Staff assessment of academic libraries’ readiness to support undergraduates with disabilities in the digital age at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

This study focused on staff assessment of academic libraries’ readiness to support undergraduates with disabilities in the digital age at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The study employed descriptive survey research method. The total of 45 librarians and library officers working at Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library. Questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection and 45 self-constructed questionnaire was designed, distributed, received (100%) and equally used for analyzing data. The findings revealed that while library staff demonstrated moderate awareness and understanding of the information needs of students with disabilities, significant weaknesses still exist in the areas of digital accessibility, assistive technology provision and institutional policy support. Findings showed that staff generally acknowledged that students with disabilities have unique information needs and expressed reasonable familiarity with disability types, digital challenges, and barriers to online services. Also, their knowledge of assistive technologies and inclusive instructional methods was relatively low, indicating a gap between awareness and practical competence. Institutional policies and infrastructural support for digital accessibility were also found to be weak. However, the major challenges identified include inadequate funding, insufficient assistive technologies, poor internet connectivity, lack of training, inaccessible digital resources and limited institutional support. It was therefore recommended that library administrators should organize regular professional development workshops and seminars on digital accessibility, assistive technologies, and inclusive service delivery. Also, procuring screen readers, Braille display devices, magnifiers, captioning tools and