioned common elements such asidentifying, finding, locating, and using information effectively. A basic count of thecommon elements was performed to ascertain how often they occurred in the definitiongiven by the respondents. Table I shows the number of responses for each element andhow many times they occurred.

Table I shows that elements such as recognize/identify information needs, find,locate, evaluate, use information appeared frequently on the definitions. For example:

Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individual to recognize when information isneeded and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Elements such as analysis, lifelong learning and creating new information were rarelyfound in the definitions.

From the analysis of the common elements found in the various definitions, it isclear, librarians in Nigeria university libraries have different understandings of theterm information literacy. Although some complex definitions were seen among thememphasizing future decision making in life, such as the following:

Information literacy is the ability of an individual to know that he lacks information, thenwith this knowledge he should be able to locate, retrieve, evaluate and use information in anyinformation centre. This would assist him for future decision making in life.

The majority of the respondents see it to be skills in accessing, evaluating, and usinginformation effectively, mainly associated with the context of a formal educationalenvironment and with library skills. It is not surprising to see variations in the definitionsas there is no commonly accepted definition worldwide in the library literature.

Information literacy training provided in university libraries in NigeriaRespondents were asked to indicate the information literacy training provided at theiruniversity library.

Figure 1 shows that respondents are providing a wide range of information literacytraining in their libraries. It is clear that all except one university library are providingtraining on library tour/orientation sessions in their libraries. The majority (29 out of the

Elements Number of respondents

Recognize/identify information needs 19Find/search/locate information 18Access information 5Use/apply information 11Evaluate information found/search process 13Organize/manage information/referencing 5Includes analysis –Includes synthesis 5Includes knowledge of resources/search tools 8Research skills 3Related to learning/lifelong learning 1Includes to creating new information 2

Table I.Common elements ofinformation literacy

definitions


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36 university libraries) provide training on introductory information skills, databasesearching skills in their libraries. Only a few respondents indicated providing training ontopic-specific information skills and training on the meaning of what information literacyis in their libraries. This could be as a result of their different understanding of theconcept, as some do not have clear understanding of the term “information literacy”. Fiverespondents provided comments on the “others specify” option. The respondents in thisarea listed the other information literacy training provided in their library. Theircomments includes bibliographic training, use of library, how to evaluate information forits currency, authenticity. The question is “Are the training programmes having anypositive impact on the students’ academic works?”. Further research is needed on theassessment of the impact of information literacy programmes on students. Informationliteracy practices in most universities in Nigeria are mainly user education and libraryorientation, most of which lack the capacity to produce information users who exhibitadequate information literacy attributes.

Definition of information literacy used as a framework for programmesRespondents were asked the type of information literacy definition used to determinewhether their programme is based on recognized definition or information literacyframework developed in different countries. A total of 31 respondents responded to thisquestion. Among them, the majority (17) indicated basing their training on theAmerican Library Association definition and framework. Five respondents indicatedthat their training programme is based on both the American Library Association andthe Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) definitions.

Figure 1.Information literacytraining provided inuniversity libraries inNigeria

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Seven respondents indicated that their training programme is not based on anydefinition or framework. One respondent indicated that their training programme isbased on CILIP, another indicated that theirs is based on the New Zealand InformationLibrary framework.

It is not surprising that different views emerge in regard to basing their trainingprogrammes on any particular recognized definition or framework. The possiblereason might be that in Africa there is no generally agreed definition or frameworkpeculiar to the African environment. Until that is done, librarians will continue to adoptany definition or framework.

Training delivery methodsRespondents were asked to indicate the methods they use in delivery trainingprogrammes (see Table II).

The majority indicated delivering information literacy programmes face-to-face inthe library training room (83 per cent) and face-to-face in a venue external to library (50per cent). It is not surprising that training provided online is not well indicated (19 percent). The reasons could be that the libraries lack adequate IT personnel who areskilled in using technology, lack of facilities such as modern computers with internetconnectivity in some university libraries, and unreliable power supply.

