The Silent Barriers: How Library and ICT Anxieties Hinder Postgraduate Students' Access to Institutional Repositories

Abstract

Institutional repositories serve as digital platforms for archiving and disseminating research outputs in universities. Despite their significance, postgraduate students in many Nigerian universities underutilise these resources, potentially due to library and ICT-related anxieties. This study investigates how these anxieties influence institutional repository use among postgraduate students at the University of Ibadan and Ajayi Crowther University in Oyo State, Nigeria. Grounded in library anxiety theory and the technology acceptance model, this study employed a correlational survey design. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 472 participants from the total postgraduate population of 7,681. Data was collected with validated questionnaire measuring institutional repository use (α=0.878), library anxiety (α=0.919), and ICT anxiety (α=0.916). The analyses involved the use of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression at a significance level of 0.05. The findings revealed that ICT anxiety (r=.185) had significant correlation with institutional repository use, whereas library anxiety (r=.048) did not. Collectively, library and ICT anxieties influenced repository use (R=.187; F(7.977) =11.63; Adj. R²=.031), explaining 31% of the variance. Library anxiety (β = 0.197) had greater contribution than ICT anxiety (β=-0.31). Key enablers of repository use are thesis writing, access to e-journals, and library familiarity, while slow Internet and software compatibility issues hindered usage. Addressing these challenges is essential for improving repository adoption among postgraduate students.