A Survey of the Awareness and Use of Web 2.0 Technologies by Library and Information Professionals in Selected Libraries in South West Nigeria

摘要

This paper examined the awareness and use of Web 2.0 technologies by library and information professionals (LIPs) in selected libraries in Southwest Nigeria. Descriptive survey was adopted for this study. The sample size comprised of 230 library and information professionals from the population of 310 from 39 selected university and special libraries in Southwest Nigeria. Data was collected through questionnaire and analyzed using the descriptive statistics of frequency and simple percentage scores. The findings indicated high level of awareness of the existence of Web 2.0 technologies among library and information professionals and that only few were not aware of the existence of these technologies due to lack of publicity. The types of Web 2.0 technologies used are social networking tools (facebook, Twitter, Hi5, LinkedIn); Instant messaging; Blogs and Wikis. The major challenges to the use of Web 2.0 technologies included low bandwidth, time constraint, inadequate training, and lack of funds to undergo training, inadequate power supply and lack of web 2.0 skills. It was therefore recommended that the hands-on training should be increased while all relevant stakeholders like the Nigerian Library Association, Library schools, Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria, libraries, etc should assist in creating more awareness on the use and benefits of Web 2.0 technologies.