EVALUATION OF THE RESOURCES AND SERVICES AVAILABLE AT THE MTN FOUNDATION DIGITAL LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the resources and services of the MTN  Foundation Digital Libraries in Nigerian universities. This is with the aim of finding out their problems and strategies for enhancing their effectiveness and relevance to education and research for staff and students of the universities.  Six objectives and six research questions guided the study.  A  descriptive  survey  design  was  adopted  in  carrying  out  the  work.  Convenient sampling technique was used. A total number of four hundred and fifty (450) respondents were used for the study. The instruments for  data collection were questionnaire,  interview and observation  checklist.  Four hundred  and fifty (450) copies of the questionnaire  were distributed to the staff and students in the two universities in Nigeria and three hundred and ninety-five were returned  representing 87 % return rate. The following statistical measures were employed for the data analysis: frequency table, simple percentage and mean (×). The findings revealed that the relevant means of awareness of the MTNFDLs in the universities were  infrequent and  that  the  resources/databases  available  at  universities  are  useful  and current.  However, the researcher observed that only free databases were current at one of the universities. The findings also revealed that insufficient power supply, poor performance of the generator, low bandwidth, system breakdown and limited time allowed using the libraries are some of the challenges facing MTNFDLs. Based on the findings, it was recommended that  awareness  workshop  for  staff  and  students  should  be  constantly  organised  by  the NetLibrary  in  conjunction  with  MTN  Foundation;  MTN  Foundations  should  constantly require  feedback  from  the NetLibrary and the  universities  to ensure sustainability  of the project; the parties should persevere on one  another to ensure compliance to the contract agreement and the issue of power supply should be taken seriously as the effectiveness and relevance  of the resources  and  services  of digital  libraries  primarily  depend  on constant electricity  supply.  Students  should  also  lodge  their  complaints  about  inefficiency  of  the resources  and  services  of the digital  libraries  to  the university  authorities.  Finally,  there should be constant evaluation of the digital libraries to show the true state of the libraries at any point in time.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

The main purpose of a university library is to support the institution’s  objectives, which  are  teaching,  learning  and  research.  The  library  is  regarded  as  the  heart  of  the intellectual  system  of the  institution.  To  a large  extent,  the  quality  of  the  institution  is measured by the services provided by the library because of its unique position in the over-all system. The history of university library in Nigeria started in 1948 with the establishment of the University College, Ibadan. Subsequently, the University College Library (now Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan) was established as the intellectual heart of the College. Other  Higher  university  libraries  established  in  Nigeria  after  1948  also  ensured  that this precedence is maintained in their respective institutions.

However,  the  situation  changed  for  the  worse  in  the  1980s  when  the  Federal Government   of   Nigeria   introduced   the   World   Bank   inspired   Structural   Adjustment Programme (SAP) which affected university funding adversely. University libraries were the first casualties. This is because a lot of the materials purchased by libraries have a substantial foreign  exchange  component  while  the  SAP  adopted  by  the  government  resulted  in the massive devaluation of the national currency. Thus, funds allocated to universities could no longer meet the requirements of the libraries. The situation deteriorated to such a level that the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to make some interventions, such as, The World Bank Federal Universities  Development  Sector Adjustment  Credit, The Petroleum Special Trust Fund, National Education Materials Procurement Programme and the Education Tax Fund.

Today, there are over two hundred universities in Nigeria. Given the limited funding available to academic libraries in Nigeria, it is obvious that scholars and  students can only

access  a  small  portion  of  the  information  available  in  their  disciplines.  Thus,  with  the escalating  costs of information  materials  and  dwindling  allocation  of funds to  academic institutions a judicious balance must be made to ensure that users of academic  libraries in Nigeria have access to relevant, appropriate information in their fields of interest. This can only be possible if libraries lay more emphasis on access rather than ownership.

