Research article · 2026
DIGITAL LIBRARY AS SMART KNOWLEDGE HUBS: A SURVEY AMONG DOCTORAL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA
Abstract
Purpose: The use of digital library resources (DLRs) has become indispensable for doctoral education because these resources provide timely access to scholarly information required for research, publication, and academic advancement. Despite increasing investments in digital library infrastructure, evidence suggests that utilisation of DLRs among doctoral students in Nigerian public universities remains suboptimal. This study investigated the use of digital library resources among doctoral students in eight public universities in Southwestern Nigeria. Design/Methodology/Approach: Daft and Lengel, Media Richness Theory served as the framework, while the survey design of the correlational type was adopted. The eight conventional public universities offering doctoral programmes in southwestern Nigeria: Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State; Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State; University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State; Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State; and University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos State were enumerated with a total of 7,091. Three faculties that offered disciplined specific programmes and two departments each from the faculties were purposively selected - Eight hundred and forty-one doctoral students (Arts: English:286 and History:77, Science: Chemistry:208 and Microbiology:105 and Social Sciences: Economics:106 and Political Science:59). Thus, a total of 841 doctoral students drawn through purposive sampling participated in the study. The instruments used were Use of Digital Library Resources Scale (α=0.87) scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance. Finding: The findings showed that electronic journals (x̄ = 3.97) and e-books (x̄ = 3.64) were the most frequently utilised digital resources, whereas library website content (x̄ = 2.83) and institutional repositories (x̄ = 2.80) recorded relatively low usage. Doctoral students primarily used digital library resources for journal article writing (x̄ = 3.49) and preparing conference, seminar, and workshop presentations (x̄ = 3.40), highlighting their central role in scholarly communication and research productivity. However, slow internet bandwidth (x̄ = 2.97) and information overload during online searching (x̄ = 2.75) emerged as the major barriers to effective utilisation. Implication: Overall, the study demonstrates that while doctoral students frequently rely on e-journals and e-books, institutional digital platforms, particularly library websites and institutional repositories, remain underutilised. Originality/Value: These findings underscore the need for universities and academic libraries to strengthen internet infrastructure, improve access to digital collections, enhance institutional repository visibility, and provide targeted information literacy support to improve the effective use of digital library resources among doctoral students.
Keywords
Digital library resources, Doctoral students, in Public universities, Southwestern Nigeria.
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