Adoption of cloud computing and OPAC visibility in Nigerian university library system

Abstract

OPAC visibility, implementation of the cloud system and challenges of its adoption are the variables that define the crust of the research. The study, compartmentalizing the Nigerian University libraries, adopted the quantitative methods employing the use of observation and survey. A two month long observation of the websites and OPAC of the studied universities was undertaken. The non-probability sampling - precisely purposive sampling - was deployed while the entire one hundred and sixty (160) Nigerian universities – as at 2018 – served as the sample size for the study. A questionnaire was designed to collect primary data on the availability of OPACs and adoption of cloud hosting in Nigerian university libraries. This was administered electronically via the email-boxes of virtual/systems librarians. Significant trends noticeable in the research findings include low visibility, in-house hosting of OPAC and indifference to the adoption of cloud computing with hosting (subscription) fee, downtime in internet connectivity and fear of vulnerability to hackers’ attack being the significant challenges. It is recommended that stakeholders should leverage on the existing consortium (platform) facilitated by Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN) to benefit from the economy of scale in addition to collaboration with relevant global agencies. Furthermore, a synergy between the librarians and the ICT units should be strengthened for a better understanding of the technical challenges in order to provide appropriate solutions to them.