The need to emphasis  access against the traditional method  of ownership  became necessary as a lot of information is being churned out every second. Issa, Daura & Blessing (2009) termed it a ‘daily explosion of information resources’. This was occasioned by the development  in ICTs.  The  symptom  of information  over  load  is  such that  the available information is so enormous that no one library can afford to purchase to satisfy the needs of its clientele. Furthermore, information needs of the library users have dramatically changed; users  are  asking  for  all  kinds  of  information,  CD-ROM,  multimedia,  print,  and  others. Dalgeish  &  Hall  in  Ozoemelem  (2009)  noted  that  the  rate  of  production  of  electronic materials has exceeded that of print-based publications. Radar (2008) also commented on the increase  in the demand  for a variety of information  resources  by library users,  students, professors, and researchers. They also want information electronically anytime, anywhere, for multipurpose uses, quickly, conveniently, and in a portable and easy-to-use form.

The  University  of  Louisville   Libraries   for  instance  are  beginning  to   allocate significant resources for, and to rethink services related to electronic  information. In 2002-

2003  access  to  library  users  to  270  electronic  databases  has  been  made  available,  as compared to forty-two databases in 1996-97, an increase of over 600 percent. Among these new resources are large databases and services with access to abstracts and full-text articles, such  as  ABI/Inform,  First  Search,  EBSCO,  Biological  Abstracts,   Beilstein,  INSPEC, Medline, Science Direct, Lexis-Nexis, and Web of Science.  Similarly, other academic and research  libraries  have  been  forming  partnerships  and  cooperative  agreements  with  one

another to ensure preservation and cost containment for electronic and scholarly publications

(Radar, 2008).

Omekwu  (2006) rightly observed  that in the current dispensation,  web access  will become increasingly an imperative for all libraries. Without it, library users will be denied a round -the- clock access to global information. The whole essence of the emphasis on ICTs infrastructural  facilities development  is to build the platform for  real time, non-stop  easy access to information that transcends national boundaries and barriers. Virtual, electronic or Internet  librarianship  will increasingly  become  the  dominant  features  of the  Information Society. Skills in managing online library resources will become a compelling imperative in that society. And the digitization of  library, archival and cultural repositories will become inevitable. Library services must be patron-centred and increasingly use ICT to meet patron needs. The use of appropriate databases for research and learning must be explored, starting with free and open  databases.  To accomplish this, a paradigm  shift is required where the keyword is “access”. Computers and network points will have to be provided and increased for library patrons to access library off-line and on-line resources (Akintunde, 2006). Magara (2000) observed that digital libraries have become a feature on the landscape in developed countries and have lately become a feature in advancing communication,  information, and knowledge in the developing world.

The  advent  of  the  Internet,  World  Wide  Web,  and  other  online  infrastructures provided means of disseminating all kinds of information to people who have access. It was sooner realised that the Internet is an ‘uncharted  zone’ without  control. The best that has happened to academic communities is the advent of digital libraries. A digital library is an information system that collects organised information and which is accessible electronically to a large group of people.

Cleveland (1998) commented on this new development that “the idea of easy, finger- tip  access  to  information-  what  we  conceptualize  as  digital  libraries  today-  began  with Vannenar  Bush’s  Memex  machine  and  has  continued  to  evolve  with  each  advance  in information  technology.  With  the  arrival  of  computers,  the  concept  centered  on  large bibliographic databases, the now familiar online retrieval and public access systems that are part  of  any contemporary  library.  When  computers  were  connected  into  large  networks forming the Internet, the concept evolved again, and research turned to creating libraries of digital information that could be accessed by anyone from anywhere in the world. Phrases like “virtual library,” “electronic library,” “library without walls” and, most recently, “digital library,” all have been used interchangeably to describe this broad concept.

