Characteristics of Cloud Computing as Determinants of Service Quality among Library Personnel in Federal Universities in South-west Nigeria

Abstract

Library service quality has long been a topic of interest to library personnel but it has
become more significant with technological advancement which has opened up various
sources of information to rival, or at times, even surpass what the library is capable of
offering. As information becomes more accessible through the internet and various online
platforms, libraries face heightened competition from alternate information sources. In
response, academic libraries must enhance their service quality to meet and surpass these
emerging expectations. This study investigated the correlation between characteristics of
cloud computing, and quality of services among library personnel in federal universities in
southwest Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design and a mixed method approach was
adopted for this study. The population was 243 library personnel (237 library personnel & 6
university librarians) from Federal Universities in Southwest Nigeria. Total enumeration
sampling was used, ensuring the inclusion of every member of the population in the study. A
validated questionnaire was used to elicit response from 237 respondents of the sampled
universities, while 6 Librarians were interviewed accordingly. A reliability coefficient value for
each variable in this study was recorded as follows; Cloud Computing (CC) = 0.85; Service
Quality (SQ) = 0.82. This suggests that specific aspects of cloud computing, such as
accessibility, scalability, and efficiency, have a notable impact on the quality of services
provided in these academic libraries. Cloud computing offers enhanced flexibility for
managing information resources and allows library personnel to provide more seamless
access to digital content. Therefore, its effective use is positively associated with improved
service delivery. The study found that Characteristics of Cloud Computing significantly influence
service quality (Adj. R2 = 0.284, F(1, 200) = 80.631, p < 0.05). This study concluded that
characteristics of cloud computing have positive correlation with service quality of library
personnel in academic libraries in federal universities in Southwest, Nigeria. The study
recommended that Library personnel in the federal universities in Southwest, Nigeria should
embrace continuous professional development stay abreast of the new development in the
field of librarianship.