Information Distribution, Internet, and Libraries in Educational Development: Exploring Views of Students in African Universities

This study explored Information Distribution, Internet, and Libraries in Educational Development: Exploring Views of Students in African Universities. The objectives were to: Find out the frequency of libraries usage by students; the perceived impact of libraries on academic performance; the views of students about facilities in libraries and the specific kind of amenity that students suggest to leverage on library capacities in select African Universities. Two theories were put to back up the work which were: the Uses and Gratification theory and the Diffusion of Innovation theory. The method of research was online survey with a population at 191,306 students in four African universities. The sample size was at 800 students with questionnaire proportionately distributed. The major findings was that a significant majority of students (50% + 25% = 75%) use the library “Not Very Often” or “Not Often”. Only 9% of students use the library “Very Often”, and 16% use it “Often”. This suggests that library usage is generally low among students in the surveyed African universities. The recommendations are: That universities should be carrying out orientations and awareness campaigns for fresh and old students to understand the significance of regular use of libraries for academic purposes.