Information and Communication Technology Deployment and the Level of Academic Library Automation in University of Cape Coast

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to assess the Information and Communication Technology deployment and the level of academic library automation in University of Cape Coast. A mixed research method design was used. The study was limited to one academic library namely, Sam Jonah Library of the University of Cape Coast. A total sample size of 419 respondents was used, consisting of 97 staff and 322 clients who use the Sam Jonah library facilities. Purposive sampling and disproportionate stratified random sampling were adopted to select the staff and the clients respectively. The main data collection instrument was a questionnaire. However, an informal interview was also used to collect primary data. SPSS software version 21 was used to analyse collected data using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The major findings were that the ICT resources used in the automation of Sam Jonah library were inadequate or low to meet the demands of the clients. Thus, availability of ICT resources was found to predict the level of academic library automation. Also, Internet connectivity was crucial in the operations of Sam Jonah library and was found to predict the use of academic library automation. Lastly, the study found a positive correlation between ICT training of staff and the level of academic library automation. Recommendations to the study were acquisition of more ICT resources, securing a bigger bandwidth for faster Internet speed and recruiting ICT experts or upgrading some existing staff skills through professional ICT training in the library automation software.