For effective delivery of IL programmes, the necessary facilities such as adequatecomputers with internet facilities, regular power supply need to be provided in theuniversity libraries. This may be why Agboola (2000, p. 287) recommended that:

Nigerian University Libraries must take advantage of modern communication andinformation technologies to open up their contents. All Nigerian University librariesshould be fully automated and linked to the internet. This will enable them to communicateeasily with one another and to share their resources.

Since 2004, many university libraries in Nigeria have benefited from the donations ofcomputers and provision of internet facilities from donor agencies such as The OpenSociety Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Education Trust Fund, NationalUniversity Commission (NUC) in Nigeria, MacArthur Foundation, UNESCO, AGORAand NITDA (Baro and Asaba, 2010). The university libraries need adequate number oftechnical personnel to constantly service and maintain the networks to avoidbreakdown or crashes.

Computer skills training provided by library staffRespondents were asked what type of basic computer training is being provided bythem in the libraries. Figure 2 shows that, the major computer training providedby some of the librarians is basic computer skills working in windows environment-filemanagement. This is followed by software packages such as word, PowerPoint, Excel.

Methods Response total Percentage

Face-to-face in library training room 30 83Face-to-face in venue external to library 18 50Online 7 19Mixture of face-to-face and online 10 28

Table II.Methods and locations of

training delivery


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Other training provided are bibliographic information skills and introducing studentsto the university’s IT environment. The librarians in-charge of the e-library, digitallibrary, internet section, as it has been called in various libraries, take time to providethe basic computer skills training to equip students with basic computer skills.

Assessment methods used in evaluating students’ outcomesRespondents were asked to indicate the assessment methods used in evaluatingstudent outcomes of IL programmes.

Figure 3 shows that the majority of the respondents used a multiple choicequestions method, followed by a collaborative learning exercise in assessing ILactivities in Nigeria. Other comments are intervention/class activities, through GeneralStudies (GST) programmes and on the spot assessment, structuredsurveys/questionnaire and examination. Assessment methods such as essays, peerand self-review, quizzes and short answers were not among popular methods used.This may be why Issa et al. (2009) recommended that various methods should bedeveloped for teaching and assessing information literacy skills or the students which,according to them, may include one-on-one instruction, interactive classes, onlinetutorials, as well as building assignments around research situations.

Sharing information literacy programmes and instruction materialsLibrarians were asked about their willingness to share their IL programmes andinstruction materials with other libraries in Nigeria. Sharing such materials with theircolleagues may help spread IL programmes to other libraries thereby saving librarians’time and stress in designing such materials.

Table III shows that librarians in Nigerian universities are willing to share ILmaterials with their colleagues to foster the development of IL. Majority 28 (78 per cent)indicated to share training activities with other librarians.

Figure 2.Computer skills trainingprovided

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Integration of information literacy in the university curriculum in NigeriaRespondents were asked the extent to which IL is integrated into the curriculum.

Table IV shows that 53 per cent of the respondents indicated that IL skills areintegrated into curriculum. The reason might be that in Nigeria courses such as “use ofthe library” and “use of English” under the GST course are being offered for all freshstudents, and it is made compulsory for all students to pass before graduation. Someare of the opinion that although some elements of IL skills are embedded into thecurriculum, an IL skills course is not being offered separately in the curriculum. Thismay be why 31 per cent of the respondents indicated that it is not integrated into the

Figure 3.Assessment methods used

Programmes/instruction material Response total Percentage

Lesion plans 18 50Training activities 28 78Assessment methods 15 42Online programmes 15 42

Table III.Willingness to share

material with otherlibrarians in Nigeria

Level of Integration Responses total Percentage

Integrated well into curriculum (IL skills aredeveloped incrementally in the curriculum 19 53Integrated into some subject units (IL is embedded insubject assignments 10 28Not integration at all 11 31

Table IV.Level of integration in the

curriculum


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curriculum, because it is not offered as a stand-alone course as it is in developedcountries and some African countries (Baro, 2011).

