USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING BY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY STAFF IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Globally, libraries and information centres have been faced with the evolving hi-tech innovation, a revolutionary novel trend that has altered knowledge sharing practices among information professionals, and one of these evolving technological products is known as social media tools. This paper examines the use of social media tools for knowledge sharing by university library staff in Nigeria. A descriptive research design was adopted for this study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select one hundred and sixty five (165) responded from thirty nine (36) university libraries. A structured questionnaire was the major instrument of data collection and was administered at Nigeria Library Association Annual conference. The data was reported in descriptive statistics and Statistical Software Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for data analysis. The study revealed that university library staff in Nigeria (𝑥= 3.28±SD= 1.223) always use Instant Messaging App and Social networking sites such as Whatsapp, WeChat, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Fortuito, My space, Academia and Research Gate for knowledge sharing. To a great extent majority of library staff (𝑥= 3.07±SD= 0.989) used social media tools to share personal journals and conference proceedings with users and professional colleagues. Also the study revealed that the factors inhibiting library staff use of social media tools (𝑥= 3.63±SD= 0.484) in Nigeria is poor internet connectivity.