Frequencies of Some of the Problems Hampering Optimal Utilisation of e-Resources in Two Nigerian Federal Universities

This study was conducted to assess the frequencies of 11 problems hampering the optimal utilisation of e-resources in two Nigerian Federal University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University. A structured questionnaire was adopted for data collection. A total of 480 lecturers were involved in the study with 240 per institution, 80 from each of the three faculties per institution and 20 lecturers from each of the four departments per faculty. Frequency counts (often, occasional and never) for each of the 11 problems were subjected to Analysis of Variance and Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. Results showed that all the six faculties studied indicated that frequencies of poor electricity supply and maintenance problem were significantly “often”. Five of the six faculties indicated that the frequencies of lack of internet connectivity and the problem of internet bandwidth to access e-resources were significantly “often”. These were followed by insufficient training of personnel and lack of awareness of the existence of e-resources in which four faculties indicated their frequencies to be significantly “often”. Three of the six faculties showed that the frequencies of frequent power outage, fluctuation in power supply and lack of technical expertise were significantly “often” while for lack of infrastructure (Software/Hardware) and frequent power changeover, two of the six faculties showed their frequencies to be significantly “often”. The higher the frequency of a problem, the more prominent the problem is in hampering e-resources utilisation. It is concluded that optimal utilisation of e-resources in the developing countries is beset with many problems and that the prominence of the problems varies from one to another.