Perceived usefulness, information literacy skills, and electronic library use among students of colleges of education in Osun state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the influence of perceived usefulness and information literacy skills on electronic library use among students in selected Colleges of Education in Osun State, Nigeria. The investigation was motivated by the persistent gap between the substantial promise of digital library infrastructure and the comparatively modest levels of uptake recorded among teacher-trainee populations. A descriptive survey design of the correlational type was adopted. Data were collected from 215 students across three institutions using a structured questionnaire, yielding a return rate of 97.7 percent. Findings showed that the World Wide Web was the most frequently consulted electronic library resource, and that usage was directed overwhelmingly toward academic rather than recreational ends. The level of perceived usefulness was moderate, with a composite mean of 31.2, whereas information literacy skills were high, with a composite mean of 67.56. Statistically significant positive relationships were established between perceived usefulness and electronic library use (r = .507), between information literacy skills and electronic library use (r = .551), and between information literacy skills and perceived usefulness (r = .695). Acting together, the two predictors accounted for a meaningful share of the variance in electronic library use (R = .577; Adjusted R squared = .333; F = 53.669, p < .05). The study concludes that perception and capability operate as complementary rather than competing determinants of digital library engagement, and recommends sustained investment in connectivity and computing facilities, structured user-awareness programmes, and the formal embedding of information literacy instruction within institutional curricula.