Gender and Age as User Characteristics for Effective Use of E-Libraries by Postgraduate Students in State Universities in Southeast Nigeria

AbstractPurpose: The study aimed to determine whether gender and age are characteristics of information users that influence effective utilisation of the elibrary by postgraduate students in state universities in Southeast Nigeria.Methodology: The study was guided by two research questions and tested two hypotheses. A descriptive survey design was used. The study focused on 74 postgraduate students in Library and Information Science from four state universities in the South East Zone, excluding Ebonyi State University, where the program is not available. Data were collected with two validated and reliable researcher-developed instruments: the Information Users’ Characteristics Questionnaire (IUCQ) and the Effective Utilisation of Electronic Library Questionnaire (EUELQ). Descriptive statistics addressed the research questions, while one-sample t-tests at a 0.05 significance level were used to test the hypotheses.Findings: The findings revealed that both gender and age significantly affect the effective utilisation of e-libraries. Specifically, male students were perceived to engage more confidently and effectively with advanced e-library features, while younger students exhibited greater digital adaptability and proficiency. The results further indicated statistically significant differences in e-library use based on both gender and age, with p-values less than 0.05.Conclusion: The study found that gender and age are key characteristics influencing how postgraduate students in state universities in South East Nigeria use e-libraries. Based on these results, the researchers recommended that university library administrators should implement inclusive strategies to ensure both male and female postgraduate students are equally encouraged and supported in using electronic libraries.Study type: Research paper.