Evaluation of the Adoption and Use of Integrated Library Management Software in Selected Private University Libraries in Management Software in Selected Private University Libraries in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

University libraries are expected to provide information resources and services to support the teaching and learning process of their institutions. For university libraries to deliver quality services, they are expected to continuously adapt to the changing institutional and global environments and requirements in use of current technologies to manage most or all library activities, particularly use of Integrated Library Systems (ILS). Furthermore, in the university libraries where ILS have been deployed, there is a need to carry out periodic evaluations of the systems. Hence, this study evaluated the adoption and use of integrated library software (ILS) in some selected private university libraries in Osun State, Nigeria. Descriptive and correlational survey research design was adopted. The population comprised undergraduates and library staff of Adeleke University, Fountain University and Redeemers University. Slovin’s formula was used to arrive at 384 as the target sample size of the undergraduates, while total enumeration was used for the sample size of the library staff since the population was small. Questionnaires were used for data collection. The data collected from the field were coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that majorities of the surveyed students were satisfied with the services provided through the ILS, except at the Adeleke University. Similarly, most of the students found the ILS easy to use and useful, the students except for the students of Adeleke University who were indifferent about the services, due to the fact that they were not using the services provided by ILS. This finding confirms that when selecting or upgrading software in libraries, the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use should be main considerations. Finally, the study identified erratic power supply, lack of enough user education on the use of ILS services, internet network issues, lack of technical know-how, lack of technical facilities, and lack of training and re-training of staff as the major challenges faced by students and staff when using the ILS. It was recommended that the management of Adeleke university library should improve on creating awareness among the library users for them to understand the importance of using the deployed ILS services. It was recommended that system deployment experts should be always consulted in order to configure deployed ILS modules to be user friendly.