Information & Communication Technology Skills and Service Quality of Librarians in Agricultural Research Institutes, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Like every other library, research libraries in Agriculture institutes are service rendering
organizations with the sole aim of satisfying the researchers’ information need through quality
services. User’s satisfaction is key to the usage of library and it resources. Like every other
service rendering organizations, regular evaluation from user’s perspective is inevitable
especially in the face of obstructive nature of the technological innovation which has kept
librarian on their toes thereby leaving them with no option but to be equipped with necessary
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills for optimum and overall quality
service. This study aimed at finding out influence of ICT skills of librarians on the quality of
service rendered in Agriculture research institute, Ibadan, Oyo State. It’s a descriptive study,
which make use of mixed method. The population comprises of 101 librarians and 24
researchers. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire and a focus group discussion.
The empirical data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, the hypothesis were tested using
simple linear regression. The study found discrepancies in both librarians and researchers’
response as regards service quality, Inadequacies of information resources was also found. The
test of hypothesis revealed that ICT skills ((Adj.R2=0.205,F(1,79)=20.328, p=000)) have
significant influence on service quality. The study recommends regular training and retraining
in ICT by librarians.