Awareness, Motivation and Utilization of the Agricultural Information Resources in the University Library, Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the awareness, utilization and satisfaction of users of agricultural information resources in the University Library, Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Five research questions and two hypotheses were formulated, with 150 copies of the questionnaire distributed to final year students, lecturers and researchers of the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) and Agricultural Engineering Department, FUTA using the stratified random sampling method, while 125 (83.3%) were retrieved and used for the analysis. Percentage and frequency count were used to analyse the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation and One-way ANOVA were used to test the two null hypotheses. The study revealed higher awareness, utilization and satisfaction of textbooks, journals and the SAAT School Library and lesser awareness, utilization and satisfaction of the electronic resources TEEAL and AGORA. Time factor, lack of awareness and outdated resources were the highest factors responsible for poor utilization of the information resources. The hypotheses confirmed that awareness had a positive correlation with regularity of use of the resources, and that in all but the database AGORA there was no significant difference in the regularity of use by different category of users. The study recommended that publicity techniques such as Selective Dissemination of Information, Current Awareness Service and other methods should be applied to make the resources accessible and available.