Abstract:
The study investigated use of electronic resources by undergraduate students of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) to find out if students utilize electronic resources. It specifically targeted the level 300 students of GIMPA. Awareness, usage, training, access, usefulness and importance and problems of use were explored. A survey method was employed and structured questionnaire were utilized to solicit data for the study.
The findings revealed that, though students are aware of electronic resources, they do not fully utilize them to support their academic pursuit due to poor level of information literacy skills. However, few students had not participated at all in information literacy skills training organized by the library. Results from the study also showed that, significant number of students do access electronic resources when on campus and off campus and mostly used electronic devices such as laptops, ipad, desktop computers, and mobile phones. The findings indicated that students used the electronic resources to: complete assignments, write project work, to update lessons notes, for research, and up-date themselves on new information in their fields of study.
Some of the major problems respondents indicated using electronic resources includes: inadequate computers in the library, poor internet connectivity, power outages, insufficient search skills, etc
In conclusion, the use of electronic resources in GIMPA has enhanced research, teaching and learning. This implies the need to plan and develop strategies for effective and efficient use of Information and Communication Technology infrastructure for the utilization of electronic resources to support academic study in GIMPA.