Application of Social Media Networks for Research among Academic Librarians: A Survey of Academic Libraries in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the application of social media networks for research among academic librarians in five academic libraries in Imo State, Nigeria. The survey method was used for the study while a structured questionnaire captioned, Application of Social Media, Networks for Research among Academic Librarians Questionnaire (ASNRALQ) was used to elicit data from the respondents. The population of study was 74 drawn from the five academic libraries under study. Data collected were analyzed using simple descriptive method while the results were tabulated. The study concluded that academic librarians in Imo State have essentially embraced the use of social media networks in their research, though restricted to a few of the media: Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube. Some challenges like poor funding, inadequate ICT infrastructure, epileptic power supply, poor maintenance culture, etc, were found to hinder effective use of social media tools for research. Amongst the recommendations made to enhance effective use of social media in research were: government should guarantee adequate ICT infrastructure in academic libraries through conscious funding and supervision, management of academic libraries should provide internet services to enhance the use of social media tools by academic libraries, academic librarians should go all out to acquire ICT skills and competencies via personal efforts while management ensures regular training and retraining of staff on ICT.