HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN DIGITAL ERA: THE EXPERIENCE OFLIBRARIANS IN SELECTED UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated human capital development in the digital era by examining the
experience of academic librarians working within selected federal universities in Nigeria.
The rapid evolution of the digital era has transformed the landscape of university education,
and the library which is the live wire of teaching, learning, and researching has shifted from
traditional library practices to digital and hybrid information services. This digital
transformation of the university library has improved and changed the roles of professional
librarians from conventional print repository management to digital literacy database. The
academic or university libraries are therefore required to be involved in human capacity
development in order to remain relevant to evolving user expectations. This study adopted a
descriptive survey research design. The population comprised all librarians across selected
federal universities in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data
regarding the availability of ICT training, professional workshops, institutional funding and
digital competency levels. The findings revealed that the human capital development
initiatives positively influence librarians job performance, productivity and motivation to
transition to digital information service delivery. However, major barriers were declared to
be a clog in the wheel of progress in this digital era. These barriers included inadequate
budgetary allocations, incessant electricity power failure, frequent network failure, lack of
telecommunication and infrastructural facilities. Based on these findings, the study
recommended that the university management should endeavor to attract more funds from the
proprietors, establish strategic partnerships with IT experts to enhance ICT professional
skills of the librarians and formulate modern institutional policies that are mandate
progressive digital skill acquisition.