Research  and  development  in  digital  libraries  have  grown  rapidly  in  the  1990s (Saracevic  & Covi,  2000).  The  passion  was  jointly  triggered  by the  multimillion  dollar initiatives  launched  in 1993  by the  U.S.  government  on digital  library projects  and  the exploding growth in accessibility and utilization of the Internet worldwide. Special journal issues on digital libraries began to appear digital library conferences  and workshops were held (ACM Conference on Digital Libraries, Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries: European Conferences, IEEE ADL), and new print and online journals on digital libraries were started. In the United States, the six major digital libraries research projects are: Project Alexandria  (University of  California,  Santa Barbara), Infomedia (Carnegie Mellon University),  Stanford  Digital  Library (Stanford),  Digital  Library  Initiative  (University  of Illinois), Digital Library  Project  (University of California,  Berkeley),  and Digital Library Project (University of  Michigan)  (Hong, Thong,  Wong & Tam, 2002). Rosenberg (2005) noted that over the last five years, enormous progress has been made in ensuring that staff and  students  in  universities  in  Africa  can  access  the  growing  quantities  of  information

resources now produced in electronic format. Support has been provided in setting up  the necessary networked infrastructure and providing the requisite hardware and software.

Okiy  (2008)  reported  the  challenges  facing  digitization  projects  in  Nigeria.  She particularly cited the Digitization of Theses and Dissertations in Nigerian Universities that was initiated by the Association of African Universities at the University of Jos and at OAU in Ile-Ife.   The University of Nigeria, Nsukka also has embarked on digitization of Theses and Dissertations. Electronic Databases offer thousands of digitized journals and e-books and libraries  need to offer pathways  to  guide  users to the best ones. African Journals Online (AJOL) is an important effort at freely offering digital copies of African journal articles. This online resource along with JSTOR offers a wealth of digitized peer-reviewed journal articles for researchers in Africa.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) developed a Virtual Library in 2001 but many of the links to digital resources are invalid and it needs better maintenance in order to be an effective research tool. The Virtual Library is to have full text databases in all fields of study and indigenous content. With the Virtual Library, Nigerian users may soon have access  to  the  same  materials,  at  the  same  moment  that  staff  and  students  of  Harvard University have access to (UNESCO, 2003). The electronic content to include institutional databases like the Federal Office of Statistics, National  Human Resource Database, BPE, CBN,  INEC,  NNPC,  National  Population  Commission,  Department  of  National  Civic Registration and various government departments and Higher Education institutions. Other relevant public domain and commercial foreign data-bases including the EBSCO data-base, Medline,  Agricola,  Social  science  citation  index,  arts  and  humanities  index,  Chemical abstracts, OCLC,  EIFL, World Bank, UNESCO data-base and other United  Nation data- bases.  Also,  eIFL  provides  an  invaluable  service  by allowing  open  access  to  electronic databases such as Bio-One, Agora and Hinari to libraries in low GDP countries like Nigeria.

All of these resources are freely available with registration by any educational institution in Nigeria so there is no excuse for any university not to offer these resources for their clientele (NUC, 2010). Other notable databases in Africa are: the South African Electronic Thesis and Dissertation  (ETD),  the  Association  of  African  Universities  (AAU)  African  Thesis  and Dissertations  (DATAD),  African  Digital  Library  (ADL),  African  Online  Digital  Library (AODL), African Journal Online (AJOL), etc.

Funding for digital libraries projects became available in the early 1990s. The first U.S. Federal Government funding began in 1994 with the Federated Digital Library Initiative (DLI-1).  Since  1994,  additional  funding  has  become  available  from  numerous  sources, including the National Science Foundation and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (Mischo in Weech, 2007). In the U.K, the “eLib” program was started in 1994 with funding for 70 digital library projects. Most of the eLib and  U.S. Digital Libraries Initiative were focused  on academic  libraries  and  in the  case  of  eLib,  funds  were  allocated  in smaller amounts to many library projects, while the U.S. Digital Library Initiative focused on a few large projects (Pinfield in Weech, 2007).

