ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND KNOWLEDGE SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Abstract This study examined artificial intelligence availability, accessibility and knowledge seeking behaviour of visually impaired students in public university libraries in South-East Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was used for this study. The population of the study comprised all the 172 visually impaired students in the five Federal universities in South-East Nigeria.Census study was conducted and there is no sampling for the study since the population is of a manageable number. Data for this study was collected using structured questionnaire. The questionnaire covered three clusters A, B and C. The face and content validity of the research instrument was established through expert judgment. The Cronbach’s Alpha method was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items and the reliability coefficient of 0.86, 0.70 and 0.74 were obtained for clusters A, B and C respectively. Out of 172 copies of visually impaired students that were given copies of the instruments, 170 copies were retrieved. This gives a retrieval rate of 98%. The data gathered through questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The finding revealed that only a limited range of AI tools is available in university libraries, with screen readers, OCR systems, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech tools being the most commonly reported in university libraries in South-East Nigeria. It was also found out that AI tools such as screen readers and text-to-speech systems are relatively accessible, others like OCR tools show lower accessibility levels, indicating inconsistency in usability across university libraries in South-East Nigeria. University libraries in South-East Nigeria, in collaboration with university management and relevant government agencies, should prioritize the provision of a wider range of AI tools that promote independent learning. Keywords: Accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, Availability, Knowledge Seeking Behaviour, Visually Impaired Students