Online First

A university can be viewed as the apex level of tertiary educational institution that executes teaching, learning and research. These functions of a university are facilitated by the availability of information which is adequately provided by a university library. The information is provided from a stock of information resources in a university library, which keeps changing through a process called collection development. In the context of this study, collection development can be defined as a set of systematic steps taken by the personnel of a university library to renew its stock of print and electronic information resources in response to the teaching, learning and research information needs of students, lecturers and researchers of a university. Collection development has been used to refer to all activities involved in assessing the users’ needs, evaluating the present collection, determining the selection policy, coordinating the selection of items, re-evaluating and storing parts of the collection and planning for resource sharing. It is the process by which the strengths and weaknesses in the collection is ascertained on the basis of meaningful data, rather than on subjective choice (Okogwu & Ekere, 2018).

Traditionally, collection development is usually connected with print information resources, which are concrete or tangible information resources which can be held with the hand and read with the naked eyes. This is called print collection development. In the midst of this print collection development process, a number of forces exerted some powerful influence on collection development trend in libraries, particularly university libraries. These forces have been identified to include evolution and proliferation of information technology; growing popularity of internet and overall realization of the utility of electronic technology in every sphere of knowledge; changes in publishing trend in which publishers are inclined towards electronic publishing; information explosion though improving digital technology; financial constraints on the part of all kinds of libraries and tremendous growth of online information products (Babu, 2015). With these forces, libraries are now gradually shifting towards electronic resources collection development to meet the users’ needs and demands (Lixin & Thu, 2017). This has brought about a new set of information resources in libraries, including university libraries, called electronic collection. Electronic collection has been described as a collection of information that can be accessed using electronic gadgets or created electronically that form part of an electronic record and that is usually stored separately within the digital file making up the electronic record as a whole (Shukla & Mishra, 2011). With this new brand of information resources, during the last 125 years, library collections have expanded to comprise at least four types, including locally-owned physical documents, physical documents owned by other libraries but available through inter-library loan, purchased or subscribed-to-electronic documents and free electronic documents (Gorman, 2003). Similarly, university library collections have grown to include a set of electronic information resources, which mainly include e-resources which are in a digitized format; scanned images, images of photographic or printed texts, etc; collections in which complete contents of documents are created or converted into machine readable form for online access; online full-text electronic journals, full-text electronic books and other online information products accessible through internet and other networks; computer storage devices such as CD ROM/ DVDS and meta documents (Babu, 2015).

In contemporary times, a core part of digitized electronic information resources in a university library are electronic theses and dissertations. Electronic theses and dissertations can be defined as online or digital versions of the research projects of postgraduate students of universities which are submitted as part of the requirements for certification and graduation. Ezema and Igbo (2016) described electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) as the electronic digital representation of theses or dissertations, bearing the same content and organization, including the formatting requirements. They are also viewed as electronic versions of the traditional documents produced in paper or book format as the means of examining and documenting the contributions of a research-oriented degree (Suleman, 2010). The format of a generality of ETDs is characterized by text uploaded in a word processing format or in an Adobe portable document format (PDF) and look much like traditional print dissertations. These documents are readable with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader and searchable with licensed Adobe Acrobat software. Despite the fact that they are uploaded in more sophisticated formats such as HTML and XML and possess color images, streaming multimedia, animation, and interactive features, ETDs may be domiciled on a CD-ROM or the internet where they can be accessed by a wide category of users (Khaparde & Ambedkar, 2014).

Copeland (2008) notes that, while pioneer discussions on the idea of ETDs started in 1987 by University Microfilm International in the United States, ETDs movement was initiated by Ed Fox of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, who is popularly referred to as the father of ETD movements. According to MacColl (2002), this initial movement led to the introduction and development of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) in 1997, which was designed to promote the growth of online theses and dissertations. An institution’s membership of NDLTD permits it to mount TDs online on a university server for free Internet access protocol for search retrieval using Z39.50. With this initiative, a growing number of institutions of higher learning and organisations have been encouraging the production and submission of theses and dissertations in electronic format (Copeland, 2008). The university library plays a central role in encouraging ETDs in a university, and some of the factors that contribute to ETD adoption and development in Arab Gulf States’ university libraries include the understanding of the gains of ETD programs, awareness of these programs and effective promotion and advocacy (Salmi, 2008). As a result of these factors, a global rise in ETDs in higher educational institutions and allied organizations has been observed. For instance, the decade spanning 2005-2015 witnessed a huge world-wide growth in ETDs in universities and other organizations. While this growth was indicated by an increase in ETDs initiatives and in ETDs collections by 46 and 619.073 respectively, a drastic growth of ETDs and items in open access repositories was witnessed during 2010-2015 and reflected by 2944 and 6.229.261 respectively (Gunjal & Urs, 2010). African universities have also been contributing to this global growth in ETDs.