These developments go to show that digital library project is an expensive one and as such is normally undertaken by national governments or international organizations. The idea of donations as alternative to government support to the development of libraries has always been acknowledged.  Library acquisitions  have been through either  purchase or donations. Examples of donations to libraries abound in Africa and  Nigeria in particular (Gueye and Carnoy in Tabi, 2007). Edoka (1992) and Aguolu &  Aguolu (1997) gave details of some donor agencies to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Library (NAL), University of Nigeria Nsukka from its inception in 1960. The first notable donation came from the first Vice Chancellor, the Right Honourable Dr. Nnamdi  Azikiwe after whom the library is named. His donations totalled over 12,000 books, 1000 journals and pamphlets on many subjects. Other remarkable donors

are: the British Council, the World Bank, the Netherlands Economic Mission to Nigeria, the South West Legal Foundation of Dallas, Texas. The West Publishing Company of Minnesota, the  United   States  Agency  for  International   Development,   Macmillan   Publishers,   the Theological Education Fund of World Council of Churches, the Bollengen Foundation, Book Aid  International,  Education  Trust  Fund,  the  Journal  Development  Programme  (JDP)  of University of New York.

The  importance  of  donations  in  this  light  cannot  be  over  flogged.  But  for  the numerous supports from the donor agencies, the NAL would not have started on a  sound footing. Tabi (2007) and Shafack & Kiven (2003) attested that donor support  has opened existing possibilities and opportunities for libraries to acquire the much needed information resources. However, donations in the library must be based on written collection development policy. This ensures that the library accept only donations that are relevant to the needs of the users. The idea is to avoid the library being a dumping ground for donors who give because of some ulterior motives. The motives range from political, social, economical and religious motives. However, donations can be either a curse or a blessing. It becomes a blessing when the donations meet the information  needs of the library users but becomes a curse if the donated materials are irrelevant to the needs of the users. In situation where no user uses the donated materials, the materials become a burden or ‘shelf seaters’ (Boman, 2007). It is the idea of relevance to the needs of the library users, in this case, the staff and students of the Ahmadu Bello  University, Zaria and University of Nigeria, Nsukka that has prompted this study, to measure the relevance and effectiveness of the donation, MTNF Digital Libraries, to Kashim Ibrahim Library (KIL) and Nnamdi Azikiwe Library (NAL).

The MTN Nigeria Foundation (MTNF) was launched in May 2005 with the purpose of  partnering  with  public,  private  and  civil  society  organizations  to  execute  sustainable projects in three areas: education, health and economic empowerment. The intention was to

make a significant impact in these areas in as many communities as possible across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones. This goal was aligned with the Millennium Development Goals on which  the  Federal  Government  of  Nigeria  had  based  its  own  development  priorities (Oyegbola, 2007).

Working with NetLibrary Nigeria, MTNF has linked four top Nigerian universities– University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University,  Zaria, University of  Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Benin to the world’s largest collection of digital  resources from over 5,500 libraries and 300 publishers. This project was embarked  upon to achieve MTN’s laudable objectives of:

    Bridging the knowledge and digital divide

    Enhancing educational infrastructure development

    Providing educational resources for effective learning.

Based on the experience of the local environment and the need for sustainability,  detailed written rules are pre-agreed and enforced with the institutions regarding the maintenance of the equipment and upkeep of the library premises.

MTN Education Portfolio includes:

    128  networked  computers,  3  servers,  2  high  capacity  printers  and  a  100KVA

generator

VSAT equipment & Internet connectivity bandwidth with 2 years subscription

      2 years subscription to electronic resources through the NetLibrary network (Journals, Books, etc)

      Conducive  study  environment  through  space  renovation,  provision  of  adequate lighting, furniture, and alternative power supply

      Technical training for 12 members of existing library staff to work with NetLibrary over 2 years to build capacity

      One-week awareness workshops to be held annually for approximately 600 students and 120 lecturers

      Initiate  a 5–year  maintenance  contract  with the  University to  ensure  a  conducive environment with a clear sustainability strategy

    Two years comprehensive insurance cover to take care of theft & fire

    An interactive student’s website

(The list of the online resources and infrastructures are provided in appendix IV).

