Online Information Consumption Among Faculty And Students Of The National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The study set out to investigate the online information behaviour of faculty and students of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach was used to gather data from the entire population of 317 faculty members and students. Out of the 317 copies of ques tionnaire administered, 260 were completed, returned and ana lysed, representing an 81.5% response rate. The study found that the pandemic increased the frequency at which faculty and stu dents access information online, as they spent more hours online than before the pandemic. All the respondents realised a new information need, among which health information was the most mentioned new information need realised by faculty and students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also revealed that the respondents encountered a number of challenges: information overload, lack of training and skill in the use of online information. It is therefore recommended, among others, that the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) library should organise training and assistance to faculty and students to enhance their information search and retrieval skills. It is expected that the study will offer perspective on the subject of online information behaviour of a previously unrepresented population during a pandemic.