Evaluation of Online Reference Services: Reflections from Nigeria Academic Libraries

This paper reports on a study of evaluation of online reference services (ORS). The paper focuses on the librarians’ perception of the evaluation of online reference services of academic libraries in Nigeria. The study was guided by the following four objectives: to find out the extent of application of online reference services in academic libraries in Nigeria; to examine the benefits of using ORS in academic libraries in Nigeria, to identify the challenges associated with the use of ORS, and profer solutions for ameliorating the challenges faced by these academic libraries in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey design which was employed to derived responses from 198 librarians. Data were collected from the population using questionnaire. The statistical packages for social sciences(SPSS) was used to extract data while the data were presented with the help of 4-point Likert scale, mean and standard deviation. The result revealed that e-mail services ranked 1st in the overall application of ORS. Lack of ICT infrastructure to support ORS ranked first as reason for non-application of ORS. Most noted benefit is that it provides more alternatives and flexibility to users. Challenges include: lack of proper training on use of ICT infrastructure among libraries and lack of funds to support ORS.Recommendations were made at the end of the study.