Use of Social Networking sites by academic librarians in six selected states of Nigeria
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge Taylor and Francis Group
Abstract
The attractiveness of social networking sites (SNSs) has extended
to almost all professionals in numerous human organizations including the library. Librarians as a result of this development are
now making use of these sites to connect to other libraries and librarians both within and outside their environment. However, it
is observed that the use and benefits derived from social networking sites by Nigerian librarians, generally, and those in academic
libraries, particularly, has not been well documented. It is against
this backdrop that this study examined the use of social networking
sites to both the libraries and the librarians in selected academic
libraries in six Nigerian States. A survey research design approach
was adopted. The simple random study drew upon 200 academic
librarians from academic libraries across six selected States in Nigeria. Five research questions were raised and answered by the study.
The results demonstrate that Facebook and Twitter are mostly use
by academic librarians. Academic librarians are making use of
SNSs on a weekly basis and partially on a daily basis. Many potential benefits of SNSs were indicated both to the librarians and their
libraries such as creating opportunity to connect with people across
the globe, which includes those that have never been seen and those
that one is not sure of coming in contact with. It was also found
that SNSs give opportunity for academic libraries to incorporate
SNSs as a means of creating more interactive user centered library
and information services. Examples of the defects identified associated with SNSs include sexual harassment, cybercrime, fraud, and spreading of spam. It is expected that the outcomes of this study
will serve as pioneer data upon which future related studies will be
anchored.
Description
Keywords
librarians, networking, social networking sites, academic libraries, Nigeria