OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES ON RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY OF LIBRARIANS IN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the influence of the use of open-access resources on the research productivity of librarians in state university libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. It adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of twenty-four (24) librarians in two state university libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study sample comprised twenty-one (21) librarians, which was drawn using the total enumeration sampling technique. An online questionnaire was employed for data collection. The instrument was validated by senior lecturers in Library and Information Science and Measurement/Evaluation at Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A reliability test was not conducted on the instrument based on the knowledge that a valid test tends to be reliable. Mean, standard deviation, straightforward percentages, and linear regression were used for data analysis. The data analysis showed that librarians in state university libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, used open-access resources to a great extent; the level of their research productivity was shallow; their use of the resources had a positive but insignificant influence on their research productivity. The research suggested that librarians should explore more outlets that grant them access to more open-access resources and undergo digital literacy skills training to sharpen their digital literacy and enable them to take full advantage of the resources for their research activities.