Social Media Use for Service Delivery in Federal Polytechnic Libraries in South West Nigeria

Abstract

The research investigated Social Media Use for Service Delivery in Federal Polytechnic Libraries in South West Nigeria. The study employed the descriptive survey method. A total of 46 academic librarians working in the Federal Polytechnic Libraries in South West Nigeria constituted the population of study. Total enumeration sampling techniques was adopted for the study. Hence, all 46 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the academic librarians, 42 copies of the questionnaire representing 91.3% were returned and deemed useful for data analysis. Data collected were analysed using SPSS, frequency counts and simple percentage. The study found out that social media technologies have been integrated into the library routines as the items rated weighted mean ?=(3.52>2.50) are above standard mean. In addition, most of the respondents strongly agreed that there are benefits librarians could derive from integrating social media technology in libraries supported with weighted mean?=(3.75>2.50) which is greater than standard mean. Finally, there are challenges librarians encounter in the use of social media for promoting library and information resources and service, supported with weighted mean?(3.62>2.50) which is greater than the standard mean. The study concludes that the incorporation of social media technology into library services is more than a management strategy; it is a tool that can be used to transform library services and provide cutting-edge services to users in the face of shrinking budgets. The study recommends among others that libraries should redesign their services to fully utilise the sharing capacity of social media tools for the provision and dissemination of their services to users.

Keywords: Social Media, Social Media Technologies, Service Delivery in Polytechnic Libraries, Polytechnic Libraries, Nigeria

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