The University Library System of Ahmadu Bello University comprises the  Kashim Ibrahim Library (the main Library) and eleven other satellite libraries  located  in different campuses of the University. The Library has a total holding of over 1.2 million volumes of books and 66,000 periodical titles. The University library has always been at the center of research and scholarship playing a major role in  acquiring, processing and lending library materials and responding to patrons inquires.  Today, online database and Internet searches are a common feature among staff and students of the University.  The library management in the past few years has been striving to upgrade the IT skills of the staff to enable them cope with  challenges  of  the  information  age.  Recently,  thanks  mostly  to  donations  by  the MacArthur Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation, rapid progress has been made not only in updating the collection, but also in automating the resources and services of the library system. Today, online and CD-ROM searches are a common feature among staff and students of the university (Kashim Ibrahim Library website, 2010). Some of the specialised databases are:

     AGORA

     HINARI (Biomedical & Medical)

     BioOne ( biological science and related disciplines)

     Journal of performance and Art

     EBSCOHOST (For all Disciplines)

     JSTOR

     Journal of Interdisciplinary History

     Online Database on Health

In  June  2006,  the  MTN  Foundation   and  Net  Library  Nigeria   Limited   in   a collaborative  initiative selected ABU, Zaria, as the beneficiary of the second phase  of  the MTN  Universities  Connect  project.  The  chairman,  Ambassador  Hamzat  Ahmadu  at  the commissioning  of the MTNFDL  in ABU, Zaria said the project was  designed  to provide digital  libraries  that  will  give students  instant  online  access  to  world  class research  and information. Ahmadu noted that ABU is the second beneficiary of the Universities Connect Digital Library after the University of Lagos with 128 networked computers, three servers, two high capacity printers,  one sound  proof generator,  VSAT equipment  and a two  year Internet  subscription.  The MTN  foundation,  according  to  him,  would  provide  two  years subscription to a database of online academic journals, electronic books and magazines on a wide range of topics to  suit the research needs of students and academics.  Ahamdu  said further that the foundation would provide insurance cover, maintenance and repairs for the digital library for two years (Akowe, 2009).

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka Library consists of the Nnamdi Azikiwe  library, the Enugu Campus Main Library and the Medical Library located at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, and Enugu. The Nnamdi Azikiwe Library which is the main University Library houses the Union Catalogue showing a core of all the holdings of the libraries in the system.

At the University’s inception in 1960, the Owelle of Onitsha, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe donated 12,000 volumes of books, 1000 journals and monographs. In 1962/63 the University

Library holdings had increased to 27,000 volumes with a seating capacity of 220  readers. Presently,  the University Library System  has about 735,157 volumes of  books  and about

99,760 bound volumes of journals.

The   Nnamdi   Azikiwe   Library   has   a   growing   collection   of   publications   by international bodies/organization such as:

    The United Nations;

    The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nation; and

    The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Library has also special collection documents published by the various governments of Nigeria  as  well  as the  Biafrana  Collection  (publications  on the  Nigeria  Civil  War)  and African Collection (publications on Africa, about Africa and by Africans). The library vision statement is to become a world class centre of excellence in support of learning, teaching, research, and scholarship geared toward the restoration of the dignity of man.

The Nnamdi Azikiwe Library subscribes to the following databases through which it can access electronic journals via the web. They include:

 OARE (Online Access to Research in the Environment)

 EBSCOHOST (Paid for by the NUC)

 AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture)

 JSTOR (Journal Storage)

 HINARI (Health Internetwork Access to Research)

Each of these databases holds thousands of academic journals online with millions of articles accessible to the users, free of charge. Presently, there is an uninterrupted wireless Internet access in the new university library.

