Perceived Effect of Accessibility and Utilization of Electronic Resources on Productivity of Academic Staff in Selected Nigerian Universities

Access to information is vital for efficient research atuniversities. Electronic resources provide new platforms for information to aid inconducting research at universities. This study explores the perceived effect ofaccessibility and utilization of electronic resources on research productivity atNigerian universities. A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study with asurvey as research method. Data were collected for the study with a self-reportingquestionnaire. Regression analysis in the study revealed that accessibility and use ofelectronic resources had a significant perceived positive effect on researchproductivity at the surveyed Nigerian universities. However, there was no significantperceived effect of accessibility and use of electronic resources by discipline onresearch productivity in the survey. In terms of gender, it was found that there was nosignificant perceived effect of accessibility and use of electronic resources by genderon research productivity among respondents at the surveyed Nigerian universities. Basedon these findings, it is recommended that effective development of digital libraries inNigerian universities would ameliorate the problems of accessibility and utilization ofelectronic resources by academic staff in research. Furthermore, the Nigerian universitylibraries should develop an electronic collection development policy to enhanceequitable access and use of electronic resources at Nigerian universities. Policy forsustainable digitization of relevant library materials should be evolved to supportdigital libraries effectively for efficient accessibility and utilization of electronicresources