The Mediating Role of Librarians’ Competencies in the Application of Metadata Practices for the Management of Digital Information Resources in University Libraries in Nigeria

Abstract

Metadata practice has evolved over the years with the developments in ICTs, as such it is very important to ascertain metadata librarians' competencies with ICT and metadata tools for the management of digital information resources. This study adopted survey research design. The secondary population comprised all federal universities in Nigeria that are having and managing digital information resources. The primary population comprised the 275 staffs from 20 federal universities that are involved in the application of metadata for the management of digital information resources. Due to the manageable size of the respondents, total enumeration was used. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection after being validated and its reliability tested. The research questions were analyzed with descriptive analysis while the hypothesis were tested with inferential statistics. The findings of this study shows that the respondents have the necessary competencies (skills) to support the management of digital information resources through the application of metadata practice. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the respondents have more basic ICT skills than core metadata skills for the management of digital information resources. The study concluded that librarians’ competencies have a significant influence on the management of digital information resources in Federal University libraries in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that the various university management understudied put metadata ICT skills of librarians and facilitating conditions into consideration when designing and implementing metadata projects for the management of digital information resources