Information Literacy Skills and Use of Electronic Information Resources (EIRs) By Undergraduates in Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This study investigated the level of information literacy skills and use of EIRs by undergraduates in the Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa state, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive research design and questionnaire as a data collection instrument. From a population of 3043 undergraduates, a multi-stage random technique was used to select a sample size of 242 undergraduates for the study. The results indicated that 131 (51.4%) of the respondents “Strongly agreed” that they use the Internet in the course of their stay at the university. Some 89 (27.7%) respondents strongly disagreed that they use online databases. It was also found that the Internet was used by the majority 112(46.3%) and 58 (23.9%) of the respondents for Class Assignment and Research respectively. The findings also revealed that the ability to formulate questions based on the needed information was “Very High” among the majority 144(59.5%) of the respondents while the ability to access relevant information using different sources was “low” among most 73(30.2%). Poor network 129 (53.3%) and confusion due to too much information on the internet 125 (51.7%) were the major identified challenges faced. It was concluded that EIRs in libraries have contributed immensely to the academic progression of undergraduates and their use should be encouraged in Nigerian universities. It was recommended that academic institutions in Nigeria should ensure the provision of electronic facilities to boost access and use of EIRs by undergraduates