In 2008, MTN Foundation for ICT partnered with Nnamdi Azikiwe Library Nsukka to establish  a functional  resource  centre that  is equipped  with 128 computers  which are

subscribed to so many website which will ease the research of the students and  lecturers. Recently,    President   Goodluck   Jonathan   commissioned    the   largest    university   ICT infrastructure developed by combined efforts of top ICT companies spear-headed by MTN Nigeria and Google. This project is an always-on, wired and wireless network that covers the entire geography of the four campuses of the university. It consists of fibre optics network provided by MTN, extending from Lagos  to Nsukka, Enugu and Ituku-Ozala campus; the fourth campus in Aba is looped  in  via microwave  transmission.   According  to Adepetun (2010) “the ICT infrastructure unleashes a whole lot of possibilities on the university…For the first time in Nigeria, students in their rooms in the halls of residence or in the lecture halls can wirelessly connect to the Internet”.

Statement of the Problem

The MTN Foundation Digital Libraries in Nigeria have been in existence since 2005. The major objectives were to provide online resources to staff and students and to bridge the digital divide that has occurred between the developed and the developing countries. To be able to ascertain if the Digital Libraries are actually bridging the gap, an evaluative study of the resources and services of the Digital Libraries is required. Also, the problem of Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is inherent. It is generally believed that some resources and services acquired by libraries through donations are only ‘shelf seaters’ and are hardly used because they are not relevant (Boman, 2007).

Moreover,  some  PPP  do  not  monitor  and  evaluate  mechanism  to  ascertain  and maintain accepted standards. In some PPP arrangements the contractors buy materials for the library without  consulting  the  library  management.  Most times they are  not  sincere  and irrelevant materials are supplied to libraries just to make unnecessary gains by some dubious contractors. Kasa (2010) averred that companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)  because  of the benefits they can reap.  So, it becomes  compelling  to evaluate  the

donated resources and services of MTNF to ascertain if the resources and services meet the needs of staff and students of the universities.

Finally, there seems to be a lack of research that examines the digital library systems from the users’ perspective. This research will hopefully fill these vital knowledge gaps. Purpose of the Study

The general objective of this study was to evaluate the resources and services of the

MTN Foundation Digital Libraries  in Nigeria (MTNFDLs)  based on the objectives of  the donor agency, MTNF; and the understanding between the NetLibrary and the Universities in Nigeria in meeting the information needs of students, scholars and staff. However, the study has the following specific objectives:

1.   To determine the means of awareness of the MTNFDLs in the universities

2.   To determine the usefulness of the resources

3.   To determine the currency of the resources

4.   To determine the effectiveness of the infrastructures

5.   To examine the challenges affecting the use of resources and services

6.   To suggest ways of improving the resources and services.

Research Questions

This study is based on the following research questions:

1. What are the means of awareness of the MTNFDLs available for staff and  students of the universities?

2.   What is the usefulness of the resources?

3.   What is the level of currency of the resources?

4.   What is the level of effectiveness of the infrastructures at MTNFDLs?

5.   What are the challenges facing MTNFDLs?

6.   What are the strategies that could be used for enhancing MTNFDLs effectiveness?

Significance of the Study

It is expected that this study will be useful to the following groups: students, lecturers, staff, library management,  MTN/NetLibrary and the government.  The results  of the study will be  useful  to  students,  lecturers  and  staff  of the  universities  in that  the  information generated would be used in tackling the challenges facing the libraries thereby improving the resources and services of the digital libraries and invariably meet their information needs.

For the library management, the findings of this study will be a source of guide to the university  libraries  on  how  to  carry  on  after  the  contract  between  NetLibrary  and  the universities  has expired. This study will also be beneficial to MTNF in that  the findings would either justify or question the huge resources spent by the MTNF on the project; and then fulfil or negate the objectives of the project.

Furthermore, the government will stand to gain from this study in that the information generated  would  impact  on  policy  formulation  regarding  public/private  partnership  in educational development in Nigeria. Finally, it would also benefit academics, researchers and professionals  interested  in this  area  of study by providing  enough  information  for  their studies.

Scope of the Study

The study investigated the relevance and effectiveness of the resources and services of the MTNF Digital Libraries in Nigeria. The study also ascertained the challenges facing the digital libraries  and suggestions  were made to improve the  resources and services  of the libraries. The study covered two universities specifically, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the North and University of Nigeria, Nsukka in the South.

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