Availability and Accessibility of Geographic Information Systems in Nigerian Federal Universities of Technology Libraries

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the availability and accessibility of Geographic Information Systems in technology libraries of Nigerian federal universities. A survey research design was designed, with three research questions being formulated. The total of 1,422 respondents, including students, faculty, staff GIS users, and librarians constituted the population and sample size of this study from federal universities of technology at Akure, Minna, Owerri, and Abubakar Tafawa Belewa University, Bauchi. Two sets of questionnaires were used to collect data for this study, one for the GIS users and another for the librarians. The data collected were presented and analyzed using a frequency distribution table and percentages. The study found, among other results, that there are computer hardware units for GIS operation, though some peripherals such as like plotters and scanners were less available among selected Nigerian federal universities of technology (FUTs), and ArcView was the prominent type of GIS software that was available for GIS operations. This study concluded that GIS services would be better utilized if they were brought into the library, which is the information hub of the university. Lastly, it was recommended that the university library collaborate with organizations that deal with spatial information or GIS-related departments in the university to facilitate GIS services’ integration into the array of existing library services.

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