Utilization of Digital Library Services for Blended Learning by Students in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the utilization of digital library services for blended learning by students in library schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. Three (3) objectives and hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a sample size of 420 students from the faculty of education selected by random sampling. The study was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses, which were tested at the 0.05 α-level of significance. A questionnaire of 15 items was used to collect data, while a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient value of 0.84 was estimated for the instrument. The research questions were determined by mean and standard deviation, and the hypothesis was tested by linear regression statistics. The study found a positive relationship between OPAC and blended learning among students at Rivers State University. Also, it was revealed that there exists a positive relationship between digital reference and blended learning among students. It was further found that there is a positive relationship between internet-based users’ education and blended learning among students. The study therefore recommends that the university management should make an effort to upgrade and enhance the digital library system to be more beneficial to students, the institution should organize training workshops and seminars at least once a semester for the students to enable them to effectively utilize and benefit from digital library services and blended learning and the library management should provide a feedback system that can reveal users’ responses to the performance of each digital library service and their level of satisfaction.