In Nigeria, significant steps have been taken. A leading role was played by the National Universities Commission (NUC) when it mandated Nigerian academic libraries to provide access to both print information and electronic information resources to serve users and to increase the visibility and image of their institutions (National Universities Commission, 2007). The mandate gave impetus to electronic collection development in Nigerian university libraries. A core aspect of this process involves developing electronic theses and dissertations. Sequel to the NUC’s mandate, some Nigerian universities had earlier made some initial efforts to develop electronic theses and dissertations. This effort usually involves digitization of print theses and dissertations generated in Nigerian universities. Digitisation is the conversion of print theses and dissertations into electronic format by scanning and other means. The study by Baro et al. (2014) revealed that this process began between 1980 and 1995 in Nigerian universities. Then, it continued in the 20th century. For example, Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, started the process in 2003 (Jagboro et al., 2012), Federal University of Technology Library, Owerri in 2007 (Chukwu et al., 2018), University of Nigeria Library, Nsukka and University of Ilorin Library both in 2008 (Eke-Okpala, 2011; Saliu et al., 2018) and University of Jos Library in 2009 (Akintunde, 2012). In the midst of these efforts, there was also a joint African university initiative to develop ETDs in universities in the African continent.

A major effort made in aggregating African ETDs was the development of the Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD). Kiondo (2004) observed that the African initiative towards the development of ETDs began when the Association of African Universities (AAU) realized that African research results were neither indexed in major databases nor accessible globally. This initiative led to the creation of the Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) with the intention to expand electronic access to African indigenous knowledge and manage copyright and intellectual property rights of authors. The dream of the initiative came true when African research outputs began to be disseminated online in the year 2000, while the main database was launched on 30th April, 2003. It is known as DATAD Online, with the URL reference: http://www.aau.org/datad/ database. Ubogu (2006) reported that the database had 14,723 records and was likely to reach 20,000 by the end of 2004. DATAD is a network of ETD collections of individual universities in Africa. The online collection of electronic theses and dissertations of individual universities is usually referred to as an institutional repository. Ubogu (2006) has observed that many African universities have increasingly realized the imperative to establish institutional repositories, with the mandate for graduating students to submit electronic versions of the print copies of their theses and dissertations. Thus, an institutional repository has become a popular platform for making ETDs available globally in Africa. Nigerian universities have also been taken advantage of institutional repositories. Direct investigation and Directory of Open Access Repository (DOAR) indicate that 12% of Nigerian university libraries have functional stand-alone repositories, containing Agriculture ETDs and other digital resources. Out of this figure, 72% of these repositories are owned by federal universities, while 21% and 7% are owned by private and state universities respectively (Salau & Oyedum, 2019). In South-East Nigeria, three federal universities, including University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nnamibi Azikiwe University, Awka and Federal University of Technology, Owerri, have ETDs (Ezema & Ugwu, 2013).

Despite the ETDs development initiatives in Africa, Cayabyab (2015) observed that ETDs in developed countries have far outgrown those of developing countries. Some peculiar factors could have led to this imbalance. Probably, to unravel these factors and address the imbalance, Cayabyab (2015) maintains that it is necessary to conduct more studies on ETD initiatives in developing countries. This is, perhaps, because more research has been conducted on print library collections than on electronic library collections (Okogwu, 2020). This has left some gaps in knowledge about electronic collection development in libraries. Thus, Swain (2010) observes that a crucial area for more research is the details on how ETD projects are created.

