Librarians’ Perception and Use of Cloud Computing Technology for Library Services Delivery in Academic Libraries North-East Zone, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated librarians' perception and use of cloud computing technologies for library service delivery in academic libraries in the North-East Zone of Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, four research questions and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a survey research design. The population comprised 209 librarians from three selected university libraries in North-East Nigeria. Since the population was manageable, a census approach was adopted, and all the 209 librarians were included in the study. The instrument for data collection was a self-developed questionnaire titled Librarians' Perception and Use of Cloud Computing for Library Services (LPUCLS). The instrument was subjected to face validation, and a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained using the Cronbach Alpha statistic. Descriptive statistics of frequency distributions and percentages were used to answer Research Questions One, Two, and Three, while simple linear regression (R-value) was used to answer Research Question Four. The hypothesis was tested using the corresponding p-value at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that librarians had a positive perception of cloud computing technologies; however, the technologies were utilised to a low extent for library service delivery. The study further revealed that slow internet connectivity, epileptic power supply, inadequate technical skills, data security concerns, irregular staff training and development, and data privacy issues were the major challenges affecting the utilisation of cloud computing technologies. The study also found that librarians' perception has a significant influence on the utilisation of cloud computing technologies in academic libraries in the North-East Zone of Nigeria.  The study recommended, among others, that adequate training programmes should be provided to equip librarians with the knowledge and technical skills required for the effective utilisation of cloud computing technologies in library service delivery.