Inhibitors to the Electronic Teaching and Learning of Library Science in the Nigerian Universities of the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era and the Way Forward

Abstract

This is a review of the extant literature on inhibitors to the electronic teaching and learning of Library and Information Science (LIS) in Nigerian universities. The university-wide inhibitors as identified by the study are non-provision or inadequacy of: funding, administrative and infrastructural supports, functional ICT laboratories/tools, ICT-compliant teaching staff and standby and responsive technical support for both teachers and students. Library schools’ inhibitors include poor maintenance culture, lack of Internet presence, dedicated bandwidth and active websites while the teaching and learning inhibitors highlighted by the study are (older) teachers’ poor attitude, concerns on how to retain the copyright of their lecture contents, plagiarism and the quality of students’ work; fear of additional workload which may result in stress and burnt-out; lack of freedom or teaching autonomy (as teaching may now take the collaborations of colleagues, computer experts and instructional/graphic designers); teachers’/students’ poor expertise and technology background and nature of course, among others. The author made suggestions on the way forward for an increased and a sustainable integration of ICTs in teaching and learning, especially in this Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era where physical contact and interactions may need to be reduced to the barest minimum to contain contagious communication and consequent health hazards. This review has implications for library educators, students and educational managers in the universities of other developing countries.