The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The study was conducted in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, which are North-Central, North-West, North-East, South-South, South-East and South-West. The population of the study comprised all the forty-eight institutional repository librarians in Nigerian federal university libraries. Purposive sampling technique was used to select eighteen institutional repositories in eighteen Nigerian federal university libraries. The researchers established the existence of these repositories from preliminary investigation of their websites and from the webpage of the International African Institute (2023). Total enumeration sampling technique was then used to select forty three librarians from the eighteen institutional repositories in the university libraries because the population was small and manageable. The instrument for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire, titled “Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development Questionnaire (ETDDQ)”. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. Section A and B. Section A covered information on the background of the librarians while Section B had six (6) clusters with cluster A dealing with Policies Available for Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development, Cluster B with Compliance with Standards for Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development, Cluster C with Software Adopted for Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development, Cluster D with Facilities Available for Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development, Cluster E with Strategies Adopted for Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development and Cluster F with Challenges in Electronic Theses and Dissertations’ Development. Cluster A was rated as Available (0) and Not Available (0); Cluster B as Compliant (1) and Not Compliant (0); Cluster C as Adopted (1) and Not Adopted (0); Cluster D as Available (0) and Not Available (0), Cluster E as Adopted (0) and Not Adopted (0) and Cluster F as Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1). The instrument was validated by experts in Library and Information Science and in Measurement and Evaluation at Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

The instrument was subjected to reliability test by conducting a pilot test on ten librarians in four South-Eastern state university libraries, which were found to operate institutional repositories or digital libraries. Kudder Richardson’s formula was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument for clusters in which items were rated as Available and Not Available; Compliant and Not Compliant; Adopted and Not Adopted. This choice was considered appropriate for these clusters of the instrument because, according to Nworgu (2015), Kudder Richardson’s formula is used for establishing the reliability of instrument whose variables have two response options. The test using Kudder Richardson’s formula resulted in coefficient values of 0.67, 0.72, 0.78, 0.69 and 0.75 for clusters A, B, C, D and E respectively. The overall coefficient value for all the clusters was 0.72. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the internal consistency of the instrument for cluster F in which the items were scaled as Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The Cronbach Alpha was employed because the items in these clusters were measured on several points. This is consistent with Nworgu (2015) who asserts that Cronbach Alpha is appropriate for determining the internal consistency reliability of variables that are measured on several points such as opinion scales. The test using Cronbach Alpha produced a coefficient value of 0.75. The overall coefficient value for the whole instrument was 0.74. Thus, the instrument was considered appropriate for the study based on the assertion by George and Mallery (2003) that reliability coefficient of 0.7 and above is acceptable.

The researchers visited the university libraries and administered forty eight copies of the draft of the validated questionnaires to the librarians with the help of research assistants. The questionnaires that were completed on the spot were retrieved immediately by the researchers, while the rest were retrieved later upon completion. Trained research assistants were also assigned to retrieve questionnaires which the respondents took time to fill in. These were returned to the researchers through courier service. Forty three copies of the draft of the questionnaire were properly filled in and returned, producing a response rate of 89.58%. Data collection spanned a period of three months. This was achieved after reminder calls and emails were made and sent respectively. The data collected were analyzed by means of weighted mean and standard deviation. The criterion point established for Section A-E was 0.50 while that for Section F was 2.50. Thus, items in Sections A-E whose mean was 0.50 and above were regarded as Available, Adopted or Compliant, while those with means less than 0.50 were regarded as Not Available, Not Adopted or Not Compliant. As for Section F, items with means equal to 2.50 and above were considered as “Agreed” as a Challenge, while those whose means were less than 2.50 were considered as “Disagreed” as a Challenge.

This section presents the results of the study in line with the research questions earlier formulated to guide the study.

∙ Research Question 1: What are the policies available for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria?

Table 1 indicates that the policies available for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria are policies that require only the administrator to vet items for the exclusion of spam, deposition of items by only academic staff and registered students, submission of ETDs compulsory for students, engagement of digital/IR librarians in the development of ETDs and provision of free access to ETDs.

∙ Research Question 2: Do federal university libraries in Nigeria comply with standards for electronic theses and dissertations’ development?

Table 2 shows that the federal university libraries in Nigeria comply with standards of Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting and Search/Retrieval via URL in developing electronic theses and dissertations. However, the libraries do not adhere to Z39.50 protocol.

∙ Research Question 3: Which software are adopted for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria?

Table 3 reveals that the software adopted for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria is DSpace.

∙ Research Question 4: Which ICT facilities are available for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria?

Table 4 indicates that the ICT facilities available for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria are computers, scanners, CD-ROM, Local Area Network, internet connectivity and printer.

∙ Research Question 5: What are the strategies adopted for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria?

