Background to the Study
The importance of information for the development of any nation can never be over emphasized. This is because the amount of information possessed by any society or nation determines the level of development in that nation and libraries are social institutions that ensures that the members of a society are well informed. According to Afolabi and Abidoye (2012) libraries are institutions that propagates the culture, objectives and intellectual leanings of their parent institutions. Libraries generally are non-profit organization that serves the interest of the community that owns it, as a result libraries are of different types depending on the kind of group it serves. However, libraries such as public and national libraries serve the interest of the general public and other libraries respectively. A Public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is generally funded from public sources such as taxes. Also, according to Encyclopedia Britannica (2010) public libraries are now acknowledged to be an indispensable part of community life as promoters of literacy, providers of all ranges of reading for all ages, and center for community information services.
There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries, the first is that they are generally supported by taxes; they are governed by a board to serve the public interest; they are open to all, and every community member can access the collection; they are entirely voluntary in that no one is ever forced to use the services provided; and they provide basic services without charge. It is also an institution that exists to serve the interest of all members of the public and receive its financial support in whole or part from public fund. As stated by Ozuluonye in Nwabueze and Ibeh (2013) It is a state, local or town affair, authorized by the state law, supported from public fund, and operated for the benefit of general public.
Historically, according to Glenn (2012) an early library that allowed access to the public was that of the Kalendars or Kalendaries, a brotherhood of clergy and laity who were attached to the church of All-Hallowen or All Saints in Bristol, England. Public libraries exist in many countries across the world and are often considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Public libraries are distinct from research libraries, school libraries, and other special libraries in that their mandate is to serve the general public’s information needs rather than the needs of a particular school, institution, or research population. And ICT affords them the opportunity to reach their users at their comfort zone.
According to Afolabi and Abidoye (2012) library users now prefer services which they can access remotely or online and in order to satisfy their users many libraries have started embracing the recent developments in information technology to help them for effective library services. Also, with the advent of ICT there is now a proliferation of information, such that information is scattered in many areas and libraries are no longer seen as the primary source of information. Public libraries and other libraries generally have evolved since the advent of information and communication technology (ICT), which made information available and accessible from several sources and from any location. Because of ICTs, public libraries in the developed world now offer remote services, where members of the community can access the library resources from the comfort of their homes or offices. This was noted by Tiwari (2006) who stressed that rapid advances in information processing, storage and communications technologies have revolutionized the role of worldwide libraries in disseminating information services to users.
According to Zuppo and Colrain (2016), Information and communication technology ICT can be seen as the convergence of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through single cabling or link system. Typically, ICT is the technology that allows data and information to be transmitted over long distance through telephone wires or radio waves. In modern society, ICT is ever present, with over three billion people having access to the internet. With approximately 8 out of 10 internet users owning a smart phone, information and data are increasing by leaps and bounds. This rapid growth especially in developing countries has led ICT to become a keystone of everyday life, in which life without some facet of technology renders most of clerical, work and routine tasks dysfunctional. According to UNESCO (2016) Information and communication technology ICT has contributed to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching, teacher’s professional development and more efficient education management, governance and administration. As Rashimi (2015) noted one defining feature of ICT is its ability to transcend time and space. ICTs make possible asynchronous learning, or learning characterized by time lag between the delivery of instruction and its reception by learners. So, it is imperative to state at this point that public libraries more than ever now need the overwhelming services that information and communication technology brings. Libraries wherever they are found give a lot of answers for individuals who are looking for academic answers, and by integrating the use of use of ICT into these libraries, people would now in lesser time, get answers to their questions and also have access to a wide range of library services that would widen their mental horizon. Furthermore, teachers and learners no longer have to rely solely on printed books and other materials in physical media housed in libraries (and available in limited quantities) for their educational needs. With the internet and the world wide web, a wealth of learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from anywhere at any time of the day and by an unlimited number of persons.
Furthermore, Integrating ICT in public libraries is imperative because through ICTs, public libraries will be providing more sophisticated and user friendly services to their patrons. ICTs can afford public library users the opportunity for cultural expression and personal fulfillment through lifelong learning. In the words of Omolola and Sunday (2012), the benefits of ICTs in public libraries are also evident in programmes in computer literacy and information technology, reader development, resource management, information literacy, access to wider social infrastructure and job opportunities that are available through the Internet. Other benefits of utilizing ICTs in public libraries include: enabling users self-education through Internet and its multimedia resources, provision of speedy and easy access to information, provision of access to unlimited and up-to-date information from different sources, increases efficiency in library operations and services, facilitate cooperation and formation of library networks, provision of round the clock and remote access of information to users, and facilitation of reformation and combination of data from different sources.