AVAILABILITY AND EXTENT OF APPLICATION OF AUTOMATION FACILITIES FOR REFERENCE SERVICES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The paper examined the Availability and extent of application of automation facilities for reference services in Federal university libraries in South-East Nigeria. A descriptive study design was adopted. A sample size of 137 librarians was used. A structured observation checklist and questionnaire were used for data collection. Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyze research question one, while mean scores were used for research question two. ANOVA was used to test the null hypotheses, and Scheffe post-hoc test was conducted to identify the source of observed significant differences. The findings revealed that 8 automation facilities were available in the libraries, whereas 3 were not. The extent of application of automation to reference was low. Significant difference was observed in the extent of application of automation for reference services based on the generation of institutions, particularly between first and third generation, and second and third generation universities. 1^st and 2^nd generation of institutional libraries has higher application of automation facilities for reference services than the 3^rd generation. It was recommended that automation facilities should be available and adequately used for efficient and effective reference service production and delivery.