Table 5 discloses that the strategies adopted for electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria are digitisation, making submission of electronic copy of theses and dissertations compulsory for students and creation of institutional repository.

∙ Research Question 6: What are the challenges in developing electronic theses and dissertations in federal university libraries in Nigeria?

Table 6 shows that the challenges in developing electronic theses and dissertations’ development in federal university libraries in Nigeria are technological obsolescence, financial constraints, lack of clearly-defined ETD development policy, necessary ICT infrastructure, trained staff, issue of copyright, epileptic power supply and unstable internet connectivity.

The study reveals that the policies available for developing electronic theses and dissertations in Nigerian federal university libraries require that students submit electronic copies of their theses and dissertations, digital/IR librarians are involved in developing electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) and free access is granted to ETDs. This is in line with Ezema and Igbo (2016) who maintain that ETDs policies centre on, among others, the process of submitting the theses and dissertations, roles and responsibilities of the university library and method of access to the ETDs, which can be either free or paid. The finding also agrees with Copeland (2008) who notes that the submission policy should stipulate whether their submission by students is be optional or compulsory. The result probably turned out this way because many of the university libraries subscribe to the Open Access Initiative. Thus, the libraries have formulated policies which help to promote the cause of Open Access.

The research also shows that the university libraries comply with standards of Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting and Search/Retrieval via URL in developing electronic theses and dissertations. The result agrees with Younglove (2013) who notes that American pioneer institutional repositories hinge on open access initiative. It is also consistent with the practice of Italian universities where most university heads support the Berlin declaration on Open Access (Bevilacqua, 2007). It is also in consonance with the conclusion reached from a review by Alipour-Hafezi et al. (2010) that most American-based digital library interoperability models adopt Open Access Initiative (OAI) protocol for Metadata Harvesting. The finding is in line with the fallout of the study by Sawant (n. d.) which reveals that nearly all institutional repositories in sixteen Indian tertiary institutions, which were surveyed, primarily follow OAI-PMH, while a few comply with OpenURL. It is also in line with Suleman and Fox (2003) who maintain that, despite the kind of software an institutional repository adopts, all institutional repositories comply with interoperability and metadata harvesting standards. The university libraries’ drive to promote Open Access to indigenous knowledge could have led to this outcome.

The investigation also indicates the university libraries employ DSpace for building ETDs. The result agrees with Swain (2010) who observes that the most popular software used for selecting ETDS are DSpace and EPrints. This is also consistent with the outcome of the study by Sawant (n. d.) which indicates that 79% of Indian tertiary institutional repositories employ DSpace. However, the present study nullifies the adoption of Eprints. Similarly, it tallies with the finding of Gayan (2014) which indicates that a good number of the Indian ETD repositories employ DSpace for repository development. The result also resembles that of the practice of Nigerian public universities where some universities adopt open-source repository software while others use proprietary software for developing and managing ETDs (Salau & Oyedum, 2019). The popularity in the use of open source software for electronic collections development and management among university libraries with remarkable success and perceived ease of adoption of such software may have contributed to the choice of DSpace by the university libraries.

Furthermore, the study discloses that the ICT facilities available for developing ETDs in the university libraries comprise computers, scanners, CD-ROM, LAN, internet connectivity and printer. The result is consistent with that of Anaehobi (2007), which identifies ETDs development relevant- ICT facilities available in academic libraries in Anambra state, Nigeria, to include computers, CD-ROMs, scanners and Local Area Network (LAN). It is also in consonance with the result of the study by Anunobi and Nwakwuo (2008) which shows that most of the eight South-East Nigerian university libraries, which they surveyed, have stand-alone computers and CD-ROMs. It partly agrees with the result of the research by Ridwan et al. (n. d., 1) which reveals that ICT facilities available for digital preservation at Kashim Ibrahim Library, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, which are also relevant for ETD development, are computers, scanner, internet and storage devices. It is also in line with the fallout of the investigation by Kattankulathur by Sivakumaren et al. (2011) which indicates that all the four public university libraries out of the ten university libraries which they surveyed in Chennai and Kattankulathur, have computers, printers, scanners and internet facilities. It is agrees with that of the study by Ugwuanyi (2012) which shows that ICT facilities available in the South-East Nigerian universities surveyed, which are vital for ETD development, are computers, interconnectivity, LAN and scanner. However, the finding of the current research nullifies the availability of CD-ROM writer in Nigerian federal university libraries, which the study of Ugwanyi found to be available. Moreso, it tallies with the finding of the research by Enakrire (2015) which attests to the availability of personal computers, CD-ROMs, LANs and Internet at the University of Ibadan libraries. It is also in line with the result from a subsequent study by Adeniran et al. (2020) which confirms availability of computers, CD/DVD and internet connectivity in most academic libraries in Kwara State, Nigeria. The poor attitude of government to the funding of Nigerian public universities could have limited the acquisition of sophisticated ICT tools for ETD development and probably compelled them to acquire only computers and its peripheral devices.

