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Social Media and Personalized Mobile Application: The Future of Reference Services in Academic Libraries

Received: 6 May 2022     Accepted: 25 May 2022     Published: 31 May 2022
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Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the need for a library mobile application dedicated to reference services in academic libraries. The paper proposed the design and use of a mobile application in academic libraries. The study purposively sampled all the 43 university librarians that made up the population in Federal Universities, Nigeria. An unstructured questionnaire was utilized to seek the opinion of the respondents. Out of the 43 questionnaires distributed, 32 were correctly filled and returned indicating a 74.4% return rate. The structure of the proposed mobile library application was outlined. The data were collated and analysed using frequencies and percentages, and content analysis. The findings showed that the respondents used social media for rendering defined reference services. It was observed that there was no policy for the utilization of social media in rendering library services and that librarians welcome the idea of a mobile library application. It was concluded that library will benefit more if mobile library application is adopted rendering library services. It was recommended that academic libraries should adopt a mobile library application and design a policy to guide the use of the application.

Published in American Journal of Education and Information Technology (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18
Page(s) 46-52
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Reference Services, Library, Technology, Mobile Application, Librarians, Social Media

References
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[2] Anwar, M., & Zhiwei, T. (2019). Social media makes things possible for libraries: A critical note. American Journal of Biomedical Science & Research, 6 (1). DOI: 10.34297/AJBSR.2019.06.000985.
[3] Baruah, T. D. (2012). Effectiveness of social media as a tool of communication and its potential for technology enabled connections: A micro-level study. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2 (5), 1-10.
[4] Chakrabarti, A. (2016). Social media and libraries: A symbiotic relationship for 21st century librarianship. International Journal of Digital Library Services. 6 (2), 32-43.
[5] Dalomba, F. (2020). Pros and cons of social media. My Lifespan Health System, available at https://www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/social-media-good-bad-and-ugly Accessed September 13, 2020.
[6] Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014). National Policy on Education 6th Edition. https://educatetolead.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/national-education-policy2014.pdf
[7] Kawatra, P. S. (2000). Textbook of information science. New Delhi; A. P. H. Publishing Corporation.
[8] Kwanya, T., Stiwell, C., & Underwood, P. (2015). Library 3.0: Intelligence Libraries and Apomediation. Kidlington, UK: Chandos Publishing.
[9] Marken, G. A. (2007). Social media: The hunted can become the hunter. Public Relations Quarterly, 52 (4): 9-11.
[10] Mohammed, A., Garba, A., & Umar, H. (2014). University library websites in Nigeria: An analysis of content. Information and Knowledge Management, 4 (3): 16-22.
[11] Nok, G. (2006). The challenges of computerizing a university library in Nigeria: The Kashim Ibrahim library, Ahamadu Bello University, Zaria. Library Philosophy and Practice 8 (2) Available: http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/nok.htm
[12] Okuonghae, O. (2018). Librarians’ awareness of social media usage for informal scientific communication in university libraries in South-South, Nigeria. Digital Commons.
[13] Omini, E. U., & Osuolale, K. A. (2018). Utilization of social media platforms by librarians for promoting library resources and services in Nigerians’ tertiary institutions in Cross River State. Global Journal of Educational Research, 18, 1-8. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjedr.v18i1.1
[14] Prabhakar, S. V. R, & Manjula-Rani, S. V. (2017). Influence of social networking sites on library and information centers. International Journal of Library and Information Science, 6 (1), 83-87.
[15] Starr, S. (2011). The librarian in the cloud: or beware of unintended consequences. Journal of Medical Library Association. 99 (4): 267-269. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193357/
[16] Veil, S. R., Buehner, T., &Palenchar, M. J. (2011). A work-in-process literature review: Incorporating social media in risk and crisis communication. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 19 (2), 111-122. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468- 5973.2011.00639.x
[17] Zulu, S. F. C. (2011). Communication technology policy framework for Africa. In: Adomi E. E(ed) Frameworks for ICT policy: government, social and legal issues. Hershey P. A: IGI Global.
[18] Wikipedia (2022). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media. Retrieved on January 7, 2022.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Susan Nnadozie Umeozor. (2022). Social Media and Personalized Mobile Application: The Future of Reference Services in Academic Libraries. American Journal of Education and Information Technology, 6(1), 46-52. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18

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    ACS Style

    Susan Nnadozie Umeozor. Social Media and Personalized Mobile Application: The Future of Reference Services in Academic Libraries. Am. J. Educ. Inf. Technol. 2022, 6(1), 46-52. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18

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    AMA Style

    Susan Nnadozie Umeozor. Social Media and Personalized Mobile Application: The Future of Reference Services in Academic Libraries. Am J Educ Inf Technol. 2022;6(1):46-52. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18,
      author = {Susan Nnadozie Umeozor},
      title = {Social Media and Personalized Mobile Application: The Future of Reference Services in Academic Libraries},
      journal = {American Journal of Education and Information Technology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {46-52},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajeit.20220601.18},
      abstract = {This study was undertaken to evaluate the need for a library mobile application dedicated to reference services in academic libraries. The paper proposed the design and use of a mobile application in academic libraries. The study purposively sampled all the 43 university librarians that made up the population in Federal Universities, Nigeria. An unstructured questionnaire was utilized to seek the opinion of the respondents. Out of the 43 questionnaires distributed, 32 were correctly filled and returned indicating a 74.4% return rate. The structure of the proposed mobile library application was outlined. The data were collated and analysed using frequencies and percentages, and content analysis. The findings showed that the respondents used social media for rendering defined reference services. It was observed that there was no policy for the utilization of social media in rendering library services and that librarians welcome the idea of a mobile library application. It was concluded that library will benefit more if mobile library application is adopted rendering library services. It was recommended that academic libraries should adopt a mobile library application and design a policy to guide the use of the application.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    T1  - Social Media and Personalized Mobile Application: The Future of Reference Services in Academic Libraries
    AU  - Susan Nnadozie Umeozor
    Y1  - 2022/05/31
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    T2  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
    JF  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
    JO  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
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    EP  - 52
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20220601.18
    AB  - This study was undertaken to evaluate the need for a library mobile application dedicated to reference services in academic libraries. The paper proposed the design and use of a mobile application in academic libraries. The study purposively sampled all the 43 university librarians that made up the population in Federal Universities, Nigeria. An unstructured questionnaire was utilized to seek the opinion of the respondents. Out of the 43 questionnaires distributed, 32 were correctly filled and returned indicating a 74.4% return rate. The structure of the proposed mobile library application was outlined. The data were collated and analysed using frequencies and percentages, and content analysis. The findings showed that the respondents used social media for rendering defined reference services. It was observed that there was no policy for the utilization of social media in rendering library services and that librarians welcome the idea of a mobile library application. It was concluded that library will benefit more if mobile library application is adopted rendering library services. It was recommended that academic libraries should adopt a mobile library application and design a policy to guide the use of the application.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 1
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Author Information
  • Donald Ekong Library, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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