INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AS CORRELATE OF LIBRARY SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE BELLS UNIVERSITY, OTA, OGUN STATE

ABSTRACT

This study examined innovative technologies as a correlate of library service delivery in Bells University, Ota, Ogun State. Academic libraries across Nigeria continue to navigate a difficult transition toward digital-era service delivery, with recent research consistently identifying gaps between the promise of innovative technology and its actual level of adoption and use in university library settings. The study identified the types of library resources and service delivery available to Bells University Library users, determined the adequacy of these available resources and services, examined the extent to which library resources and services are used by Bells University Library users, explored the purposes for which users utilize these resources and services and their level of satisfaction with them, identified the problems associated with the availability of innovative technologies as a correlate of library service delivery, and identified strategies that can be adopted to enhance the use of innovative technologies in Bells University Library. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, with data collected through structured questionnaires administered to library users and staff at Bells University, and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings are expected to guide library management at Bells University in strengthening the adoption and use of innovative technologies to improve service delivery.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Academic libraries have historically served as the intellectual heart of a university, providing the resources and services that support teaching, learning, and research. In the digital era, the extent to which a library embraces innovative technologies, ranging from digital applications and cloud-based resource sharing to automated cataloguing and electronic databases, has become a defining factor in how effectively that library can meet the evolving information needs of its users. Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, like other Nigerian private and public universities, operates within this broader national context, where the adoption of such technologies remains uneven despite growing recognition of their importance.

Recent Nigerian research paints a genuinely mixed picture of how far this technological transition has actually progressed. A 2025 study examining the leveraging of innovative technologies for improved library practices across six federal university libraries representing each of Nigeria's geopolitical zones found a troublingly low level of staff awareness of the potential benefits of innovative technology for library operations, alongside an even lower degree of actual technology usage, with barriers including insufficient internet penetration, deficient digital literacy, inadequate funding, and unstable power supply identified as the primary constraints limiting Nigerian libraries from taking advantage of advanced technologies (Ojobor, Okafor, & Ugwuanyi, 2025). This finding of persistent implementation gaps is reinforced by research examining the integration of information and communication technologies into resource sharing practices in academic libraries across South-East Nigeria, which found that while ICT integration was recognized as important for enhancing library services and widening access to information, issues such as inadequate power supply, limited funding, and insufficient infrastructure continued to act as significant barriers to smooth and effective resource sharing (Anene & Nancy, 2024).

At the same time, more targeted research on specific categories of innovative technology suggests that where digital applications are successfully adopted, they can meaningfully strengthen service delivery. A study examining librarians' knowledge and utilization of digital applications for effective service delivery across academic libraries in South-South Nigerian universities found that while librarians in federal and state universities differed somewhat in their opinions regarding the extent of innovative digital application use, digital applications were nonetheless recognized as central to improving service quality, with the study's findings pointing to a continued need for greater investment in librarian training and technology infrastructure to fully realize this potential (Owate, 2024). Taken together, this literature suggests that while Nigerian academic libraries widely recognize the value of innovative technologies for service delivery, the actual level of adoption, awareness, and effective use remains constrained by a consistent set of infrastructural and capacity-related barriers, a dynamic this study examines specifically within the context of Bells University Library.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Despite growing recognition across Nigerian academic libraries of the value innovative technologies bring to service delivery, recent research consistently documents low staff awareness, limited actual usage, and persistent infrastructural barriers, including inadequate funding, insufficient internet penetration, and unstable power supply, that continue to constrain effective technology adoption (Ojobor, Okafor, & Ugwuanyi, 2025; Anene & Nancy, 2024). While some evidence suggests that successfully adopted digital applications can meaningfully improve service quality where they are effectively implemented (Owate, 2024), this evidence has largely been generated at federal university libraries rather than at private institutions such as Bells University specifically. This raises important, unresolved questions about the specific types and adequacy of innovative technology-based resources and services available to Bells University Library users, the extent to which these resources are actually used and found satisfactory, and the specific problems and strategies relevant to improving technology-correlated service delivery at this particular institution. It is this gap that the present study seeks to address.

1.3 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:

1. What are the types of library resources and service delivery available to Bells University Library users?
2. How adequate are the available resources and service delivery for Bells University Library users?
3. What is the extent of use of library resources and service delivery by Bells University Library users?
4. For what purpose do Bells University Library users make use of the library resources and service delivery available to them?
5. To what extent are Bells University Library users satisfied with the use of the library resources and service delivery available to them?
6. What problems are associated with the availability of innovative technologies as a correlate of library service delivery at Bells University Library?
7. What strategies can be adopted to enhance the use of innovative technologies for library service delivery at Bells University Library?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

Guided by the research questions above, the objectives of this study are to:

1. Identify the types of library resources and service delivery available to Bells University Library users.
2. Determine the adequacy of the available resources and service delivery for Bells University Library users.
3. Examine the extent of use of library resources and service delivery by Bells University Library users.
4. Identify the purposes for which Bells University Library users make use of library resources and service delivery.
5. Determine the extent to which Bells University Library users are satisfied with the resources and service delivery available to them.
6. Identify the problems associated with innovative technologies as a correlate of library service delivery at Bells University Library.
7. Identify strategies that can be adopted to enhance the use of innovative technologies for library service delivery at Bells University Library.

1.5 Research Hypotheses

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between the availability of innovative technologies and the extent of use of library resources by Bells University Library users.

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between the availability of innovative technologies and users' satisfaction with library service delivery at Bells University.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the management of Bells University Library by providing evidence to guide investment in and adoption of innovative technologies. It will benefit library users, including students and faculty, by drawing attention to service gaps that affect their information needs. It will benefit library and information science professionals more broadly, by contributing evidence from a private Nigerian university context that complements existing research from federal institutions. It will benefit policy makers responsible for university library funding and infrastructure, and will serve as a reference for future researchers examining innovative technology adoption in Nigerian academic libraries.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This study is limited to examining innovative technologies as a correlate of library service delivery at Bells University, Ota, Ogun State, covering the types, adequacy, extent of use, purposes, and user satisfaction relating to library resources and services, as well as associated problems and improvement strategies.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

Time and resource constraints limited the study to Bells University Library rather than a comparative sample of multiple Nigerian university libraries. Some respondents may have had limited technical familiarity with certain innovative technologies, which may have affected the depth of their responses regarding specific technology features.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Innovative Technology: Newly adopted or emerging digital tools, systems, or applications used to enhance the delivery of library services.

Library Service Delivery: The provision of information resources and support services by a library to meet the needs of its users.

Library Resources: The physical and digital materials, including books, journals, and databases, made available by a library for user access.

User Satisfaction: The degree to which library users' expectations of resources and services are met.

Correlate: A variable that is statistically associated with another variable, in this context, the relationship between innovative technology and service delivery.

REFERENCES

Anene, I. A., & Nancy, A. (2024). Model for integration of information and communication technologies in resource sharing practices for enhanced service delivery in academic libraries in southeast Nigeria. Electronic Library, 42(2), 340–363. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2023-0156

Ojobor, R. C., Okafor, V. N., & Ugwuanyi, R. N. (2025). Leveraging innovative technologies for improved library practices in the digital era: The Nigerian perspective. Information Technology and Libraries, 44(2). https://doi.org/10.5860/ital.v44i2.16767

Owate, C. N. (2024). Knowledge and utilization of digital applications for effective service delivery in academic libraries in South-South universities, Nigeria. International Journal of Intelligent Information Systems, 13(3), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijiis.20241303.11