Overcoming Challenges in Scholarly Communication Platform Utilization: A Study of Librarians in Military Institutions in Northern Nigeria

Scholarly communication platforms have become essential tools for enhancing research visibility, collaboration, and knowledge dissemination in higher education institutions. Despite these benefits, their effective utilization remains constrained by several organizational, technological, and human-related factors, particularly within military institutions where information management is influenced by security protocols and hierarchical administrative structures. This study investigated the challenges affecting the utilization of scholarly communication platforms for information sharing among librarians in military institutions in Northern Nigeria and assessed the impact of these challenges on platform utilization. A quantitative survey research design was adopted, involving a census of 130 librarians from the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna, the Nigerian Army University Biu, and the Air Force Institute of Technology Kaduna. Ninety-eight valid questionnaires were returned, representing a 75% response rate. The findings revealed that limited time to engage with scholarly communication platforms, resistance to organizational change, inadequate leadership support, poor digital skills, and poor Internet connectivity were the major challenges experienced by respondents. The study further found that these challenges exerted predominantly high impacts on the effective utilization of scholarly communication platforms. The study concludes that organizational barriers are more prominent than technological constraints in shaping platform utilization within military libraries. It recommends stronger institutional leadership support, context-specific capacity-building programmes, improved digital infrastructure, and policies that promote the secure and effective use of scholarly communication platforms within military institutions.