Moreso, the study highlights that the strategies that the university libraries adopt for developing ETDs involves digitisation, enforcing compulsory submission of electronic versions of theses and dissertations by students and establishment of institutional repositories (IRs). This is in line with Babu (2015) who opines, among other things, that electronic information resources are developed using digitization and developing online repositories. It is also consistent with the report by Kakai (2009) that theses and dissertations are digitised and archived in the institutional repository of Makerere University, Uganda. Moreso, it agrees with the result of the study by Baro et al. (2014) which attests to digitization of theses and dissertations in Nigerian university libraries, although, this practice was not widespread. It is also in agreement with the practice of West Virginia University where it is compulsory for its students to submit electronic version of their theses and dissertations to its repository (Smith, 2002). However, the result is contrary to the practices of Vanderbilt University and University of Kentucky where submission of electronic version of theses and dissertations by students is optional (Smith, 2002; Yiotis, 2008). It is typical of university libraries to emulate the practices of sister universities which have made significant progress in digital librarianship. This tendency could have led Nigerian federal university libraries to adopt the core methods of developing ETDs such as digitization, creation of institutional repositories (IRs), etc.

Finally, the study brings to limelight that the obstacles faced by the university libraries in building ETDs include technological obsolescence, financial problems, absence of clearly-defined ETD development policy, required ICT facilities and trained staff, copyright, irregular power supply and unstable internet connectivity. This is consistent with Greig (2005) who reported that many UK university libraries encounter challenges with funding and copyright issues while implementing ETD projects. It also agrees with the outcome of the research by Alhaji (2007) which indicate that digitization of thesis and other local contents materials in Nigerian university libraries has been hindered by lack of finance, equipment, skilled personnel and epileptic power supply. It further agrees with that of Ezema and Ugwu (2013) which reveals that the primary obstacles to ETDs projects in Nigerian university libraries include irregular power supply, poor funding, lack of IT personnel and absence of ETDs policy. It is also in line with the outcome of the study by Baro et al. (2014) that the hindrances to the adoption of ETDS in Nigerian university libraries are unstable internet connectivity, lack of funding, irregular power supply, lack of information technology personnel, absence of electronic theses and dissertations submission policy and copyright issues. Moreso, it is consistent with the result which identifies the principal barriers to electronic collection development in Nigeria university libraries to include inadequate funding, poor technical expertise, lack of higher bandwidth, sound administrative policies and guidelines (Mole & Obidike, 2016).

The study examined electronic theses and dissertations’ development in university libraries in Nigeria. It was focused on Nigerian federal university libraries. The study has provided the understanding that the policies available for developing electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) in the university libraries demand submission of electronic copies of theses and dissertations by students, engagement of digital/IR librarians in ETD development and provision of free access to ETDs. The libraries adhere to standards of Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting and Search/Retrieval via URL in developing ETDs. The libraries engage in ETD development by means of open source software, DSpace, and employing strategies such as digitisation, obliging submission of electronic versions of theses and dissertations by students and establishment of institutional repositories. The process is facilitated by the availability of such ICT facilities as computers, scanners, CD-ROM, LAN, internet connectivity and printers in the libraries. However, the process is confronted by technological obsolescence, financial constraints, absence of concrete ETD development policy, ICT facilities and trained staff, issue of copyright, irregular power supply and unstable internet connectivity.

In the light of the findings of the research, it was recommended that:

• 1) The federal government should increase funding to Nigerian federal universities.
• 2) University management should sponsor librarians in Nigerian federal university libraries for regular trainings in digital library operations including electronic collection development.
• 3) University library management should develop concrete electronic collection development policies to guide electronic collection building in the university libraries.