Accessibility and retrieval of electronic information at the University of Agriculture Library, Abeokuta, Nigeria

This paper examines the accessibility and retrieval of electronic information in the Nigerian University of Agriculture Library. A three‐part questionnaire was given to 1,000 out of an estimated 5,030 users of electronic information in the university library using a simple random sampling technique from whom 789 responses were returned and found usable. This constituted a 78.9 per cent response. The study revealed that non‐final year undergraduates use mainly the automated library catalogue (OPAC) while final year and postgraduate students as well as academic staff regularly use bibliographic databases tools such as TEEAL and CAB abstracts. A majority of users were satisfied with the information obtained and reported that they find these automated services to a greater or lesser extent easy to use. The major constraints to information accessibility and retrieval of automated library services were infrastructural: the limited number of terminals available for use and power supply outages.