The Pains and Gains of COVID-19 on University Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria
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Date
2022-07
Authors
Onifade, F.N
Akintola, B.O
Uthman, K.O
Alabi, A.O
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Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 brought a lot of adjustments to every aspect of life, the effect on the educational sector was huge and overwhelming. The university library as one of the major educational support service in the university system was not spared. This paper therefore, examined both the negative and positive effects of COVID-19 on the university libraries in Nigeria. Online questionnaire was used to illicit data for the study. 105 librarians responded to the questionnaire across 35 universities in Nigeria. 40% of the respondents were male while 60% were female. The study revealed that despite the fact that a lot of university libraries were not accessible during the period, some, adapted library services through social media. The major information needs of the library users was for research materials followed by COVID-19 information. The greatest gain of COVID-19 on the university libraries was that it exposed the inadequacy of the libraries to provide services through alternative means. This consequently, drew the attention of the university management to the needs of the libraries. On the other hand, the libraries regretted that they did not have adequate online presence to serve their users during the pandemic period. Nevertheless, many librarians used the opportunity to develop their skills with the attendance of various webinars.
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Onifade, F.N., Akintola, B.O., Uthman, K.O & Alabi, A.O (2022). The Pains and Gains of COVID-19 on University Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria. Review of Information Science and Technology (RIST), Vol.8, 57-67p.