User education programmes for effective utilization of information resources in federal university libraries in Imo State

The study focused on user education programmes for effective utilization of information resources in federal university libraries in Imo State, Nigeria. Four research questions guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 196 library staff of the federal universities studied. The sample for the study was 196. Census sampling technique was used for the study. Questionnaire designed using four-point rating scale was used to elicit data for this study. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study revealed that library orientation, use of library course, bibliographic instruction and library tour are the types of user education programmes provided to library users of the libraries studied; user education programmes enhance use of information to a high extent in the libraries studied; lecture method, orientation of new students, on-site library visit and demonstration method are methods of delivering user education programmes in the libraries studied; and inadequate current and relevant information resources, inadequate ICT facilities, inadequate trained personnel, crowdedness/large students’/users’ population, irregular power supply, management delay in the commencement of user education programmes among others are the constraints to effective delivery of user education programmes to library users in the libraries studied. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommended, among others, that university library management should incorporate library guides into its user education programmes to enhance the use of information resources by library users.