Involving teaching staff when developing information literacy programmesRespondents were asked to what extent teachers are involved in the development ofinformation literacy programmes.

Table V shows that 56 per cent of respondents indicated that IL programmes aredeveloped in partnership with teachers. It is clear that in order to arrive at an effectiveIL programme, librarians need to work in collaboration with their teachingcounterparts. Several authors have been advocating for collaboration betweenlibrarians and faculty to develop and deliver IL programmes (Ivey, 2003; Idiodi, 2005;Hearn, 2005; Edzan, 2008; Lwehabura, 2008; and Baro and Fyneman, 2009).

Methods used to promote information literacyRespondents were asked to mention the promotional methods used by them in theiruniversities. The responses revealed that librarians in Nigeria use various methods topromote IL in their universities. They are library publications (Library News, LibraryNotes), one-on-one interaction with staff and students, public lectures, orientation talksand library tours. Others are: library skills course, IT based instruction, use of Englishcourse, seminars, management meetings, faculty board meetings, notice boards andcampus radio. Bruce (2001) pointed out that librarians need to come out and make astrong stand about the nature and value of their work, including IL. To do this,librarians in Nigerian universities and other parts of the world need to be at the lead topromote IL activities in their respective universities.

Barriers when advocating or providing information literacy trainingLibrarians were asked to mention barriers when advocating or providing informationliteracy programmes in their universities. The majority of the librarians mentionedlack of interest by the students, that they show nonchalant attitudes when they arecalled upon to attend orientation talks, public lectures, or seminars on IL.

One respondent wrote:

When there is a call for orientation or seminars on IL, attendance is usually poor.

Another respondent wrote: both staff, students and university management are notinterested about the library:

Another barrier mentioned by majority of the respondents is inadequate or completelack of human resources to handle IL training. One respondent wrote:

There are few instructors who are knowledgeable about information literacy.

Generally, university libraries in Africa have, since inception, suffered from a lack ofadequate human resources leading to an imbalance in development.

Level of involvement Responses total Percentage

Programmes developed in partnership with teachers 20 56Programmes developed in consultation with teachers 14 39Programmes developed without input from teachers 8 23

Table V.Involvement of teachers’programmesdevelopment

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Lack of adequate facilities was another common barrier mentioned by majority of therespondents. One respondent wrote:

Many a time the computers in the library may not be available and accessible to students forpractical exercises. Constant power supply is never possible. Presently, our library computersare infected by virus and they are packed out of sight [. . .].

Lack of access may be non-availability, non-affordability, or lack of constant or stablepower supply. This reinforced the earlier findings of Issa et al. (2009) that the Universityof Ilorin library in Nigeria also has limited computers with internet facilities for the users.The authors recommended that the university library should urgently develop itse-library project by procuring all necessary facilities and also open the planned internetcafe for students to access the e-library and make effective use of its resources.

Another issue raised by the respondents is the faculty members’ attitude towards ILprogrammes. For effective and efficient delivery of IL programmes, faculty members needto embrace ideas on providing IL skills to students. As expressed by one respondent:

Lack of collaborative support from teaching staff as regards library services and use,university system of according teaching the course “Use of Library” to non-library staff (staffof a different faculty entirely) thus making majority of the students usually un-informedabout the library.

Teachers’ attitudes towards information literacy programmes is an area that neededfurther investigation. A success story of embedding a librarian in the classroom fordelivering IL sessions has been reported by authors such as Peary and Ernich (2004),and Hearn (2005). According to Hearn (2005, p. 226):

[. . .] having the librarian serve as an evaluator of student’s performance, and even assign agrade to at least a portion of the student’s work, sends a powerful message to undergraduatesthat the librarian is a significant player in their educational experience.

Other barriers mentioned by the respondents include lack of management support, lowacceptance especially online approach, lack of funding for publicity and absence of ILpolicy.

