Digital resources utilization among undergraduates in Kwara state, Nigeria

Background Digital information resources have become a vital part of an academic library. Engineering Educational Institutions are facing increasing competition from a global digital environment and ongoing change in user needs and expectations of information services. Purpose This study examines digital resources utilization among undergraduates in Kwara State. Research Design This study adopted a descriptive research design and questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Simple random sampling technique was used for selecting the sample for this study and the data collected was analyzed using frequency table, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results The findings of the study revealed that e-books e-journals, e-newspapers, e-research reports and e-lecture notes are the types of digital resources used by undergraduate students in universities in Kwara State. The findings further revealed academics, online registration, research, communication with friends and colleagues and sourcing for materials for project writing are the purposes of digital resources utilisation among undergraduate students in universities in Kwara State. However, the findings of the study also indicate that poor power supply, cost of online databases, lack of training on internet use, slow bandwidth and poor awareness are the challenges militating against the use of digital resources by undergraduate students in universities in Kwar State. Conclusion The study concluded that students actively engage with various types of digital resources, including e-books, e-journals, e-newspapers, e-research reports, and e-lecture notes. Notably, e-books, e-journals, e-newspapers, and e-research reports were found to be the most highly utilized resources, reflecting students’ increasing reliance on electronic formats for academic work. The study recommended that Universities should continue to expand and diversify their digital resource collections to include more subject-relevant and up-to-date e-books, journals, and research materials.