Influence of Information Literacy Skills on Information Needs and use among Banking Personnel in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study employed a survey method to investigate the level of information literacy skills of banking personnel, their information needs and use. The study is limited to banks located and operating in Ogun state, Nigeria. Five of such banks were randomly selected and 125 bankers in the banks constituted the respondents for the study. 125 copies of the questionnaire designed for the study were administered on the respondents out of which 75 (60%) were duly completed and returned. The study found out that bankers have high information literacy level and there is a significant relationship between information literacy and information use among them; Job related information, information health matter, and information on financial matters are information needs that are common among the bankers; Current awareness, research and service delivery are major purpose of information use among them. Constraints to information use among the bankers are lack of timely information, lack of access to available information, lack of detailed information, high cost of accessing information, and poor packaging of information. The study concluded that possession of the information literacy skills enable the bankers to identify their information needs, identify information sources to meet the needs, retrieve information from the sources identified and evaluate information retrieved. It recommended the need for adequate provision of information sources that are appropriate to the needs of the bankers by government and information service providers, packaging of information in the format that would be detailed, timely, and easy for the bankers to understand and use