Information Retrieval Skills as an Effective Tool for Library Resources Usage by Undergraduate Students in Rivers State Polytechnic Libraries.

Abstract

This study determined the influence of retrieval skills (informational, operational, and strategic retrieval skills) on library resources usage by undergraduate students in Rivers State Polytechnic Libraries. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 1,111 undergraduate students who are registered library users. A sample size of 111, constituting 10 Percent of the population, was used. An instrument titled “Information Retrieval Skills Questionnaire (IRSQ)” which was face validated by three experts, was used to collect data for the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while an independent t-test was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.5 level of significance. The findings from the study showed a significant influence of information retrieval skills (informational, operational, and strategic retrieval skills) on library resource usage in Rivers State Polytechnic Libraries. Based on the findings from the study, it was concluded that information retrieval skills have a significant influence on the usage of library resources. Consequent upon the findings, it is recommended, among others, that library management should, as a matter of urgency, increase its awareness of information literacy and information retrieval skills so as to increase students’ patronage and utilization of library resources.