Influence of Computer Operation Skills of Library Staff and Private University Libraries' Electronic Service Delivery to Students in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated computer operation skills as influenced by electronic service delivery among librarians in private university libraries in South-South, Nigeria. The ex-post facto research design was adopted for this study. The population of the study consisted of 1,392 respondents (67 ICT staff and 1,325 students) in the selected five private university libraries in South-South, Nigeria. A total sample size of 225 respondents (made up of 67 ICT staff and 158 students) was used for the study. The sample size was determined using a hybrid sampling technique. First, the purposive sampling technique was used to select five private universities (out of thirteen universities) for the studies. Second, census and incidental sampling techniques were used for ICT staff and students, respectively. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled “Library Staff Computer Operation Skill Questionnaire (LSCOSQ) and Electronic Service Delivery Questionnaire” (ESDQ). The instrument was subjected to face validity by three research experts and was tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha statistics to obtain a .84 reliability coefficient. The researcher and research assistants administered the copies of the questionnaire to the respondents in their offices. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while hypotheses were answered using simple linear regression. All the hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 significance level. The result revealed that computer operation skills significantly influence service delivery. It was recommended, among others, that for effective and efficient service delivery, library staff should be trained on the use of computers for service operations in the library.