These barriers are peculiar to the problems identified by scholars in other Africancountries (Kavulya, 2003; Dennis, 2004; Dadzie, 2007; Lwehabura, 2008). Most of all, theproblem of lack of IL policy militates against successful IL programmes in Africa. Theimportance of having an IL policy in order to implement IL programmes effectively hasbeen stressed by various scholars such as Bruce (2002) and Kavulya (2003). Bruce(2002) observed that policies at institutional, national and international levels arecrucial because they direct and support the adoption of IL education. Furthermore, theyprovide guidelines for other basic requirements regarding levels of informationtechnology infrastructure and the structure of IL programmes in general. It has beenreported that there are a number of South African higher education policy initiativesthat can be leveraged by academic librarians to accelerate the uptake by teachingcolleagues of IL education interventions in the curriculum (De Jager and Nassimbeni,2005).

ConclusionThis study has described information literacy practices among librarians in universitylibraries in Nigeria. Librarians in university libraries in Nigeria were found to have


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different understandings of the concept “information literacy”. Arising from thedifferent definitions, there is need for library associations to organize a conference orworkshop on IL to arrive at a clear understanding of IL to enable librarians in differentinstitutions advocate and teach IL to stakeholders.

University libraries in Nigeria are seen to be mainly practising librarytour/orientations sessions which are not sufficient to transfer IL skills to thestudents. The GST courses, such as “Use of English” and “Use of Library”, which areintegrated into the curriculum by nearly all universities as compulsory credit earningcourses are still not sufficient to equip students to function effectively in this digitalage. Students merely read with the aim of passing those courses. The GST coursecontents need to be updated to include IL skills. For these reasons, university librariesneed to organize other specialized information skills programmes such as use ofdatabases, internet searching skills, training on referencing and citation patterns. Somebarriers such as lack of interest by students, teachers, and management, inadequatehuman resources to handle IL training, lack of facilities, low acceptance of online ILdelivery approach and absence of IL policy were identified as factors militating againstlibrarians effort when advocating and providing IL training in university libraries inNigeria. The study will inform library administrators or librarians who want to trainusers in information literacy skills in order to facilitate full exploitation of informationresources and services in their libraries.

RecommendationsInformation literacy training materials can be shared with other librarians whoprobably want to develop their IL programmes by sending details of the designedinstruction materials on the library website, through e-mail attachments or by post, toothers who want to use them to develop their IL programme - thereby, savinglibrarians” time and stress in preparing such training materials. Partnerships betweenlibrarians and teachers can be developed by lobbying to be involved in teaching part ofinformation literacy skills courses to students, such as instruction about catalogue anddatabases, how to assess or evaluate internet sources, referencing and citation patternsand possibly participating in providing input regarding student grades. Librarians cancollaborate with other stakeholders (students, teachers, and management) in theirinstitutions to ensure an IL policy formulation and adoption in their institutions. Inorder for effective IL training to occur, university management, non-governmentalorganizations need to provide the necessary funding for the libraries to acquire moderncomputers, provide internet connectivity and regular power supply in the universitylibraries. All librarians in university libraries in Nigerian need training and re-trainingin order to be able to use technology effectively and to be able to pass on the skills tostudents. This can be accomplished by attending seminars and workshops on use ofinformation and communications technologies. University management, the libraries,non-governmental organizations, and ETF (Education Trust Fund) should organizesuch seminars or workshops to equip librarians with the skills needed in thisdigital age.

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About the authorsEmmanuel E. Baro holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science, Delta StateUniversity, Abraka, Nigeria. He works as Librarian II at the Niger Delta University Library,Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Emmanuel E. Baro is the corresponding author and can becontacted at: [email protected]

Timi Zuokemefa is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Library and InformationScience at the University of Calaber, Nigeria. She works as Assistant Librarian at the Niger DeltaUniversity Library, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.


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Information literacy programmes in Nigeria: a survey of 36 university libraries