EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AS INFORMATION DISSEMINATION TOOLS IN EKANEM I. BRAIDE LIBRARY, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE

This study investigated the “Effectiveness of Social Media Platforms as Information Dissemination Tools in Ekanem I. Braide Library, Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State. The survey research design was adopted in the study. The study population consisted of 641 undergraduate students of the Department of Library and Information Science 100-400 Level. A sample size of 100 Library and Information Science Students was used. Stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The study after analysis indicated that majority of the respondents are aware of the social media platforms in the library studied. The study the find out the purpose of using social media platforms as an information dissemination tools in the library, such as Whatsapp, Faceboook, Instagram, Twitter, and Podcast. However, It shows that Whatsapp =x (3.70) ranked highest by the mean score rating and was followed in succession by Facebook = x (3.58), Instagram = x (3.15), Twitter = x (2.71), Postcard = x (2.71), respectively. The inference drawn from the above result shows that Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook were the major social media platforms that are available and relevant in dissemination of information. The study determined the purpose for the use of social media platforms as information dissemination tools in Ekanem I. Braide Library and lastly, the challenges faced when using social media platforms to disseminate information. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that adequate maintenance strategy should be adopted to ensure continuous use of these platforms. Librarians should be engaged into training and re-training so as to make them flow with the current trend on social media platforms to disseminate information resources/services and also current awareness services.